Shipwreck Dinner

Make It Work Monday is a different type of post today. A recipe. For you to make work for your family.

This is one of those simple, quick dinners (or lunches) that is filling and not expensive. Something we really needed tonight. We went on a field trip today. We left at 10 and got home at dinner. I needed something I could get on the table in about 30 minutes. This is it.

Basic Ingredients:
1 C long grain rice, cooked according to package directions

1 C ground meat, browned (We used ground turkey.)

1/2 C chopped onion

2 carrots, sliced

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup corn

1 cup peas

2 T olive oil

salt, pepper, garlic powder – to taste

Directions: Cook the rice according to package directions. Put the onion in a skillet with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the sliced carrots. Cook for about 3 minutes more. Add the bell peppers and cook for about 5 minutes. Heat your corn and peas and then add them to the mixture. Add the browned meat. Once the rice is cooked, add it to the skillet as well. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

The beauty of this recipe is that the recipe is not set in stone. No peas or corn but you have left over mixed veggies? Or maybe just some broccoli? Perfect. Toss it in. No rice but you have some quinoa? Definitely. (This, by the way, is something I really want to do but on one else likes quinoa in the family.) No ground meat? Leave it out or throw in some of that leftover chicken. Whatever you have on hand works. If you like other flavors and spices, by all means, add them. I am pretty basic in what I like so I don’t do too much but my husband will add lots of spices.

The name is flexible as well. You can call it whatever you want. My husband calls it dirty rice. I like to call it Shipwreck Dinner. The girls go back and forth.

Whatever you put in and whatever you call it, this is a simple combination for a quick, healthy dinner that hits the table in about 30 minutes. At Home.