With summer ending way too soon and school and fall sports starting back up, we all could use an easy button to push and magically get a quick and tasty dinner on the table, right?
I have a brand-new e-cookbook and meal plan coming out Sept. 5, but in the meantime, here’s an incredibly flavorful, 25 minute recipe that’s a modified version of a Half Baked Harvest classic. You can use ground chicken or vegan ground meat instead of beef, and it’s a fully-balanced meal all on its own.
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Equipment
- Large saute pan
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Small mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef (or ground chicken or vegan ground meat)
- salt, black pepper, red chili flakes
- 2 tbsp vegan, nut-free butter substitute, such as Soy-Free Earth Balance (or soy-free oil if you can't source a vegan butter)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup pickled ginger, drained and chopped (reserve the pickling juice from the pickled ginger), if you can source it, or 1 tbsp freshly-grated ginger
- 1 ½ cups broccoli florets
- 1 ½ cups fresh pineapple chunks
- ⅓ cup coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp reserved pickling juice from pickled ginger
- ¼ cup chopped scallions, white and green parts
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 cups seedless cucumbers, chopped
- ½ cup Thai or regular basil, chopped
- zest of one lime
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 cups steamed basmati or jasmine rice, for serving
Instructions
- Cook rice per package instructions.
- Add ground meat to a large sauté pan.
- Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, and cook over medium heat, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon or spatula, until brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add vegan butter substitute, garlic and ginger and cook another couple of minutes, until the beef gets a bit crispy.
- Add the broccoli and ¾ cup of the pineapple.
- Add coconut aminos and reserved pickling juice from pickled ginger and stir to combine. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add green onions and sesame seeds, stir to combine and remove pan from heat.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the remaining pineapple with the cucumbers, basil, lime zest and lime juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon beef mixture over steamed rice, top with the cucumber pineapple salad and more green onions if desired, and serve.
