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    Big Skillet Dinner

    March 20, 2016 By Meagan Fikes 2 Comments

    Big Skillet Dinner | A weeknight dinner customized with ingredients you have on hand and what's currently in season. Easy and makes plenty of leftovers, if you aren't too hungry! | eatsomethingdelicious.com

    Big Skillet Dinner | A weeknight dinner customized with ingredients you have on hand and what's currently in season. Easy and makes plenty of leftovers, if you aren't too hungry! | eatsomethingdelicious.com

    If you've ever visited my FAQ page, you may have read my number one tip for shifting to a gluten free diet:

    I think it’s helpful to eat easy to make meals that you enjoy and keep them as similar as possible to what you’re already eating by making simple substitutions. For example, if you want tacos, ditch the shells and serve over lettuce, salad-style. If you enjoy spaghetti, swap out the noodles for some julienned or spiralized zucchini. Or how about some steak with a side of steamed veggies? I think it can sometimes hurt to attempt to meal plan using nothing but blog recipes and cookbooks. I can’t speak for all recipe-creators out there but many of us, myself included, like to make fun recipes that we would never expect somebody to make every day. You would get burnt out cooking and ingredient hunting if you did nothing but try new recipes. Keeping meals similar to your current diet will make the switch to your new diet feel smaller and more intuitive.

    When I cook for myself, I typically make something very simple with enough vegetables to forgo making any side dishes. That means lots of variations of this recipe, lunchmeat salads, grilled meat with steamed veggies, and zucchini noodle spaghetti. I occasionally cook off of my own blog and other blogs for fun, but not every day.

    I want to provide recipes that people can meal plan from and realistically eat every day but I feel like I'm cheating by giving you a recipe you may already know how to make. Like bunless burgers. But what if I posted a bunless burger recipe as more of a dinner suggestion than a recipe? What if I had a whole collection of basic, simple recipes you could draw inspiration from and say "Oh I could make that real quick!"

    Big Skillet Dinner | A weeknight dinner customized with ingredients you have on hand and what's currently in season. Easy and makes plenty of leftovers, if you aren't too hungry! | eatsomethingdelicious.com

    I want to start a "recipe" series called "I'm Only Human Recipes". These recipes would be simple, low mess, large portion recipes that you can cook and reheat for the next few days. Many ingredients could be easily substituted so you can use whatever you have on hand or what's in season. I'm planning on posting these on occasion. The majority of my recipes will still be my creative, fun recreations of your old favorites.

    So this big skillet dinner is the first in the series. Here's how it works: It has enough vegetables that you won't need to make a side dish. If you don't have ground beef but have ground pork in your freezer, use that. If butternut squash is in season and you can't get enough of it, use that as your starchy vegetable. Try to not make unnecessary trips to the store if you're missing an ingredient. Take a look at what you have on-hand and see if it might work. Easy, right?

    I hope you guys are as excited about these I'm Only Human Recipes as I am. Definitely let me know your thoughts in the comments section! Also, I'd love to hear what ingredients you use in this dish so please share :)

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    Recipe

    Big Skillet Dinner | A weeknight dinner customized with ingredients you have on hand and what's currently in season. Easy and makes plenty of leftovers, if you aren't too hungry! | eatsomethingdelicious.com

    Big Skillet Dinner

    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4 from 1 review
    • Prep Time: 5 mins
    • Cook Time: 25 mins
    • Total Time: 30 mins
    • Yield: 6 servings 1x
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    Description

    A weeknight dinner customized with ingredients you have on hand and what's currently in season. Easy and makes plenty of leftovers, if you aren't too hungry!


    Ingredients

    • 2-3 tablespoon fat
    • 10 oz starchy vegetables, diced small
    • 1 lb non-starchy vegetables, frozen or fresh and cut into bite sized pieces
    • 2 lbs ground meat
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • hot sauce for topping, optional
    • red pepper flakes for topping, optional

    Instructions

    1. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of fat then add the starchy vegetable. Salt to taste. Occasionally turn the vegetables until they have cooked through then remove from the skillet and set aside.
    2. Add more fat to the skillet, if needed, and dump in the non-starchy vegetables. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Allow those to cook until soft, then remove those from the skillet as well.
    3. Turn up the stovetop to medium-high heat and start cooking the ground meat. Sprinkle on plenty of salt and pepper and chop up the meat into pieces with a spatula as it cooks.
    4. Once the meat is thoroughly cooked, add the vegetables back to the skillet and mix everything together (or serve in "layers" like I did in the photo).
    5. Serve as-is or top with some hot sauce and/or red pepper flakes.

    Notes

    Replace the starchy vegetables with more non-starchy vegetables for a lower carb meal.

    Different vegetables may take more or less time to cook.

    Here are the ingredients I used for the photographed recipe:
    fat: bacon fat
    starchy vegetables: plantains (ok, so that's technically a fruit...)
    non-starchy vegetables: frozen broccoli and red bell pepper strips
    ground meat: beef

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @eatsomethingdelicious on Instagram and hashtag it #eatsomethingdelicious

    Big Skillet Dinner | A weeknight dinner customized with ingredients you have on hand and what's currently in season. Easy and makes plenty of leftovers, if you aren't too hungry! | eatsomethingdelicious.com

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rae

      September 01, 2016 at 8:49 pm

      Made this recipe using ground beef, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, onion and green beans. I wanted a lower carb option so used fewer sweet potatoes and more green beans. Added cumin for the spice. Really great recipe. Enjoyed the versatility, but not as much as I enjoyed only getting one pan dirty!

      Reply
      • Meagan Fikes

        September 01, 2016 at 9:34 pm

        That all sounds so good!

        Reply

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    About Meagan

    About Meagan

    I started out with a passion for creating unique recipes and decorating cakes. In June of 2012, I discovered I was not only severely gluten intolerant but also, many of the foods I was eating I simply couldn't include in my diet anymore. Fortunately, my love for trying new recipes, ingredients, and cooking methods made re-learning how to cook seem more like a fun challenge than an unfortunate circumstance. I'm so happy to say that my dietary restrictions haven't stopped me from doing what I love. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do.

    Some links on this site are affiliate links which means that if you make a purchase at one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only link to products and services I personally recommend and believe will benefit my readers. These links help to cover some of my blogging expenses. I appreciate your support!

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    I was going to write some jokes about logging but I was going to write some jokes about logging but you wooden get them. Because they’re super dumb. Ok, I’ll share anyway.
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How do lumberjacks find a missing exponent?
By using LOGarithms
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What did the lumberjack wear to work on casual Friday?
His favorite Tree-shirt
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When is the most stressful time of year for a tree?
Sept-timber
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I told you they were bad, right? 😅 Cut me some slack, they were for a kids birthday party. Oh, and I have more…
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Why did the logger get a gym membership?
He wanted to get lumber jacked 💪
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Why couldn’t the tree answer the riddle?
He was stumped
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What kind of beer do lumberjacks drink?
Loggers 🍻
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Why did the logger have back pain?
He didn’t have enough lumber support
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Embarrassingly enough, I have a bunch more but I’ll save them for a project in a later blog post. For now, I just have the cake.
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This is a 2 part, absolutely massive blog post on making this logging scene cake from start to finish. The cake is chocolate and vanilla layers with cookies & cream filling. And as always, gluten free and dairy free.
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The recipe is at the link in my profile
👉@eatsomethingdelicious
Thanks for chopping by 👋
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#glutenfree #dairyfree #dessert #foodallergies #celiac #glutenintolerant #eatsomethingdelicious #cakedecorating #foodbloggerpro #cake
    Big news: I cleaned my house the other day 😅 Bu Big news: I cleaned my house the other day 😅 But seriously, it’s amazing how much having a clean space can help. My energy levels are completely uncalled for considering we’re well beyond a month of Erika barely sleeping at night and at least one family member dealing with a cold. I’m so tired of snot 😩 And being responsible for 3 peoples noses. We’re trying to graduate one nose to self-care but apparently the art of nose blowing takes a lot more boxes of tissues to master. We’ll get there.
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Ok enough gross stuff. My finally clean again space has made me so much more focused and motivated to get things done. I’ve burned through most of my work to-do list and made it to the fun stuff that I don’t have to do but just want to. And since I was at that point, I decided to do something for myself by working on my blog. And I went a little overboard by working on 5 blog posts at once. I probably won’t get through them all but I have 3 ready so far.
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This first post is a 30 minute ground beef stroganoff that I made almost 3 years ago. I didn’t do a great job writing down the recipe so I wasn’t able to post it until I figured out what I forgot to write down. Figured it out the other day and it was so good!
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You can get the recipe at the link in my profile
👉@eatsomethingdelicious
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#glutenfree #dairyfree #celiac #eatsomethingdelicious #30minutemeals #foodallergies #foodbloggerpro #glutenintolerant
    Not really a new recipe but I shared my sons 4th b Not really a new recipe but I shared my sons 4th birthday cake on the blog today. Also wrote a recap on everything that’s been going on for the past year since I would normally write about it in my blog posts but haven’t written anything! I don’t know when I’ll be back on there. I’ve only had time for site maintenance and I really miss blogging but I’ll be back on once things slow down. The link to the new post is in my profile!
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#glutenfree #dairyfree #cakedecorating #foodallergies #celiacdisease
    I almost didn’t make this into a casserole becau I almost didn’t make this into a casserole because the sauce and pasta combined made a delicious side dish on their own! @beldolcefood #sponsored my most recent blog post and provided me with their new gluten free fusilli and penne to try out. I used the fusilli in this recipe and the sauce is a creamy, cheesy enchilada sauce made from just 3 ingredients.
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I ended up adding taco meat, fire roasted tomatoes, corn, black beans, and dairy free cheese to make a taco noodle casserole. Then we ate it all and I made it again! This is one of those recipes that will be going in our regular meal rotation.
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This is a pretty versatile recipe. It can be made vegan just by leaving out the meat and it’s just as good. And as I said earlier, the pasta with just the sauce makes a really good side dish. You can also top it with whatever you like such as cilantro, jalapeños, sour cream, scallions, or salsa.
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The recipe and details on @beldolcefood new gluten free pasta is linked in my profile:
@eatsomethingdelicious
Let me know if you try it!
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#glutenfree #dairyfree #glutenfreefacility #pasta #casserole #beldolce #foodallergies #f52grams #foodbloggerpro #celiac #glutenintolerant #eatsomethingdelicious
    I’ll just say it - I’m one of those bloggers t I’ll just say it - I’m one of those bloggers that makes cakes for their blogs “birthdays”. Or uses the blog birthdays as an excuse to make yet another cake recipe....yeah, that’s probably more accurate.
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Definitely felt like I needed a good excuse for this one because it’s my fifth variation of gooey butter cake! However, my site is seven years old so maybe I should have had seven gooey butter cakes ready to go? Guess I’d better get caught up before year eight 😉
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Anyways, I really enjoyed this carrot cake variation of gooey butter cake. The cake layer/crust swaps out the yellow cake mix with spice cake mix and I added in some shredded carrots and raisins. I kept the “gooey” top layer the same except that I topped it with a sprinkle of cinnamon and additional raisins before baking.
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If you want to try the recipe, the link is in my profile: @eatsomethingdelicious
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#gooeybuttercake #foodallergies #glutenfree #dairyfree #foodbloggerpro #baking #celiac #f52grams #f52sweets #glutenintolerant #carrotcake
#glutenfreelife #eatsomethingdelicious
    Here are a few last minute treat ideas! The carame Here are a few last minute treat ideas! The caramel stuffed crispy rice treats recipe is written below. The other recipes (gooey butter cookies, salted caramel turtles, and pumpkin snickerdoodles) can be found at the link in my bio!
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CARAMEL STUFFED CRISPY RICE TREATS
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INGREDIENTS
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• ¼ C dairy free butter, divided
• 4 C mini marshmallows (regular and vegan both work), divided
• 6 C gluten free rice cereal *see notes*
• 1 tsp vanilla extract, divided
• 10-11 oz dairy free chewy caramels
• 11.25 oz can sweetened condensed coconut milk
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DIRECTIONS
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1. Melt 2 tablespoons of the dairy free butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add 2 cups of marshmallows and stir until they are melted with no lumps.
2. Remove from heat and stir in ½ tsp of vanilla then gently fold in 3 cups of cereal until it is well-combined with the marshmallows.
3. Using wet hands, press this mixture evenly into the bottom of a 7x11 inch casserole dish and set aside.
4. Unwrap the caramels and add them along with the sweetened condensed coconut milk to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir often to avoid burning. Once this has turned to a completely smooth sauce, pour over the cereal layer.
5. Make your top cereal layer by repeating steps 1 and 2. Distribute this evenly over the caramel layer and pat down with wet hands.
6. Once the treats have cooled down, they will firm up and hold their shape when cut. Cut into squares and serve.
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NOTES
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• Potential allergens contained in this recipe may vary due to brands of ingredients used, product reformulations, etc. Please verify that all your ingredients are safe for you to consume and always be mindful of allergen cross contamination while cooking.
• Double check that the cereal you use is gluten free. At least one brand carries 2 different versions of rice cereal and only one is GF.
• Don't make both cereal layers in one large batch then divide it up. The top layer will cool and firm up before you can layer it on which will make the caramel seep out when you press it down.
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