a simple {real food} recipe :: summer veggie skillet

We had a great morning picking up beautiful summer veggies at our local farmer’s market. The girls LOVE picking out what we will be having for the week – I usually let them pick out a couple different things each. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out what to do with what they pick out, and they love being a part of the meal making for the week.

Whatever you find at your markets this week will work in this yummy skillet – in fact, we do this type of meal all year using whatever produce is in season. It is so great for your body to experience eating with the seasons – it gives it a break from some, while stocking up on others. It really is how we were meant to eat!

This amount fed my family for one night, with leftovers for the girls to have for lunch the next day 🙂

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 cups chopped cooked chicken (my recipe for my weekly whole chicken will be coming this fall!) (UPDATE! Here is my crockpot chicken recipe!)

3 TB friendly fat to cook in (butter, coconut oil, tallow, lard – the heat will be too high for olive oil though)

1 small chopped onion

2 TB minced garlic

1 large chopped zucchini

3 cups green beans (ends snipped)

3 small/medium tomatoes (scoop out the seeds and water, and chop)

1 ½ TB Italian seasoning

Sea salt/pepper to taste

1 TB arrowroot flour to thicken as needed depending on the juiciness of tomatoes

Shredded raw cheese to top (optional)

1. Sauté the onion for about 5 minutes in friendly fat over medium/high heat. Add a pinch of salt to help the onion’s liquid come out and caramelize the onion a bit – this makes it super sweet!
2. Add the garlic and green beans and stir around. The green beans will take the longest to cook through, so let them sauté for a bit – add a lid to steam a bit if needed – I prefer them crisp but I still have little mouths with growing teeth so I need them pretty soft 😉
3. Add the chicken, zucchini, tomatoes, and seasonings and cook until veggies are tender.
4. If the tomatoes let out a lot of water, add 1 TB of arrowroot dissolved in a little water – this will thicken the juice and create a super yummy sauce.
5. Top with shredded cheese if you choose.

Kitchen tips:

1. This really only takes about 30 minutes to put together including washing and chopping – skillets are my go-to quick dinner – and my go-to “empty the veggie bin” meal!
2. Wash and chop the veggies the day or night before so you just have to dump them in the skillet just before dinner!
3. We used chicken, but you could easily use beef, fish, quinoa, or beans and rice!
4. This skillet tastes a lot like a pasta primavera dish – you could totally add brown rice noodles if you wish!
5. Use whatever seasoning you enjoy – I’m not very talented at seasoning blending – I go for the already blended stuff like Italian seasoning, curry seasoning, mexican seasoning, etc.
6. Add homemade cream cheese or a bechamel sauce with cream and arrowroot to make a yummy cream sauce!
7. Re-heat leftovers in the skillet – just add a little friendly fat and warm through!
8. Read THIS and THIS on the importance of friendly fats and why you shouldn’t be afraid to use them!
9. Read THIS on the importance of choosing pastured chicken. I choose pastured/grassfed animals for the nutrition despite the price difference. It is one of my non negotiables. I stretch the meat by making skillets or soups with loads of veggies, adding soaked or sprouted rice with the chicken every week or so, having a soaked or sprouted beans a rice meal vs meat once a week, or having soaked or sprouted beans mixed in with beef every week or so. It really makes it stretch so you aren’t going through a bunch of expensive meat every week, but can still benefit from the nutrition of it! I also choose to cook a whole pastured chicken vs chicken breasts which significantly saves on price – it is about the same price as buying conventional chicken breasts and you get more meat. And a whole chicken will last us a week 🙂

YOUR TURN!

What are your favorite summer veggies? Let me know if you try this recipe and like it!

So who’s ready for my salad smoothie recipe?! Come back Monday and check out the easiest way to get at least a cup of salad down the littles without them even knowing! And Mama is gonna love it too 😉

This post was shared at Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday!