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Southern Plate

Recipes to feed your body and warm your heart.

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Garden Skillet Supper

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Before we make this delicious Garden Skillet Supper … If you’re on Pinterest of Facebook, I’d sure appreciate it if you could use one of the buttons above! Thanks 🙂

GARDEN TIME means Garden Skillet Supper time!! Veggies are in full swing, making this a Southerner’s favorite part of summer. Yes folks, all of the heat and humidity are finally worth it when we get to bring in buckets of big juicy tomatoes, squash, and bell peppers. My stomach growls just thinking about it! 

I only have a small garden but it still seems to yield more than I could ever use, so I love throwing together recipes like this that help me get as many of those delicious fresh flavors in one bite as possible! This is a simple go to dish, one like our grandmothers would just throw together and not even consider a recipe, but today I’m going to show you how to make a fresh, flavorful, and filling garden skillet with just enough seasonings to enhance all of the flavors without covering any of them up.

I’m also working on a garden fresh newsletter to be sent out in the next day or so, so be sure you subscribe by email if you want to get that! Click here to subscribe. 

I know I normally go into a long winded story or chat a little bit more, but look at that Garden skillet Supper up there. I’m HUNGRY so lets eat! 🙂

You’ll need: tomatoes, squash, bell pepper, onion, lean ground beef, dried parsley (or fresh) and some kosher salt. 

You’ll also need a wee bit of pepper  and a scant amount of sugar if you want to make it exactly like I do.

They refused to pose in this picture but hey, we all have our stubborn days, right? 

This is an easy recipe to alter based on what you have. Zucchini would be an excellent substitute for squash and if you only have one bell pepper or tomato that will work, too. You can also use ground turkey in place of beef but I have an aversion to ground turkey so don’t look to see me doing that here. But hey, whatever cranks your tractor! 

And yes, Kosher salt is awesome. If you have never used it much before, grab some next time you are in the grocery store. This is one of those ingredients that really does make a pow difference and won’t cost you much at all. IF you don’t have kosher salt, table salt will work as well. I don’t ever want you to have to make a special trip to the store when you can make do with what you have on hand!

Let’s get started!

To begin with, place your tomatoes on a baking sheet and put in the oven on “Broil” while you get your beef going, about five minutes or so. 

 Chop up your onion and place that in the skillet with your ground beef.

Chop the beef up really well and stir over medium heat until nicely browned.

I’m using a mix and chop thingimawhosit from Pampered Chef. I don’t sell pampered chef, I don’t have friends or family who sell it, but I will hunt one of these suckers down to the corners of the earth if I ever need to! This is an awesome tool and I think I’ve bought about eight now. I keep introducing folks to it and giving them away. I love that it can handle the heat so you can continually cook with it without having to keep taking it out and setting it aside. It chops up things really well, too and is dishwasher safe. Am I a salesman or what?But hey, when I find something that is really and truly useful I want you to know about it!

You can buy them from a Pampered Chef person or on Ebay 🙂 Amazon even has them, too (click here) !

 Now take your tomatoes out of the oven and the skin should be split.

Set them aside for a minute to cool and then carefully pull a piece of skin until it comes off. 

 Repeat until they are entirely peeled. 

Cut them into wedges and add to your skillet. 

NOTE: I’m using lean ground beef so I didn’t have to drain mine before adding the tomatoes.

If you aren’t using lean beef and have grease in your skillet at this step, drain the beef before adding tomatoes.

Chop them up with your thingiemawhosit or a wooden spoon or whatever you grab first from the drawer and continue cooking over medium heat.

Keep in mind these tomatoes are hot and have juice so there may be hot juice involved.

Add your parsley, salt, and pepper (and just a teaspoon of sugar if you really wanna bring out the sweetness of these tomatoes!)

 Continue cooking and dicing up the tomatoes for about five minutes, until they are good and juicy and make a sauce of sorts. 

While you’re doing this, chop up all of your bell peppers (throwing away the seeds) and squash. 

 Add in the rest of your veggies. 

Cook and stir until squash is lightly translucent and veggies are just tender, but not overcooked or soft. 

I know “overcooked” is kind of the Southern way to some folks but that is a holdover from the old days when we really did have to cook the mess out of something in order to make sure it was safe to eat. So when your meemaw cooks you vegetables until they cry uncle, she is just repeating what her meemaw did as a way to make sure the food was safe.

 This skillet is BURSTING with flavor!

Serve over hot cooked macaroni noodles or rice. 

Enjoy! 

And if you have time, drop me a “Hidy” in the comments below because I LOVE hearing from you!

Garden Skillet

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Ingredients

Quantities are on a sliding scale in this recipe, feel free to use whatever you have

  • 1-2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 2 large garden tomatoes
  • 1-2 yellow squash sliced
  • 1-2 bell peppers chopped
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  • Place tomatoes on foil lined baking sheet and put in over under broiler for five to eight minutes, while you get the ground beef going below...
  • In large skillet over medium high heat, place ground beef and onion. Chop and stir with wooden spoon until beef is fully browned and onion is tender and translucent, about ten minutes. If not using lean ground beef, drain grease.
  • Remove tomatoes from oven while ground beef is cooking and set aside to cool slightly. Once cooled, carefully peel skin off and slice into large wedges.
  • Add tomatoes to ground beef and onions in skillet and continue cooking over medium high heat while you stir and chop them up, being careful not to squirt hot juice on yourself.
  • Add salt, parsley, black pepper, and sugar (if using sugar). Stir well and cook for about ten minutes.
  • Add in squash and bell pepper and stir well. Cook until squash is lightly translucent and bell pepper is just tender, about ten more minutes.

Serve over hot cooked macaroni noodles or rice.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

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    Comments

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    1. Angie H in Dallas, Tx says

      Wow! I can’t believe I am the first to post! My momma made this. The only difference is, she would add one of those small cans of tomato paste to it. I remember it well. Ours was always served over rice. Funny how you forget some of the foods from your past, till you see someone else do it, then you remember how you loved it. Thanks Christy, for letting me remember my momma’s cookin again…

      reply to this comment >

      • says

        hehe! We really do need some sort of prize for the first comment one of these days!
        I was thinking the same thing this past week when trying to come up with a recipe using the garden for this week, then this dawned on me and I thought “Well duh! We had that all the time!” We always had it over macaroni but my family prefers it over rice. I know your mama is proud of you!

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    6. Betty Jordan says

      Yum – doing this for dinner – I’m convinced!!! Looks so good. I’m going to add a zucchini too. I have one of those mix/chop/stir thingys but I got mine dirt cheap at Miles Kimball.com and I love it. Mine is dishwasher safe too.

      reply to this comment >

    11. elaine raye says

      This dish reminds me of my mom and how she could make a meal for seven people out of whatever she had and it would be delicious. One of her favorite sayings was “waste not, want not” and I live by it yet today. I love cooking in the cast iron skillet as it seems so down home comforting. I have my parent’s and grandparents and I have made sure each of my sons received one. They represent little bit of family to me.

      reply to this comment >

    12. says

      This looks fantastic, Christy! I can’t wait to try it! I’ve been looking for recipes to use up the bounty from my garden. My freezer is bursting, and it’s too hot here to can. I’ve even resorted to drive-by squashing at work. (Leave your car door unlocked, and I will graciously leave a mountain of zucchini or summer squash in your passenger seat!)

      reply to this comment >

    13. Raquel says

      That looks sooooo good. I have never tried squash. I just wasn’t something my grandma would buy growing up and I haven’t either. Maybe I will be brave and try it.

      And I added the chopper thingy to my wish list

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    16. BethSherrill says

      Who knew, I am a southern cook! LOL, I thought my zuchinni/tomato, pepper, hamburger was just a healthy, lazy day meal, and I thought mine was a unique dish! Who knew people elsewhere love veges as much as I do!

      Sherry Lee,

      When I was 13 I blew up my mom’s stove in a pressure cooker accident. We cooked the next 6 months on a one ring hot plate, a crock pot and an electric skillet. All of these appliances can be purchased at the second hand stores usually for less than 5 bucks. The backyard bar b que can also do an amazing range of cooking if your just carry your pans out to it. After all, people cooked over an open fire for centuries. If you google solar oven, you can actually bake cookies and bread, in a cardboard box with a sheet of plastic, if you use a little paint and energy. Good Luck.

      reply to this comment >

      • Sherry Lee says

        LOL!! I have done the pressure cooker beans on the ceiling years ago… thanks for the suggestions but would solar oven and grill would be impossible for me. thanks for the suggestions tho’

        reply to this comment >

    19. Mic M says

      Oh my gosh! I grew up eating this, midwestern girl, every summer! I love it and have nick named it “gucca-tash”. Our variation is to stir in macaroni and cheese sometimes! So yummy! Now my 4 year old loves it too! Thanks Christy 🙂

      reply to this comment >

    20. MARY ANN CHAMBERS says

      Oh my, this looks sooooooooooo good—thank you Christy!!! Love your comment about the”ground turkey”—I have tried, but just don’t care for it
      unless I mix it 1/2&1/2 with lean beef in meat loaf and meat balls. I think when you have been cooking for such a long time, color and texture are
      improtant along with great taste!!!

      reply to this comment >

    23. Jerrilee Robinson says

      Definitely gonna try this tomorrow (already have plans for tonight). The ground beef and tomatoes part is very similar to a dish I make that also has macaroni in it. But never thought about adding the veggies!! I have plenty of yellow and zucchini squash, and an orange pepper in the fridge so that’s what I will use. And then serve it over rice. Man, my mouth is starting to water just thinking about it!!!! Love your recipes Christy!!

      reply to this comment >

    24. Betty S says

      Hidy! Many Generations of our Southern Family have oohed and ahhhed over this purty and yummy dish! JUST found under my carport three more Christy cookbooks from Amazon!! Don’t you love how speedy they are!! My sweet niece told me she can’t cook and she’s 39!! I know better…she just hasn’t met my Christy!! So I’m fixin’ her up this very afternoon, Good Lord willin’ n the creek don’t rise! She is a great candy maker and a super fruit-cutter-upper but I’ve have had her food many times and the gal can cook!! I think meats is a little issue for her but my Christy n a crock pot with a few spices will cure whatsa ailin’ ‘er n her boys n DH will think she’s the best cook ever!! And she she doesn’t feel all left out her sissy gets one, too n of course, can’t leave out the best SIL in the world outta this so their mom gets one, also!! Don’t you just love family!!! Got my youngins already Christyed up last Christmas!! Love y’all!

      reply to this comment >

    25. Mary Jo says

      We do something similar with zucchini adding a little basil to it. We belong to a CSA group and get veggies once a week. Have been getting a lot of yellow squash so am going to give this a try. Looks wonderful.

      reply to this comment >

    26. Chuck Allison says

      I’ve been making something similar for a long time but I never thought about putting tomatoes in it. Have used broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and even sweet potato chunks in it very successfully. I am a curry powder junkie so I always season with curry and turmeric. as well as garlic once in a while. Curry is not only tasty but also healthy as well. So next trip to store will be for tomatoes.
      This is my first day with your letter, so I am impressed. Thanks.

      reply to this comment >

    30. Kathy says

      This does look just like something my Nana made growing up. She always had a huge garden & would throw in more and more things as they got ripe. Also, on the pressure cooker, my best friend’s mom always had a huge garden. One summer we were about 12, she put on one of those really large pressure cookers to can a batch of tomatoes. And she had just had her entire kitchen repainted white. Well we all went out to the garden to pick more veggies of course you know, all of a sudden kaboom!!! There wasn’t one part of that kitchen that wasn’t red with tomatoes. But she sat down in the middle and went into giggle fits, she said it wasn’t worth crying over! Just get out the white paint and start again. Can’t wait to try this recipe at home.

      reply to this comment >

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