Beef and Poblano Rice One-Pot Dinner

Wait til you try this simple, delicious, whole-family-loves-it dinner recipe - you’re going to thank me! Ha! I discovered this 30-minute treasure while “trying out” a dinner-in-a-box service that was the best one I’ve tried yet. (But I just find I can’t continue those services due to my incessant need to re-invent every recipe I try!)

So here is the Coach Bess - re-invented version of this one-pot dinner that the whole family loves!

How to Make Beef and Poblano Rice

Ingredients

2 poblano peppers
1 lb lean ground beef (90/10 and grass fed, preferably)
1 1/2 cups basmati rice (can use brown basmati - will just be a different texture)
2 1/2 cups water (or beef broth if you want more flavor)
1 Tbsp seasoning (I used hamburger seasoning mix that has chili powder, garlic and onion powder in it)
1/3 cup sour cream
2-3 green onions, diced finely
olive or avocado oil
kosher salt, black pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and make sure the rack is centered in the oven. Have a large dutch oven or cast iron pan ready to use, because you will first prepare this dish on stove top, then put the pan directly into the oven to finish it.

Halve the poblanos, remove seeds and ribs, and dice into 1/2 inch squares or so. Heat 2 Tbsp avocado or olive oil over medium-high heat in the pan. Add in the poblano pieces, and let them saute, stirring only a couple times, for about 5 minutes or until tender.

Add in the ground beef and cook for 5 minutes or so, or until fully browned. Scrape to the side of the pan.

Add the dry rice and the Tbsp spice, and “toast” it over the heat for about 2 minutes, only stirring once or twice. Stir together with the ground beef and peppers mixture and toast for another minute.

Stir in the water or broth, and bring the entire mixture to a quick boil over high heat. Once boiling, carefully remove from stove top heat and place entire pan of mixture into the pre-heated oven. Place lid on it, and bake for about 17 minutes, or until all the water or broth is absorbed.

While the rice dish is baking, stir together a couple tablespoons of water with the sour cream, making it slightly runny for easy drizzling. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the rice is done, remove from oven and serve within minutes and after fluffing the rice with a fork. Drizzle the sour cream and sprinkle the green onions over it. Mmmmm!

BONUS TIP: for added nutritional goodness, slice up a fresh avocado, salt them, and serve alongside or over dish.

What do YOU think?

Easy enough to try out? I personally love the easy cleanup and simple process of this one-pot recipe!

Healthy One Pot Stroganoff

Growing up in sweet corn farm country in the Midwest, you know comfort food dinners were a regular event in my childhood farmhouse kitchen. These days, even though my family and I live in the desert southwest, they are still a favorite way to show my love through my cooking to my family. And...

...One pot dinners made healthy? Even better!

When I found this could-be Healthy One Pot Stroganoff recipe, I just knew I had to re-make it, FRESH Start-style! (Whole foods, lean meat, healthier "sauce") It is getting easier to do that these days - after a few years of "cleaning up" favorite recipes to be healthier you just get quicker at making ingredient switches and change-ups.

So here is my Healthy One Pot Stroganoff recipe - betcha won't even miss the other stuff once you've tried it! 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced (we use Baby Bella)
• 1/2 sweet onion, diced
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 lb thin sliced steak (we use sirloin or another lean choice)
• 2 tsp paprika
• 4 cups beef broth (low-sodium)
• 8 oz whole wheat or gluten-free egg noodles
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt, plain (or sour cream)
• fresh parsley for garnish
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large pot or deep pan, heat stove to medium-high and drizzle olive oil in bottom of pan. 
2. Once oil is heated, add steak slices to pan for about 2 minutes. 
3. After the steak has browned on one side, turn them over. (Should only be about 2 minutes tops!) Add mushrooms and onions into pan with the steak slices, and cook until mushrooms brown and onions are translucent. 
4. Stir in paprika, beef stock and noodles and bring pan to boil. Then cover pan, bring heat down to medium and simmer for 12-15 minutes (for al dente noodles, may be less time.)
5. Lower the heat to warm and stir in greek yogurt or sour cream, then turn off heat and let pan sit for a few minutes, covered.
6. Sprinkle parsley over dish and serve.

Too easy, right? Comfort food for dinner in under 30 minutes, prepared in only One Pot, and with so much nutrition in it, too! What is your favorite one-pot comfort food dinner? We'd love to hear your FRESH idea in the comments below!