Grass-fed Beef & Vegetable Lettuce Cups

By:  Maria

If you're like me, you enjoy spending time in the kitchen with your family, creating different recipes that do not require measuring spoons or cups - throwing in fistful's of fresh ingredients or eyeballing amounts are my preferred method.

If you're on the opposite side of the spectrum and hardly step foot in the kitchen, turn it into a family activity and you will do three crucial things: teach your children that cooking can be fun, impart a vanishing yet very important lifelong skill and show them how delicious healthy cooking actually is.

Although I'm not afraid to spend a ridiculous amount of time in the kitchen preparing delicious meals for my family, I love recipes that take minimum effort but produce maximum flavor. This one was easy enough to throw together as-is, but there are many different ways you can change the ingredients to suit your tastes. I used grass-fed ground, but you can use chicken or turkey instead. If you're not a pepper fan, use tomatoes or spinach and basil. You can even throw in some finely chopped tubers (parsnips, rhutabaga, sweet potato).

4 tablespoons coconut oil

½ cup yellow onions, diced

½ cup green onions, chopped

½ cup red bell pepper, diced

½ cup yellow bell pepper, diced

½ cup carrots, shredded

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound grass-fed beef

2 teaspoons chili powder (optional)

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh parsley or cilantro

Salt and Pepper to taste

Lettuce leaves (such as Bibb), washed and dried

Additional toppings of choice: Avocado, Guacamole, Salsa, etc

Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the onions, green onions, bell pepper, and carrots and cook until all are softened, about 2-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional
minute.

While the vegetables are cooking heat another large skillet on medium heat and add one to two tablespoons of oil to coat the bottom of the pan (or, wait until the veggies are done and use the same pan). Dump ground beef into the pan and sprinkle with chili powder (if desired - my young'uns do not like that kind of heat, so I omit). Cook the beef thoroughly and crumble into pieces. Once the beef is cooked, stir in vegetables and sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste (and more chili powder if desired). Remove from heat and stir in parsley or cilantro (we like the flavor of cilantro).
To serve, place the beef vegetable mixture into lettuce cups and serve with toppings of choice. I used avocado or guacamole and some pico de gallo that I have one hand.

Enjoy!