Hello friends! Coming at you one day later than planned, because the way things are going over here is like this:
I learned (not for the first time, but you know, remembered) that my children had VBS about 14 hours before it began. I do remember signing them up, although I’m quite certain that happened in a different space time continuum. Somehow the reminder email escaped my inbox, and I was a little surprised to suddenly have a fully booked schedule for the week. Oops! This is an accurate representation of my headspace at the moment.
But never fear, the recipe I’m sharing today is the one I turn to when I’ve got half frozen ground beef at 5 pm, the refrigerator is bare, and I just can’t with dinner. It’s saved my evening on more occasions than I can count, and proof of its ease is the fact that I made it both within the week we left, and within the week after we arrived to our new home1. You don’t need much in the way of kitchen supplies, the pantry staples don’t go bad, and even the vegetable ingredients can be pulled from the freezer if necessary.
At the same time, it’s delicious enough that I have no qualms serving this meal to dinner guests and have had rave reviews from everyone who’s tried it. The version I make at our house uses coconut aminos, so in addition to being easy, it’s also free of the top eight allergens (you can easily leave out the sesame oil), could be served with cauliflower rice or riced sweet potatoes for a grain free option2and, because of the slightly sweet flavor of the coconut aminos, tends to be well received by even picky children.
Our absolute favorite version of this uses chicken (I throw the chicken in the Instant Pot or oven before I start chopping vegetables, then dice and add near the end), carrots, celery, red cabbage, broccoli, and plenty of cilantro to garnish.
Have I oversold the recipe? Well, you’ll have to try it and let me know. The editor of Hearth & Field let me know that it’s already gone into her regular rotation, and if you’re in a dinner rut, looking for something quick, easy, and versatile, it might just fit the bill!
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Check it out here, and report back in the comments:
What’s your go-to “brainless crowd pleaser3” meal? Drop a link in the comments if you have one! Let’s help each other out with some delicious meal ideas.
A brief blog update:
I’m still working on figuring out how to transfer this content to a section at
. I don’t anticipate being able to provide much in the way of new content here, but I have resumed the billing for paid subscribers. I will completely understand if you need to change up your subscription, but I also want to give you the option to continue supporting our family (and if you do — thank you so much!) With some big life changes ahead, I’m still trying to get my feet under me, so thanks for your grace throughout that process.Y’all know that moving upends a cooking routine like nobody’s business. I am *maybe* starting to get into a decent routine again… three weeks later.
I despise cauliflower rice, so I usually just eat mine in a bowl and make a side of sweet potato fries. If you like having something to soak the sauce up but can’t eat rice, the cauli rice option might be a good one for you! I’ve also had luck with ricing sweet potatoes in the food processor.
I’ve heard this phrase from Kendra at The Lazy Genius, but I’m not sure it belongs exclusively to her. Regardless, it references those meals that you can make while also carrying on a conversation with your children, unloading the dishwasher and holding a baby ;) It also refers to the rare meal that doesn’t elicit dinnertime complaints!
Sweet potato fries forever! I bet they would be delicious with this stir fry...