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One Pan Fall Protein Skillet
This meal screams “FALL” to me. It’s also chock full of some of my favorite ingredients: lean ground beef, onion, garlic, butternut squash, carrots, mushrooms, lentils, kale, and seasonings. All the colors are brown, orange, gold and green – just like the autumn leaves. These vegetables are pretty interchangeable in my opinion; I think corn, snap peas, parsnips, or fresh spinach would swap out well or be good as an addition. This is very easy to make but does require a fair bit of chopping before you start. Grab your kids or family members and make this a “knife skills” exercise.
The cooking time is around 45 minutes and is all stovetop. The original recipe said it serves four, but even in my household where we never hold back, I would say it is more like six or more servings. We had this with fresh sourdough – YAY ME – and a simple salad, and of course fresh applesauce for dessert. Some of the remaining food went into a container in my freezer for later… my version of a TV dinner.
The recipe was inspired by “Delightfully Fueled” with a lot of my changes and notes.
One Pan Fall Protein Skillet
4-6 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced ½ inch
- 6 cloves fresh garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 20 ounces (~570g) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped 1 inch (I didn’t measure but about ½ of a large butternut squash)
- 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced ½ inch
- 8 ounces mushrooms-cleaned, stems removed and sliced into 6 pieces each
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ cup dry brown lentils
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups water
- 1 Tbsp tamari sauce
- 2 cups chopped kale (stems removed sliced ½ inch –spinach works here too
- Kosher salt to taste at the end
Instructions
In a large saute skillet over medium heat, warm olive oil. Add onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent. Next, add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds before adding beef. Break beef into pieces and brown. Once mostly cooked, add prepared butternut squash, carrots, and mushrooms. Cook for about six minutes.
Add thyme, paprika, and pepper. Stir to evenly coat beef and vegetables. Then add lentils, diced tomatoes, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 25 minutes, or until lentils are cooked. Stir occasionally.
Add kale to the skillet. Cover and cook for a few minutes, until kale softens. Taste and add salt and serve!
Notes
- Leftovers are good rewarmed over rice or quinoa, or put into a soft tortilla with a little salsa.
- You can change the flavor profile to make this a little more middle eastern (tahina sauce) or Asian (soy, sesame, rice vinegar) or even Central American (spicy peppers and lime infused onion) to serve.
- Store in the refrigerator for about 4 days. Reheat for lunch or dinner, or freeze for up to a month.
