So What is Goop?

I have been asked this question several times since I posted about making Goop last weekend during my batch cooking marathon!   What is Goop?

I first hear the term GOOP when I met The Captain many years ago… at that time he made a one-skillet dish, based on ground beef, onions, and other veggies… and called it Goop.  Sometimes we used it as the filling in in a baking powder biscuit pie crust with cheddar cheese lattices, and sometimes he enjoyed it with macaroni noodles.  The vegetables varied, depending on what we had on hand, and we used a bit of tomato sauce to hold it all together.

We basically gave it up when we moved aboard our sailboat in 2002 and I completely forgot about it.  Till about a week ago.  We have been eating extra lean ground beef more often this past year and I am always trying to come up with new ways to serve it.  I was going to make up a Meat Sauce to serve with pasta and spaghetti squash, and I remembered Goop.

The main difference between Goop and a Meat Sauce, is that Goop is not seasoned or spicy, and it has only a bit of tomato sauce… much thicker than Meat Sauce.

Here is how it went the last time I made it… and you can see The Captain enjoyed a serving of barley alongside.  You can keep your meal gluten-free or Paleo quite easily.

Goop
Makes 4 servings

• 1 Tbs coconut oil
• 1 pound extra lean ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion, thinly slices (about 7.5 ounces)
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
• 4 medium carrots, cut into small pieces
• 1 medium red pepper cut into small chunks
• 8 green beans, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
• 3/4 cup tomato sauce

1. Melt coconut oil in large skillet over MEDIUM heat.
2. Add ground beef, onions and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally until the meat is fully browned and the onions are soft and translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. 
3. Add the carrots, peppers and beans. Cook another 5 or 6 minutes till somewhat soft.
4. Add the tomato sauce and stir to combine. 
5. Cover and allow to simmer for half an hour. You may need to reduce heat to LOW.
6. Divide into 4 and serve.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Per serving.
Weight Watchers P+ = 8.
Calories 310; Protein 25g; Carbohydrate 17g; Fat 15g; Fibre 5g.

Please note that in Canada our extra lean ground beef may be up to 15% fat. In the U.S. it may be a low as 4% so this will affect the N.I.  And you could certainly get more, but smaller, servings from  these ingredients.

Steaming away on the stove.. almost ready to add the tomato sauce and then cover.

And ready to serve. You can see how thick it is.

I like mine with some kind of squash… or even a cauliflower tortilla to scoop it up.

Printable Recipe

What d’ya think?  Could you be a Goop fan, too?