This easy mushroom and the ground beef skillet is an easy weeknight dinner that is delicious as-is, or served on top of baked potatoes or brown rice. (gluten-free, under 30-minutes)
When it comes to making my weekly menu, I almost always have two things on the list: some kind of slower cooker meal involving shredded chicken, and some type of skillet dinner involving ground beef.
I haven’t quite figured out how to cook ground beef in the slow cooker, but really there’s no reason for me to deviate from the skillet method of cooking it. It was done cooking in less than 10 minutes, I can throw in whatever veggies or spices I have on hand, and voila! DINNER!
That’s essentially how I came up with this super easy mushroom and ground beef skillet dinner. I woke up one morning thinking about what we were going to have for dinner [cue the “oops I didn’t meal plan this week!”].
The boys were begging me to get outside and go to the park— where we like to spend our fall days.
Before hitting the pavement, I took ground beef out of the freezer to thaw, and scanned the fridge— we had leftover mushrooms and fresh basil from our weekly pizza night, I knew we had frozen brown rice I could quickly microwave, and I found the boys’ favorite crinkle-cut carrots we could use as a “safe side.” Which means I know they’ll eat that on their plate if they don’t eat the beef!
Yep, the boys ate the carrots, the rice, and Anthony had some of the beef. Joey? He always touches the ground beef and puts it to his mouth, but I didn’t see any sneak into his stomach.
Regardless, it’s all about exposure at this age. And I consider it a win when they don’t ask for other foods [like those dinosaur chicken nuggets].
Here are some other quick and easy ground beef skillet meals:
- 1 lb. lean Ground Beef [93% lean or leaner]
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups mushrooms [any variety], sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil [or 1 teaspoon dried]
- ¼ cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
- Heat large non-stick skillet to medium-high heat. Add ground beef to skillet and cook for 8-10 minutes, breaking into crumbles. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add oil to skillet. Add garlic and onion, and cook until garlic becomes fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue cooking for 5 more minutes.
- Return beef to the skillet. Add basil, broth, vinegar and worcestershire sauce. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the liquid has reduced, about 3 minutes.
- Serve immediately with your favorite whole grain side, such as brown rice or quinoa.
