If you too lived off boxed meals in college, you may find a nostalgic love in this grown up Hamburger Helper-inspired real food dinner that will nourish your family. Simple ingredients and not much prep time yields a one pot ground beef cheesy skillet dish your whole family is sure to love. Try this cheesy beef and potatoes skillet dinner tonight!
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Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
4 medium potatoes (russet, yellow, or red)
1 small onion (or 1 1/5 tbsp onion powder)
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 tsp garlic powder)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
2 bay leaves, optional
8 oz shredded cheese (cheddar, Colby jack, pepper jack, or cream cheese)
1/2 cup milk or water
salt and pepper to taste
Feeds a family of 4 with leftovers sometimes.
How to make a cheesy beef and potatoes skillet
To start, grab a large skillet pan with a fitting lid and begin heating on medium-low heat on the stove. Begin to brown ground beef in the skillet.
On a cutting board, dice onion and mince garlic. Add the onion to the skillet to cook along with the beef. Once the beef is almost completely brown, add the minced garlic and allow that to cook for a minute more.
Now measure out the spices and add to the skillet. Incorporate spices well into the beef mixture. Lower stovetop temperature to low for now.
Next, wash and slice potatoes as thinly as you can with a knife. Keeping the slices as uniform in thickness as possible will allow the potatoes to soften at the same rate for a quicker cook time.
Add the sliced potatoes to the skillet along with the milk. Give the skillet a quick and careful stir then add the lid to the skillet and allow the beef and potatoes to cook down for approximately 25 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking, shred cheese if it is needed.
Once the time is up, check the potatoes to see if they are done. If not, allow more time and perhaps a touch more heat to finish softening the potatoes.
When potatoes are done, sprinkle the cheese all over the skillet then add the lid again and set a timer for 5 minutes to allow the cheese to melt on top of the beef and potatoes.
Serve generous portions on a plate with any colorful side dishes like glazed carrots, green beans, or sweet peas. Or simply enjoy this one pot skillet dinner as it is.
A note about cheeses:
Cheddar cheese is a wonderful cheese to use in this cheesy beef and potatoes skillet but pepper jack will add an extra kick that is sure to be enjoyed.
Mixing cheeses is okay to do too and it adds more flavor profiles to this savory dinner dish. Don’t be afraid to try different cheeses like parmesan or maybe even feta or blue cheese crumbles.
Shredding our own blocks of cheese is preferred in our from scratch kitchen to avoid unnecessary cellulose (or saw dust) in our food. It’s used as an anti-caking ingredient. Sometimes potato starch is used instead which is more preferable to the saw dust option but if you are looking to not add any more extra carbohydrates to your daily macros, forgo the bagged cheese and shred your own.
If you have a Kitchen Aid Standing Mixer, this shredding/grating attachment is so nice!
Other recipe notes
As you get more comfortable in your kitchen making from scratch meals, you will find you won’t often use a recipe but just what feels right.
The measurements in this recipe are a guide. Feel free to add or subtract spices to your liking.
If you desire a creamier skillet dinner, add 1 cup of milk or swap milk for heavy whipping cream.
Why one pot meals are the G.O.A.T.
If you’re a mom, one pot meals are the greatest of all time. They are simple! One pot or skillet is an entire meal.
A meat, starch, and veggie is all it really takes to create a nourishing from scratch meal that doesn’t take you, mama, a lot of time or thought.
That’s why we even have microwave dinners, Hamburger Helper, and frozen meals anyway! For the “convenience.” That convenience just so happens to come with a bunch of chemical preservatives we don’t really want.
Easy, few ingredients meals that can be made into one pot, skillet, or sheet pan will always be a win for Mom and the whole family.
Ditch the powder packets & stock the spice cabinet
One of the most powerful tools a from scratch kitchen contains is the SPICE CABINET.
So many flavor explosions happen when mixing a little of this spice and a little of that spice.
In my pantry staples list, you’ll find my favorite spices for every day cooking. I actually buy these is bulk from Azure Standard. Organic and cost-efficient which are my two main concerns when cooking homemade meals.
The herbs I grow in my own garden (easily can be done in small containers or in the kitchen window sill) and then air dry to preserve enough for the year.
More One Pot Dinner Ideas
Sausage, Kale, and Potato Soup
Ranch Potato Soup (with bacon!)
Follow for more from scratch recipes
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Cheesy Beef and Potatoes Skillet Dinner
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- To start, grab a large skillet pan with a fitting lid and begin heating on medium-low heat on the stove. Begin to brown ground beef in the skillet.
- On a cutting board, dice onion and mince garlic. Add the onion to the skillet to cook along with the beef. Once the beef is almost completely brown, add the minced garlic and allow that to cook for a minute more.
- Now measure out the spices and add to the skillet. Incorporate spices well into the beef mixture. Lower stovetop temperature to low for now.
- Next, wash and slice potatoes as thinly as you can with a knife. Keeping the slices as uniform in thickness as possible will allow the potatoes to soften at the same rate for a quicker cook time.
- Add the sliced potatoes to the skillet along with the milk. Give the skillet a quick and careful stir then add the lid to the skillet and allow the beef and potatoes to cook down for approximately 25 minutes.
- While the potatoes are cooking, shred cheese if it is needed.
- Once the time is up, check the potatoes to see if they are done. If not, allow more time and perhaps a touch more heat to finish softening the potatoes.
- When potatoes are done, sprinkle the cheese all over the skillet then add the lid again and set a timer for 5 minutes to allow the cheese to melt on top of the beef and potatoes.
- Serve generous portions on a plate with any colorful side dishes like glazed carrots, green beans, or sweet peas. Or simply enjoy this one pot skillet dinner as it is.
Notes
Feeds a family of 4 with leftovers sometimes.
More recipes at www.johnsonhomenc.com
