Cheesy Sweet Potato, Zucchini, And Ground Beef Skillet

It's quite cool again in southern Iowa. We've been going back and forth between sunny and beautiful to cold and dreary - no wonder everyone is home sick! Welcome to February in the Midwest, I suppose.

But one of the good things about chilly weather is getting to have all the comfort foods you want. This week I tried a new skillet bake that layered up sweet potatoes, ground beef, zucchini, and melted cheese. It doesn't get any more comfortable than that.

I also love the presentation on this skillet. It's beautiful colors - orange, green, and gold - and the layers just meld together so well. And again ... melted cheese. The pull scooping it out of the skillet is absolutely everything.

While serving it like this in a skillet is divine, you could also use an 8-inch square baking dish or a pie pan. I used the same skillet I browned the ground beef in, so that just made it even yummier.

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato, cut into thin slices
1 medium zucchini, cut into slices
1 15oz can tomato sauce
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp cumin
2 cups shredded cheese (I used Queso Chihuahua)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Toss the sweet potato slices with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet and roast 16-18 minutes, until tender.

3. While the potatoes are roasting, brown the ground beef in the skillet you're going to bake the meal in. I used a whisky burger seasoning, but you can use whatever seasoning you love.

4. Stir in just enough tomato sauce to hold the ground beef together, not let it get watery, and add the garlic powder and cumin. Simmer 3-4 minutes.

5. Remove the beef mixture from the skillet and lightly spray it with nonstick spray if there is not enough grease to keep the ingredients from sticking.

6. Layer the roasted sweet potatoes on the bottom of the skillet, then spread the beef mixture on top. Arrange the zucchini slices as they fit best, overlapping if necessary, and pour just enough tomato sauce over the whole skillet to cover the layers. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the top.

7. Bake the skillet at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, until the cheese is slightly browned and bubbling. Serve immediately.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit...
Read more