Tonight for dinner we had a variation on a recipe called “Hearty Skillet Supper” I found on AllRecipes.com, a site I like because one can search by ingredients and not-ingredients, so I can readily find meals for what I have one hand and eliminate things I won’t eat.
We’ve done this one before but it was several months ago and a few new tweaks were added. Next time I will reduce the salt because tonight’s version was too salty. The recipe below reflects that and all of our other tweaks thusfar (some of which come from the comments on the original recipe linked above):
Hearty Skillet Supper – Revisited (And Done In a Dutch Oven Instead)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef, at least 85/15 lean
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup chopped carrots (about 3 medium, especially if you sneak pieces as you chop)
- 1 cup peeled and chopped potatoes (something mid-way on the waxy scale, we prefer Yukon Golds for this application)
- 2 cups (half a box) of beef broth
- 1 cup short-grain brown rice
- 1/4 tsp salt (original recipe said 1 tsp and that’s way too much so next time I’ll try 1/4)
- 2 or 3 grinds of fresh pepper
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce*
In a dutch oven that has a lid, brown the beef along with the onion, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce until the pink is gone from the meat. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer on low for an hour.
You could definitely add other veggies like corn, peas, etc. as well, if that suits you.
Here is it is uncooked:
Chunk-a-licious.
And here it is cooked and plated:
Very warm and comforting.
Yum.
For our family of three, this provides enough servings for all plus a small amount of leftovers. If I were going to increase the yield, probably the first thing I’d try would be doubling the beef, because extra protein suits my dietary needs and this is not overly beefy as it is.
Evidence consumed, except the part that I’ll nom for lunch tomorrow.
* Because of my no-alcohol thing and because of our household preferences in terms of taste, I buy fake soy sauce that would probably make Foodies cringe. I buy non-HFCS, halal soy sauce. My favourite used to be the No Name Brand stuff I’d get at Loblaws in Canada, but since leaving there, the best alternative I’ve found in the US is La Choy. It is possible that real soy sauce will taste different in this recipe, so your mileage may vary.
I doubled this and made it last night. I didn't have carrots and potatoes, so I put in a bag of frozen mixed veggies. I might add those later next time, they did get kind of stew-mushy.
I left off the soy sauce because hubby is allergic, but there is a little of everything in Worcestershire sauce, and I was generous with that. Since we are at altitude, it took about an hour and 20 minutes for the rice to finish cooking. I added a little more salt, but it could have used more; I put in three big pinches and it did need more salt at the table.
I ate almost a whole bowlful, which is kind of amazing for me — I eat a small amount at a time. The guys both loved it.
I think I will use barley in place of rice next time. I love the combination of beef and barley and this would be a good flavor set for the barley. The W sauce gives it a great depth of flavor.
Yeah we made it again last week and I substituted half of the rice for barley and it was awesome. I halved the salt from the original recipe and that made it better. Actually I forgot to halve the salt and put in the full amount and then remembered and took out the potatoes with lots of salt and rinsed them off, so I'm guesstimating at the salt amount that time.