Seasoned ground beef and vegetables combine in a symphony of flavors, making a great topping for pasta or rice.
I grew up in the era of hamburger gravy and casseroles. Ground meat was the basis for many dishes due to its low cost and ease of preparation.
Over the years, I’ve become a little pickier about what ground meat I buy. While grass-fed beef isn’t quite in my price range, I do try to buy better beef when I can. It’s not quite as cheap as it was when I was a kid.
This dish came about from happenstance. I had originally planned on making my Vegetable Bolognese during my last freezer cooking session, but the eggplant had gone bad and I forgot to buy tomatoes.
So, what to do with a load of vegetables and some ground beef?
This dish was the result, sauteed vegetables and beef with a healthy dose of seasonings. I divided the batch into meal sized portions for hubby’s lunches and held my breath.
My taste testing revealed that it had wonderful flavor. I’m happy to report that he concurred. Serve this over rice or pasta for a filling lunch or supper.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 onion chopped
- 4 ribs celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 1/3 pound ground beef
- 2 zucchini sliced (for 2 cups)
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 5 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- In a large heavy pot, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onions, celery and garlic. Cook until the onions start to go clear.
- Add the beef, zucchini, pepper, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring until the vegetables are tender and the meat is no longer pink.
- Season with the salt, red pepper, and black pepper. Serve immediately.
Promptly store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.
To freeze: cool mixture completely and place in covered dish. Chill before freezing.
Nutritional values are approximate and based on 1/6 the recipe.
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I’m with you on the price of ground beef — anything over $1.00 just gives me pause in the grocery store. When did $3.00+ become the starting price? It’s not steak!
Bring on the (dried) beans to extend it all! LOL
@LizA, at this point, however, the cheap meat looks really scary. So, I’d rather pay more to know it’s better quality.
I’ve made some dishes very similar to this for years. My kid likes it when I mix in some mac and cheese or rice. He doesn’t realize I do it for not only taste but also to stretch the meat that has gotten so pricey!
I am interested in what you say about eating healthier, and noticing you need less etc to feel full. My husband and I started our second round of the paleo diet/caveman diet. The difference for us is feeling satisfied vs. Full. We have found that as we have changed our diet, our tastes have changed. Food is so much more flavorful when it is simple real food. This particular diet restricts dairy, grains, sugar and beans. This means that we eat meat, fruits and vegetables. So this particular dish looks tasty and crunchy. We could eat this minus the rice. Our weight loss has been significant, and we have never been hungry. That makes it very nice! Thanks for sharing, and I will enjoy reading about your successes.
Good luck to you! There’s a world of “diet” choices out there, so we’re just feeling our way.
I’ve made something similar, but put it on a bed of rice to fill up my teens and make it stick a little longer. A bit of gluten free soy sauce adds some good flavor also