2026 winter pastimes
My favorite dish that I cooked this week was an Italian Beef and Rice Skillet. I ended up replacing the rice in the recipe with some whole wheat pasta we had in the cupboard. Zach devoured it, exclaiming, "Wow, baby! This is delicious!" I loved it because it maximized flavor with ease. I finished cooking it within 30 minutes.
**Italian Beef and Rice Skillet Recipe*** Ingredients:
1/2 onion, diced
1 lb. ground beef
15 oz diced tomatoes, canned
1 1/2 cups mixed veggies, peas and carrots
3/4 cup white rice (can be replaced with 1 cup of pasta)
2 cups beef broth
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
Steps:
Brown the ground beef and onion in a large skillet until no longer pink, drain any excess fat.
Return skillet to stove top and add in the tomatoes, mixed veggies, rice, beef broth, oregano, garlic salt, basil and pepper. Stir until combined and bring to a light boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let cook until rice is tender (about 17 minutes).
Fluff rice with fork and top with the mozzarella cheese. Cover with the lid for about 3 minutes to let cheese melt. Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Enjoy!
Separately, I've been forcing myself to go on walks during the recent cold snap. Here's a photo from a walk I took at lunch this week.
