Recipe: Zucchini and Ground Beef Skillet Casserole

One afternoon last week it was around four o’clock and I thought to myself, Hmmmm, what are we going to have for dinner? (I’ve been slacking in the meal planning department lately!)

I knew I had a pound of grass-fed ground beef in the freezer, and a million-kagillion zucchinis on my counter. (Okay, maybe not quite that many, but close!) I opened up my computer thinking I would browse Pinterest for some inspiration, when I noticed that a newsletter from Food.com was in my email Inbox and the title read Zucchini Ground Beef Casserole.  Nice.

I checked out the recipe, and fortunately it had a simple list of ingredients, all of which I had on hand, and seemed relatively easy to make. And I thought, Okay, that’s what we’re having for dinner tonight.

And it was good. Really, really good. Jer agreed with me, and I think I may have even gotten the kids to eat a couple bites of zucchini. If you knew how picky my daughter is, you would know that was a major accomplishment.

Of course, I tweaked the recipe a bit to use what I had, and make it better. Ahem. But seriously, it was so good I just had to share it with you in case you have an end of harvest abundance of zucchini the way we do around here.

Zucchini and Ground Beef Skillet Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped or pressed
• salt, pepper, onion powder to taste
• 1 – 16 oz jar of salsa,
• 1+ teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 small potatoes cut into cubes
• 1 cup of corn or peas, fresh or frozen
• 1 medium zucchini, cut in 1/4-inch chunks
• 1/4 cup water
• Brown rice, cooked

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef with garlic, onion powder (you can use real onion, diced if you like. We don’t.), salt and pepper in a cast iron skillet until meat is cooked through.

2. Add jar of salsa, cumin, potatoes, and water. Stir together.

3. Cover and simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes until favors blend.

4. Add the zucchini and corn or peas (just use whatever you have on hand) and stir everything together. Add another 1/4 cup of water if needed to cook potatoes and veggies.

5. Cover and cook for about 5-10 more minutes until potatoes and zucchini are cooked, but not too soft.

6. Serve with rice.

*These are the cast iron skillets I use and love! They are great quality for a great price! 

*Adapted from this recipe.

 

Enjoy!

Are you looking for a zucchini dessert? Try my Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies! They’re delicious!! 

Or browse through all our favorite real food recipes!