Versatile Cabbage and Beef Skillet

Budget friendly, real food for the whole family with plenty of flavor change ups, so there’s enough variety to serve it often!

So a little real life for you…

Sometimes life gets busy and I don’t want to think about what to make for dinner…

And some weeks we are stretched super {super} thin on the budget by the time we get to pay day, so the dinner possibilities are not, in fact, endless…

I’m pretty sure this is not just my reality…and can I tell you something? I have grown to love teaching people how to keep their kitchens real food focused while sticking to a budget.

I have to be honest in saying that I have been fighting myself to even post a recipe like this because…I know it isn’t fancy. It isn’t typical “viral” blog material. But this, dear friends, is real life – this is what we have to do day in and day out. Make real food that nourishes our family without spending all the money!

Because, let’s face it…you can do some pretty major budget damage at health food stores!

We have so been there. It can ruin your real food eating goals in one shopping trip, and send your spouse running back to that box of Hamburger Helper in about 2 seconds flat. Don’t go broke trying to eat real food. It isn’t worth it.

Instead, get back to the basics! Simple, real food tastes amazing, makes your body feel incredible, and won’t make you go broke if you do it up right!

Real food budgeting 101…Fall in love with cabbage my friends!

And every other mineral rich vegetable you can get your hands on. When you stretch that grassfed/pastured meat budget by filling the large majority of your plate with vegetables that taste amazing, you really can stick to a super strict budget and still eat very well.

The secret to amazing veggie flavor is all in the method!

I know when I was just beginning to cook real food, I had zero clue how to cook vegetables. I am not a trained chef, have never taken a cooking course, and I’m from the generation that had their home ec classes taken away. But when I started figuring out the secrets to cooking vegetables in a way that used their amazing flavor potential, that was the turning point!

I truly wish I could make this just one time for all of you, my reader friends, just so you could taste it just once – because I know you would be hooked! This meal is served in our house at least once a week in some form or fashion – and there are so many ways to change it up so there’s no boredom!

So here is the basic cabbage and beef skillet recipe – our family favorite way of making it by the way!

And at the bottom of the recipe be sure to check out the different ways you can swap things in and out to change it up!

Versatile Cabbage and Beef Skillet

Renee - www.raisinggenerationnourished.com

Budget friendly, real food for the whole family with plenty of flavor change ups, so there’s enough variety to serve it often!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 lb grassfed ground beef
• 3-4 TB friendly fat to cook in such as butter tallow, avocado oil, or coconut oil
• 1 large onion diced
• 8 oz mushrooms sliced
• 1 small head of cabbage or 1/2 - 3/4 large head, sliced into strips
• 8 large cloves of garlic minced
• 1-2 tsp dried thyme or other seasoning of choice
• 1/4 pound baby spinach chopped
• 2 cups cooked long grain white rice or cauliflower rice
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• In a large skillet, add a tablespoon of butter to melt and then brown the ground beef. Set the cooked beef aside but leave behind any of the juices/fat. (I also like to get the rice started cooking when I get the beef going so it is ready to be added to the skillet at the end)
• Add the rest of your cooking fat to the skillet to melt, along with the onion, mushrooms, and cabbage with a big pinch of sea salt. Combine and cook this mixture over medium/medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or so until the cabbage, mushrooms, and onion are soft and sweet. If the veggies feel dry, you can add a splash of water or bone broth.
• Add the garlic and cook for a minute.
• Add the thyme, cooked ground beef, baby spinach, and cooked rice. Combine and cook over medium heat until the spinach wilts to your liking. Sea salt and pepper the skillet to your taste.

Keyword cabbage and beef skillet, cabbage and beef skillet recipe

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Ways to change it up!

Egg Roll In a Bowl!

• Swap the thyme for coconut aminos, grated ginger, and red pepper flakes (powdered ginger is fine too!).
• Add shredded or julienne peeled carrots when you add in the spinach.
• Serve with sliced green onion.

Curry Me!

• Swap the thyme for your favorite red or yellow curry.
• Add sliced, colorful bell peppers right in there with the cabbage.

Deconstructed Cabbage Roll Style!

• Add some oregano in with the thyme.
• Add a can of diced tomatoes in when you toss the cooked beef back into the pan with the cooked cabbage.

Italian Style!

• Swap the thyme for Italian Seasoning
• Add lots of sliced cherry tomatoes in when you toss the cooked beef back into the pan.
• Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

Taco Tuesday!

• Swap the thyme for taco seasoning and a dash of chipotle powder. You could swap the beef or some of the beef for cooked pinto beans too!
• Add some diced bell peppers in with the cabbage, and chunky salsa to stir in when you toss the cooked beef back into the pan.
• Serve with a dollop of sour cream OR you could even serve it right in a sprouted corn tortilla shell!