By Spring-semester finals are in two weeks. I have been doing my coursework one-handed at the dining table during Brayden’s naps and in the small one-hour windows in the late evening when he sleeps deeply. Dr. Choi has been generous about the workload — she extended my paper deadlines by ten days each in early March when I’d emailed her about the planning, and she’s been emailing weekly to check in. The extensions give me breathing room. Junior year academically ends in five weeks. The summer is going to be Dustin’s parents in Memphis for two weeks of grandparent-time, then Mama’s for two weeks, then Aunt Linda’s for a long weekend.
Sunday I made hearty skillet supper because Dustin had been on dinner duty for the last three Sundays and was running out of his weeknight repertoire. The skillet supper format — everything in one cast iron pan — is the kind of dish a tired-new-parent can put together in twenty-five minutes start-to-finish. The dish lives in the cookbook of every farm-family-mother in the central United States from the 1950s onward, and the format works because it requires only one piece of cookware, scales easily, and reheats well.
The technique: a pound of ground beef browned in a heavy cast iron skillet for ten minutes. Drained. One yellow onion diced and four cloves of garlic minced added; cook eight minutes. Two teaspoons of chili powder, a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of smoked paprika, a teaspoon of dried oregano, salt, pepper bloomed for thirty seconds.
One twenty-eight-ounce can of crushed tomatoes added. One fifteen-ounce can of black beans drained. One cup of frozen corn. A cup of long-grain white rice (uncooked). Two cups of low-sodium beef broth. Stir to combine.
Bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for twenty minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid is mostly absorbed.
Off the heat, sprinkle a generous two cups of grated sharp cheddar across the top. Replace the lid for two minutes to melt the cheese. Garnish with sliced scallions, fresh chopped cilantro, sour cream, and lime wedges.
One pan, twenty-five minutes, four servings. Dustin had two helpings. The leftovers fed us through Wednesday lunch.
Cast iron, ground beef base, rice cooks in the broth, cheese melted at the end. Twenty-five minutes. Here’s the build.
Hearty Skillet Supper
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 cups leftover pulled pork, shredded
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups frozen or canned corn, drained
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Shredded cheddar cheese, for topping (optional)
- Sour cream or hot sauce, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the skillet. Warm vegetable oil in a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Saute the vegetables. Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–6 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
- Add the pork. Stir in the shredded pulled pork and let it warm through for 3–4 minutes, allowing the edges to crisp slightly against the pan.
- Build the base. Add corn, black beans, and diced tomatoes with their juices. Stir everything together to combine.
- Season. Sprinkle in smoked paprika, cumin, and chili powder. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well to distribute the spices evenly throughout.
- Simmer and finish. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10–12 minutes, until the liquid reduces slightly and flavors meld. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve. Dish into bowls or onto plates. Top with shredded cheddar and a dollop of sour cream or a splash of hot sauce if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 380 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 9g | Sodium: 620mg