Meat Lovers Ratatouille

Your favorite dish, amplified with grass-fed organic protein! All in one dish!

Meat Lovers Ratatouille

My mom calls me the "fastest chef in the East" because I whip up delicious and nutritious meals quickly. It's why I never list "cook time" on my recipes, because I make them faster than most people...

However, some recipes take longer because I want the flavors to meld together beautifully. Ever hear of the saying "low and slow"? This dish can be cooked either way.... fast or slow. Either in a deep pan in the oven or in a slow cooker.

Ratatouille is typically made only with veggies, but contains very little protein - so it's mostly used as a side dish. This Meat Lovers Ratatouille is so yummy and aromatic, your whole neighborhood will want to come over to taste it!

Here's what you need:

• 1 lrg eggplant

• 1 lrg Vidalia / sweet onion diced

• 5 cloves of garlic minced

• 1 lb organic grass-fed ground beef

• 1 lb organic (local) Italian sausage out of casing (hot or sweet)

• 2 lrg red bell peppers blistered in pan, grill or hot oven then cooled

• 2 lrg organic zucchinis

• 1 jar organic tomato sauce

• 2 tbsp Italian seasoning

• 2 tbsp good olive oil

• Salt, pepper and red pepper to taste

• Optional: Fresh basil leaves

Let's get cookin':

• In large and deep pan (oven safe) heat oil and saute onion with a little salt until translucent not burned. Add garlic, ground beef and sausage (crumble into small pieces) until cooked.

• Pour in jar of tomato sauce, add more salt, pepper and red pepper to taste and add in Italian seasoning. Simmer until warm.

• Slice eggplant, zucchini and blistered peppers thinly.

• In crockpot, or same pot (must remove the meat sauce) - layer a little meat sauce, then eggplant, then meat sauce, then peppers, then meat sauce, then zucchini, then layer whatever you have left.

• If cooking it in crock pot, cover the pot and cook on HIGH for 4 hours. Place fresh basil on it before serving.

• If cooking in a pan, cover with aluminum foil and place in an oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook another 5 - 10 minutes.

• Put basil on top and enjoy hot. Can eat alone or with a side of GF or organic pasta.

• Enjoy!

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Love & Yum,

Lindsay