goulash skillet
Making homemade dinners every night becomes monumental, even for someone who loves to cook. I think about my Mom aka Superwoman, who managed to put meals on the table each night, always with a protein, starch, salad and sides galore. Now that is something that I will strive to try, but in reality, dinners like this pop up often. One skillet dinners are amazing, delicious, fast and the clean up is oooohhh soooo simple! This one is a family favorite, and with afterschool schedules out of control, I can make this in the morning, refrigerate and bake to reheat in the same pan. I used gluten free pasta, because that's how we roll, but any pasta would work. This is a basic recipe that I make to keep things simple and serve with a green salad, but on occasion I will add different veggies to pump up the nutrition. Try it either way to suit your families needs, but keep it on your dinner rotation list, you will be happy you did.
What you will need
- 1 1/2 pounds grass fed ground beef
- 2 Tbs. olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion
- 2 cups jack or cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup romano cheese
- 4 cups strained tomatoes (Bionaturae)
- 1 pound gluten free pasta (Barilla, Rotini)
- Handful fresh basil, chopped
- Salt and pepper
Putting it together
- In a medium stockpot add water for pasta with a teaspoon of salt, bring to boil and add pasta. Only boil for half the time in the directions, pasta will cook in the oven when reheating.
- In a large oven safe skillet, I used my favorite Lodge cast iron skillet, add olive oil and chopped onions, saute until translucent.
- Add meat and season with salt and pepper, you can also add a few shakes of your favorite all purpose seasoning too. Lightly brown meat, cooking will finish in the oven
- Add container of strained tomatoes (pour a small amount of water into glass container or can to get ALL of the sauce, pour that into skillet)
- Add Romano cheese and 1/2 the amount of chopped basil
- Stir all ingredients together, strain cooked pasta and add to skillet
- Now all ingredients are all cooked up in skillet, make sure everything is combined and top with shredded cheese and remaining chopped basil
- When ready to eat, pop skillet into a 350.F oven for 20 minutes. If you like the top to be browned a bit, simply put under broiler for the last minute of cooking.