Tag: #SimplePracticalMeals

Posted in Rice Bowls

Harvest Vegetable Fried Rice

Posted on by simplegoodfood

Saturday is a good day to look around the refrigerator and ask one very important question:

What needs to be used?

Maybe there’s a little roasted squash left from Thursday’s Autumn Harvest Rice Bowl. Maybe you’ve got some carrots, zucchini, corn, peppers, or onions hanging around from earlier in the week.

And maybe there’s some cooked rice waiting in the refrigerator.

That’s dinner.

This Harvest Vegetable Fried Rice is designed for exactly those moments. It doesn’t require a specific collection of vegetables. It simply gives all those little leftovers somewhere to go.

The result is a quick, colorful skillet meal that’s inexpensive, filling, and a whole lot better than throwing good food away.

It’s Waste Not, Want Not in a bowl—or, in this case, a skillet. 🍚🌾

simplegoodfood's avatarsimplegoodfood

Harvest Vegetable Fried Rice

Give leftover vegetables and cooked rice a delicious second life with this easy one-skillet fried rice.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
Calories: 315
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups cold cooked rice
  • 2 cups mixed leftover vegetables chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 small onion diced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 green onions sliced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley optional
Good vegetables to use:
  • Roasted carrots
  • Corn
  • Zucchini
  • Peppers
  • Green beans
  • Peas
  • Mushrooms
  • Roasted squash or sweet potatoes
  • Cooked broccoli

Method
 

Prepare the rice.
  1. Break up any clumps in the cold cooked rice with your fingers or a fork. Cold rice works particularly well because it is less likely to become mushy in the skillet.
Cook the eggs.
  1. Heat a large skillet or electric skillet over medium heat. Add about half of the olive oil. Beat the eggs lightly, add them to the skillet, and gently scramble until just cooked. Transfer them to a plate.
Sauté the onion.
  1. Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet. Add the diced onion and cook for 2–3 minutes, until softened.
Add the vegetables.
  1. Stir in the leftover vegetables and cook for 2–4 minutes, depending on how firm they are. Since most of the vegetables are already cooked, you’re simply heating and lightly browning them.
Add the rice.
  1. Add the cold rice to the skillet. Stir and toss everything together. Cook for about 4–5 minutes, allowing the rice to heat through and pick up a little color.
Season.
  1. Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic powder, and black pepper.
Return the eggs.
  1. Add the cooked eggs back to the skillet and gently stir them into the rice and vegetables.
Finish.
  1. Sprinkle with sliced green onions and fresh parsley, if using. Taste and add a little more soy sauce if needed.

Notes

🌾 The Beauty of Leftovers
This recipe doesn’t have a “correct” vegetable list.
That’s intentional.
If you have a cup of leftover roasted vegetables and half a cup of something else, use them.
If your vegetables are already seasoned, that’s fine.
If they’re a little soft, that’s okay, too. Fried rice is an excellent place for vegetables that aren’t quite at their fresh-from-the-garden best anymore.
The goal is to use them while they’re still good, not wait until they’re perfect.

🥢 Make It Your Own

Want more protein?

Add:

  • Leftover cooked chicken
  • Cooked ground beef
  • Cooked pork
  • Shrimp

Want more vegetables?

Add frozen peas, corn, or carrots straight from the freezer.

Want to keep it meatless?

The eggs provide protein and make this a satisfying meatless meal.

For a little extra flavor, add fresh ginger or a small amount of minced garlic if you have it.

🏕️ Campground Kitchen Tip

This is an especially good recipe for an electric skillet because you have plenty of surface area for the rice to brown without having to juggle several pans.

It’s also a great campground meal because it turns leftovers into something that feels completely different.

Nobody needs to know that Thursday’s roasted vegetables are making a return appearance. 😉

🧊 Meal Prep Tip

If you’re intentionally making fried rice for leftovers, cool the finished rice promptly and refrigerate it in a shallow container.

When reheating, heat the portion thoroughly until steaming hot.

And remember that cooked rice should be handled just like other perishable cooked foods—don’t leave it sitting at room temperature for hours.

Posted in Soups & Stews

End-of-Market Vegetable Soup

Posted on by simplegoodfood

You know that feeling when you come home from the farmers market with a little bit of everything?

A few tomatoes.

Some carrots.

An onion.

Maybe green beans, zucchini, corn, or peppers.

Everything looked so good at the market that you couldn’t resist—and now you have to figure out what to do with it all.

That’s where End-of-Market Vegetable Soup comes in.

There isn’t one perfect vegetable combination for this soup. In fact, the whole idea is that you use what you have.

It’s a practical, flexible soup for the end of the week, when the refrigerator contains a collection of odds and ends that are all still perfectly good but don’t necessarily make a complete meal on their own.

Put them in a pot.

Add some broth and tomatoes.

Season it simply.

And suddenly those little bits and pieces become dinner.

That’s Waste Not, Want Not in action.

simplegoodfood's avatarsimplegoodfood

End-of-Market Vegetable Soup

A flexible, no-waste vegetable soup designed for all those little bits of produce left after market day.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Soup
Cuisine: American
Calories: 180
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 2 carrots sliced
  • 2 celery stalks sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 cups mixed vegetables cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 can 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes, with juices
  • 4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley optional
Use whatever you have. Good choices include:
  • Zucchini
  • Green beans
  • Corn
  • Peas
  • Bell peppers
  • Cabbage
  • Mushrooms
  • Spinach
  • Potatoes
  • Roasted vegetables left from another meal

Method
 

Start with the aromatics.
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften.
Add the garlic.
  1. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
  2. Add the vegetables.
  3. Add your remaining vegetables to the pot. If you’re using potatoes or other firm vegetables, add those first. More delicate vegetables such as zucchini, spinach, or already-roasted vegetables can be added later.
Add tomatoes and broth.
  1. Pour in the diced tomatoes and broth. Stir in the Italian seasoning, parsley, black pepper, and salt.
Simmer.
  1. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20–25 minutes, or until the firmest vegetables are tender.
Add delicate vegetables.
  1. If you’re using spinach, leftover roasted vegetables, or other already-cooked vegetables, stir them in during the last 5 minutes.
Taste and adjust.
  1. Taste the broth and add additional salt or seasoning if needed.
Serve.
  1. Ladle into bowls and finish with fresh parsley.

Notes

🌾 The End-of-Market Rule
There are really only three rules for this soup:
Use what you have.
Use what needs to be used first.
Don’t overthink it.
If the zucchini needs to be used today but the carrots will be perfectly happy for another week, the zucchini goes into the soup.
If you have leftover roasted vegetables from earlier in the week, they can go in, too.
If you have a lonely tomato sitting on the counter, dice it up and add it.
This is not a recipe where someone needs to run to the grocery store because they are missing one particular vegetable.
The refrigerator is the ingredient list.

🥔 Make It Heartier

Want to turn this vegetable soup into more of a complete meal?

Add one of these:

  • 1 cup cooked rice
  • 1 cup cooked pasta
  • 1 cup cooked barley
  • 1 cup diced cooked potatoes
  • 1 cup cooked beans
  • 1 cup shredded cooked chicken
  • 1/2 pound cooked ground beef

If adding cooked ingredients, stir them in during the final few minutes just long enough to heat them through.

🧊 Freeze the Extras

This soup is a great candidate for freezing.

If you’re cooking for one or two, portion the cooled soup into individual freezer containers rather than freezing the entire batch together.

Label each container with the name and date.

Then future-you has a homemade lunch or light dinner waiting in the freezer.

That’s one of my favorite forms of food preservation because the preservation and the meal happen at the same time.

🏕️ Campground Version

You can make this soup almost anywhere you have a pot and a heat source.

An electric skillet with a deep lid, Dutch oven, or large saucepan will all work.

And because the vegetables are flexible, this is particularly handy when you’re cooking with limited refrigerator space.

Instead of trying to keep every little leftover ingredient until it becomes a complete meal, turn several small leftovers into one pot of soup.

Less storage.

Less waste.

More dinner.

🫙 Pantry Builder Connection

This soup also shows why a practical pantry doesn’t need to contain dozens of specialty ingredients.

If you have:

  • Canned tomatoes
  • Broth
  • Rice or another grain
  • A few basic seasonings

you already have the foundation for turning a refrigerator full of vegetables into a meal.

That’s the idea behind Pantry Builder this month.

We’re not trying to create a perfect emergency pantry.

We’re building a collection of useful ingredients that help us make good meals from whatever happens to be available.

Posted in Kitchen Tips

Smart Shopper Spotlight: What’s Worth Buying in September?

Posted on by simplegoodfood

September is an interesting month at the grocery store.

Summer isn’t quite finished, but fall is beginning to make an appearance. Farmers markets are still bringing in the last big crops of summer, while apples and winter squash are starting to take their place.

For a budget-conscious shopper, that’s good news.

When produce is plentiful, you have more opportunities to find a good price—and when you find a genuinely good price on something your household will use, that’s when it’s worth thinking about buying a little extra.

Not everything has to go home with you.

The trick is knowing what is likely to be plentiful, checking the price, and having a plan for what you’ll do with it.

That’s the heart of smart seasonal shopping.

🍎 Apples

September is prime apple season in many parts of the country, and the variety can be wonderful.

This is a good time to compare prices between grocery stores, farmers markets, orchards, and roadside stands.

Don’t automatically assume the farmers market is cheaper—or that the grocery store is cheaper.

Compare.

If apples are a good price, they’re one of those fruits that can earn their keep in several ways.

Eat them fresh.

Bake with them.

Add them to oatmeal.

Make applesauce.

Or simply buy enough for the week instead of purchasing fruit that will sit forgotten in the refrigerator.

And remember that an apple doesn’t have to be perfectly shaped to be useful.

🎃 Winter Squash and Sweet Potatoes

The arrival of autumn means vegetables such as butternut, acorn, and other winter squash begin appearing more frequently.

Sweet potatoes are another useful fall staple.

These vegetables are particularly handy because they’re versatile and can become part of several different meals.

Roast them.

Add them to rice bowls.

Turn them into soup.

Mash them.

Stuff them.

Or roast a larger batch and use the leftovers throughout the week.

That’s the kind of ingredient I like to see in a grocery cart:

One purchase. Multiple meals.

🍅 Late Tomatoes

September can still bring plenty of tomatoes, depending on where you live.

If you find a good price on ripe tomatoes, have a plan before you buy a large quantity.

Tomatoes are wonderful for eating fresh, but they don’t have an unlimited refrigerator life.

Use them for sandwiches, salads, pasta, salsa, soups, or skillet meals.

And if you know you’re not going to use them quickly, consider freezing them for cooked dishes rather than watching them become a science experiment in the back of the refrigerator.

🫛 Green Beans

Green beans can still be plentiful as summer winds down.

They’re an especially useful vegetable for small households because you don’t need a giant quantity to make a meal.

Roast them.

Steam them.

Sauté them.

Add them to soup.

Or combine them with other vegetables in a skillet.

If the price is right, fresh green beans can also be a good candidate for freezing.

The important thing is to buy the amount you can realistically use or preserve.

A bargain isn’t a bargain if half of it ends up in the trash.

🌶️ Peppers

Peppers are another vegetable worth watching in September.

Bell peppers can be used in everything from breakfast eggs to rice bowls, soups, pasta dishes, fajitas, and casseroles.

And peppers are particularly useful for putting a little back.

If you find them at a good price, you can clean and cut them into meal-sized portions and freeze them for cooked dishes.

No fancy equipment required.

That’s a pretty good return on a few minutes of prep.

🌽 Sweet Corn

Depending on your region, September may be the tail end of the fresh corn season.

If the corn looks good and the price is right, enjoy it while it’s available.

But this is also a good time to ask yourself whether buying a large quantity makes sense.

If you’re not feeding a crowd, a dozen ears of corn may be more enthusiasm than your refrigerator can handle.

Buy what you’ll eat—or have a preservation plan before you put it in the cart.

That’s the difference between buying in season and simply buying too much.

🛒 The Smart Shopper Question

Before buying a large quantity of anything, ask yourself three questions:

1. Is it actually a good price?

Don’t assume.

Know roughly what you normally pay, and compare the unit price when possible.

A large package isn’t automatically cheaper.

A farmers market isn’t automatically cheaper.

A sale sign isn’t automatically a bargain.

The number on the shelf is what matters.

2. Will I actually use it?

This may be the most important question.

If you don’t normally eat five pounds of zucchini, a five-pound bargain isn’t necessarily a bargain.

Buy more of the foods your household already uses.

3. What will I do with the extra?

Have a plan before you buy.

Will you:

  • Eat it this week?
  • Freeze it?
  • Dehydrate it?
  • Can it using a tested recipe?
  • Cook it into another meal?
  • Share some with family or a neighbor?

If the answer is simply “I’ll figure something out,” that’s usually a good reason to buy less.

🧺 Buying by the Case vs. Buying by the Pound

Bulk buying can save money—but only when the math and the quantity both work in your favor.

Buying a case of produce may give you a lower per-pound price, but that doesn’t automatically make it the better choice for a household of one or two.

Consider the usable cost, not just the sticker price.

If a case costs $20 and contains 20 pounds, that’s $1 per pound.

Sounds great.

But if you only use 10 pounds before the rest spoils, you’ve effectively paid $2 per usable pound—and you’ve spent money on food you didn’t get to eat.

On the other hand, if you have a plan to freeze, dehydrate, can safely, cook, or share the extra, that case might be an excellent purchase.

Bulk buying works best when you already have a plan for the bulk.

🌾 A Little Extra Can Go a Long Way

This is really what our September theme, Harvest & Putting Things Back, is about.

You don’t need to buy a pantry full of food.

You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars preserving the harvest.

And you certainly don’t need to buy something simply because it is on sale.

Instead, watch for the foods you already use.

When they’re plentiful and the price is genuinely good, buy a little extra.

Then decide what “putting it back” looks like for you.

Maybe it’s a bag of frozen peppers.

Maybe it’s dehydrated carrots and celery.

Maybe it’s a few jars of properly canned food made using a tested recipe.

Maybe it’s simply an extra container of soup in the freezer.

The method can change.

The principle doesn’t.

♻️ Waste Not, Want Not: Freeze Those Herbs

Fresh herbs have a frustrating habit of going from “I have plenty!” to “What on earth happened to these?” in what feels like about three days.

If you have fresh herbs that you aren’t going to use, freeze them rather than throwing them away.

For herbs you’re planning to use in cooked dishes, a simple method is to chop them, place them in an ice-cube tray, cover them with a little water or olive oil, and freeze.

Once frozen, transfer the portions to a labeled freezer bag or container.

They won’t have the same texture as fresh herbs after freezing, so they’re best used in soups, sauces, skillet meals, and other cooked dishes.

It’s a tiny preservation project—but that’s exactly the point.

Putting a little back doesn’t have to be a big production.

🫙 Pantry Builder: Start One Shelf

This week, take a look at one pantry shelf.

Not the whole pantry.

Just one shelf.

Ask yourself:

What do I use regularly that would make life easier if I already had some waiting for me?

Maybe that’s rice.

Maybe it’s canned tomatoes.

Maybe it’s dried beans.

Maybe it’s broth.

Maybe it’s properly preserved meat or vegetables.

Choose one thing.

Add it.

Then move on with your life.

Next week, you can add something else.

That’s how a practical pantry grows—quietly, steadily, and without turning grocery shopping into a military operation.

🌾 Shop the Season. Buy What You’ll Use. Put a Little Back.

September gives us a wonderful opportunity to practice a very old-fashioned idea in a modern way.

Pay attention to what’s plentiful.

Watch the prices.

Buy what you can use.

Preserve what makes sense.

And don’t confuse more with better.

The smartest pantry isn’t necessarily the fullest one.

It’s the one that contains food you actually eat, ingredients you know how to use, and a few things waiting patiently for the days when you need them.

That’s putting a little back.

And that’s a pretty good way to head into autumn. 🌾

Posted in Miscellaneous (Unsorted), Rice Bowls

Autumn Harvest Rice Bowl

Posted on by simplegoodfood

By September, the vegetables on the table begin to change.

The bright summer zucchini and corn are still around, but now we’re starting to see winter squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables that seem to belong to the cooler months.

This Autumn Harvest Rice Bowl brings those flavors together in one simple meal.

Roasted vegetables are the stars here. Rice gives them a hearty base, while beef or chicken adds protein and makes the bowl satisfying enough for dinner. A simple sauce brings everything together without overpowering the vegetables.

And just like our other Build-A-Bowl recipes, you can change the personality of the meal simply by changing the seasoning and sauce.

It’s a great way to start letting your cooking move from summer toward fall—one bowl at a time. 🍂

🥣 Build Your Bowl

Base:
Cooked brown or white rice

Protein:
Cooked lean ground beef, sliced steak, or chopped chicken

Vegetables:
Roasted winter squash or sweet potatoes, carrots, and onions

Sauce:
Choose one of the Flavor Builder combinations below

Fresh Finish:
Chopped fresh parsley or green onions

Optional Toppings:
Toasted pumpkin seeds, crumbled feta, Parmesan, or sliced almonds

Make It Your Own:
Use whatever autumn vegetables are available and affordable. Butternut squash, acorn squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, and even leftover roasted vegetables can all find a home here.

simplegoodfood's avatarsimplegoodfood

Autumn Harvest Rice Bowl

Roasted squash or sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, rice, and tender beef or chicken come together in this cozy fall-inspired Build-A-Bowl.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 390
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Bowls
  • 2 cups cooked rice
  • 2 cups cooked lean beef or chicken chopped or shredded
  • 2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash or sweet potato
  • 1 cup carrots sliced
  • 1 medium onion cut into wedges
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or green onions
Choose Your Flavor Builder
🌿 Herb Garden
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
🌶️ Southwest
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
🥢 Asian-Inspired
  • 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
🧄 Garlic Butter
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan

Method
 

Prepare the vegetables.
  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cut the squash or sweet potato into small, evenly sized cubes. Slice the carrots and cut the onion into wedges.
Season.
  1. Place the vegetables on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder, thyme, salt, and pepper. Toss until evenly coated.
Roast.
  1. Roast for 25–30 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned around the edges.
Warm the protein.
  1. While the vegetables roast, warm the cooked beef or chicken in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add a splash of water or broth if needed to keep it moist.
Prepare the Flavor Builder.
  1. Whisk together the ingredients for your chosen sauce.
Build the bowls.
  1. Divide the cooked rice among four bowls. Add the warm protein and roasted vegetables.
Finish.
  1. Drizzle each bowl with your chosen sauce and sprinkle with fresh parsley or green onions. Add your favorite optional topping.

Notes

🎨 Flavor Builder
This is where one basic bowl can head in four completely different directions.
🌿 Herb Garden
Thyme and parsley make the roasted vegetables taste like they came straight from an autumn kitchen garden.
🌶️ Southwest
A little cumin, chili powder, and lime give the sweet vegetables a savory Southwestern twist.
🥢 Asian-Inspired
Soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, and a tiny bit of sesame oil make an especially nice contrast with roasted squash or sweet potatoes.
🧄 Garlic Butter
Rich and comforting, with Parmesan adding a little savory depth.
And if you aren’t a fan of highly spiced food, the Herb Garden or Garlic Butter versions are especially gentle.

🧺 A Good Use for Leftovers

This recipe is practically designed for leftovers.

Roasting vegetables takes a little time, so roast extra while you’re already doing it.

The next day, those vegetables can become:

  • A quick rice bowl
  • A filling for a wrap
  • A topping for a baked potato
  • An addition to scrambled eggs
  • A simple soup ingredient

That’s one of the easiest ways to put a little back without actually putting anything in a jar.

You’re simply making tonight’s cooking do some of tomorrow’s work.

🫙 Pantry Builder Connection

A well-stocked pantry isn’t just canned goods.

Rice is a pantry staple.

Frozen chicken or beef can become the protein.

Frozen vegetables can stand in for fresh.

And a few basic seasonings can completely change the flavor of the same ingredients.

The more of those building blocks you keep available, the easier it becomes to make a meal without starting from scratch.

Posted in Kitchen Tips

Pressure-Canning Ground Beef

Posted on by simplegoodfood

There is a particular kind of satisfaction that comes from finding a really good price on something you know you’ll use.

Maybe the grocery store has ground beef on sale.

Maybe your warehouse club has a bulk package at a price that’s hard to pass up.

Maybe you simply want to make fewer trips to the grocery store during the busy months ahead.

The Pennsylvania Dutch girl in me immediately thinks:

How can I make this bargain work a little harder?

One option is to cook some for dinner, freeze some for later, and—if you have the right equipment and follow a tested process—pressure-can some for your pantry.

That’s what putting a little back is all about.

It isn’t about stockpiling.

It’s about making a good purchase today give you more options tomorrow.

🫙 Why Pressure-Can Ground Beef?

Ground beef is particularly useful to have on hand because it can become so many different meals.

A jar of properly pressure-canned ground beef can be turned into:

  • Tacos
  • Sloppy joes
  • Chili
  • Pasta sauce
  • Shepherd’s pie
  • Rice bowls
  • Casseroles
  • Soup
  • Skillet meals

Instead of starting with raw meat, you’ve already got one of the main building blocks of dinner ready to go.

That’s a pretty nice thing to find on the pantry shelf on a night when you don’t feel like cooking from scratch.

🌾 The Ten-Pound Sale

Imagine your favorite store has ground beef at an unusually good price.

Instead of thinking only about tonight’s dinner, you might buy a larger quantity and divide it among several uses.

For example:

Some for this week.
Brown it for tacos, burgers, or a skillet meal.

Some for the freezer.
Portion it into meal-sized packages for future recipes.

Some for the pantry.
If you have a pressure canner and want to preserve it, follow the tested ground-meat canning process.

That’s a completely different mindset from buying food simply because it’s on sale.

You’re asking:

“What can I do with this good price that will make my future meals easier?”

⚠️ Why Ground Beef Must Be Pressure Canned

This is the part we don’t want to skip.

Meat is a low-acid food. Low-acid foods require pressure canning because the temperatures needed for safe processing cannot be reached in a boiling-water canner. USDA guidance identifies pressure canning as the appropriate method for meat and other low-acid foods.

The concern isn’t simply whether the meat “looks cooked.”

The concern is Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium whose spores can survive ordinary cooking temperatures. In an improperly canned low-acid food, the conditions inside a sealed jar can allow the organism to produce a dangerous toxin.

That’s why home canning isn’t the place for shortcuts.

Pressure canning uses controlled temperature, pressure, and processing time to make low-acid foods safe when the tested instructions are followed correctly.

And there’s an important distinction:

A pressure cooker is not automatically a pressure canner.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation does not recommend using small pressure cookers or pressure saucepans for USDA home-canning processes. A pressure canner needs to meet the appropriate equipment requirements and allow the recommended venting and pressure-control procedures.

🥩 What the Tested Ground-Beef Process Looks Like

The National Center for Home Food Preservation provides a tested process for ground or chopped meat, including beef.

The basic method begins with fresh, chilled meat.

Ground beef is cooked until lightly browned, then excess fat is removed. The meat is packed into jars and covered with boiling meat broth, tomato juice, or water, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Salt is optional.

From there, the filled jars are processed in a pressure canner according to the tested time and pressure for the jar size, canner gauge, and elevation.

For the NCHFP ground-meat process, the processing time is:

  • Pints: 75 minutes
  • Quarts: 90 minutes

The required pressure depends on whether you’re using a dial-gauge or weighted-gauge canner and, for dial gauges, your elevation.

That’s why we’re not giving you a single “set it to X pounds” instruction here.

Your elevation and your type of pressure canner matter.

Before you can anything, check the current tested instructions from the National Center for Home Food Preservation and your pressure canner manufacturer’s directions.

National Center for Home Food Preservation — Ground or Chopped Meat

🧺 What You Shouldn’t Do

When it comes to home canning, improvisation can be dangerous.

Don’t:

  • Water-bath can ground beef.
  • Use a pressure cooker that isn’t an approved pressure canner.
  • Guess at processing time.
  • Guess at pressure.
  • Reduce processing time because you have smaller jars.
  • Add ingredients that aren’t part of the tested process.
  • Thicken the meat with flour or other ingredients before canning.
  • Assume that because another recipe is canned, you can safely combine the two recipes.

USDA guidance specifically warns against adding ingredients such as flour, cream, milk, rice, or pasta to tested meat-and-vegetable canning processes unless the tested recipe calls for them.

Canning is one of those rare places where following the recipe exactly is actually part of the recipe.

🫙 Pantry Builder: One Jar at a Time

This is also where our new Pantry Builder idea comes in.

You don’t need to pressure-can ten pounds of beef every time you find a sale.

You don’t even have to pressure-can at all.

The goal is simply to begin thinking differently about food that is plentiful.

Maybe this week you put a few jars of properly canned ground beef on the shelf.

Next week, maybe you freeze some peppers and onions.

Another week, you might dehydrate carrots and celery.

Little by little, you’re creating a pantry that supports the way you actually cook.

And that’s much more useful than a pantry full of ingredients you bought because someone told you that you were supposed to have them.

🌾 Safety First, Always

If you’re new to pressure canning, take the time to learn how your equipment works before you start.

Read the manufacturer’s instructions for your pressure canner.

Use current, tested recipes from reliable sources such as the USDA and National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Make sure your pressure canner is in good working order. NCHFP recommends checking gauges and keeping vents and other safety components clean and unobstructed. Pressure canners must also be properly vented before processing pressure is established.

And if you ever find yourself thinking:

“I think this should be safe…”

That’s your signal to stop and check the tested guidance.

There is no prize for being adventurous with food safety.

❤️ Put a Little Back

The beautiful thing about preserving food is that it isn’t really about the jars.

It’s about options.

A jar of ground beef sitting on the pantry shelf represents a future meal that doesn’t require a trip to the store.

A freezer container represents a night when dinner is already halfway done.

A bag of dehydrated vegetables represents food that might otherwise have gone to waste.

This is what putting a little back can look like today.

Not fear.

Not excess.

Just good food, purchased thoughtfully and cared for so that today’s abundance can help feed us tomorrow.

Buy well. Use what you have. Preserve safely. And put a little back. 🌾🫙

Posted in Rice Bowls

Harvest Chicken Rice Bowl

Posted on by simplegoodfood

There is something wonderfully satisfying about a bowl built from simple ingredients.

A little rice. Some roasted vegetables. Tender chicken. A flavorful sauce. Maybe a fresh garnish to brighten everything up.

That’s all you need.

This Harvest Chicken Rice Bowl is designed to make good use of the vegetables that are still plentiful as summer winds down. Roast a big batch of vegetables, cook some rice, and add chicken—and you’ve got the makings of several easy meals.

And because this is a Build-A-Bowl recipe, there’s no single “right” flavor. The same basic ingredients can take on a completely different personality depending on the sauce or seasoning you choose.

It’s one meal.

Four different directions.

That’s practical cooking at its best.

🥣 Build Your Bowl

Base:
Cooked brown or white rice

Protein:
Cooked chicken, shredded or chopped

Vegetables:
Roasted zucchini, carrots, bell peppers, onions, or whatever seasonal vegetables you have available

Sauce:
Choose one of the Flavor Builder combinations below

Fresh Finish:
Chopped fresh parsley or green onions

Optional Toppings:
A sprinkle of Parmesan, toasted pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, or a little crumbled feta

simplegoodfood's avatarsimplegoodfood

Harvest Chicken Rice Bowl

There is something wonderfully satisfying about a bowl built from simple ingredients.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
Calories: 425
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Bowls
  • 2 cups cooked rice
  • 2 cups cooked chicken chopped or shredded
  • 3 cups mixed vegetables cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or green onions
For the Sauce
  • Choose one:
Garlic Herb
  • 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • Pinch of salt
Italian
  • 2 tablespoons Italian dressing
  • 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
Maple Dijon
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon water
Lemon Pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Method
 

Roast the vegetables.
  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Toss the vegetables with olive oil, garlic powder, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Roast until tender.
  1. Roast for 20–25 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned.
Prepare the chicken.
  1. While the vegetables roast, warm the cooked chicken in a skillet over medium-low heat or in the microwave until heated through.
Prepare your sauce.
  1. Whisk together the ingredients for your chosen Flavor Builder.
Build the bowls.
  1. Divide the cooked rice among four bowls. Add the warm chicken and roasted vegetables.
Finish.
  1. Drizzle with your chosen sauce and sprinkle with fresh parsley or green onions. Add any optional toppings you like.

Notes

🎨 Flavor Builder
Here’s where the fun starts.
🌿 Garlic Herb
Cool, creamy, and fresh. The Greek-yogurt sauce works especially well with roasted carrots and zucchini.
🇮🇹 Italian
Italian dressing and Parmesan give the bowl a savory, familiar flavor that’s especially good with peppers, onions, and zucchini.
🍁 Maple Dijon
A little sweet, a little tangy, and wonderful with roasted carrots and sweet potatoes.
🍋 Lemon Pepper
Bright and fresh, with enough acidity to keep the bowl from feeling heavy.
Same chicken. Same rice. Same roasted vegetables. Completely different dinner.

Make It Your Own:
Use the vegetables you already have. This is a bowl, not a rigid recipe. A little more chicken, a different vegetable, or a different sauce can turn the same basic ingredients into an entirely new meal.

🧊 Meal-Prep Friendly

This is a terrific recipe for using a little planned leftovers.

If you’re already roasting vegetables for dinner, roast extra.

If you’re cooking chicken, cook enough for another meal.

And if you’re making rice, make a little more than you need.

Store the components separately in the refrigerator and assemble bowls as needed.

For best quality, keep the sauce separate until you’re ready to eat.

🌾 Pantry Builder Connection

This bowl also shows why putting food back doesn’t have to mean everything goes into a jar.

A container of cooked rice in the freezer, a package of cooked chicken, or a bag of frozen vegetables can all become part of tomorrow’s dinner.

A practical pantry isn’t just what’s sitting on a shelf. It’s the food you’ve prepared and stored wisely so you have options when you need them.