Texas Rancho Beef Skillet

I'm always on the lookout for new recipes, especially fast and easy ones I can use at dinner when I'm crunched for time. I grew up in Texas from the ages of seven to 14 and though I love Washington, I know that everything is bigger and better in Texas! So, one day, I was perusing the internet for some new recipes and I came upon the Texas Beef Council's website (click HERE for the website) and discovered a host of great recipes. I jotted them down and periodically, I try a new one out. Last night, I tried out their recipe for Texas Rancho Beef Skillet. It was quick, easy and tasted pretty good, so I thought I'd pass it along (with my little quirks, of course).

Texas Rancho Beef Skillet
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 red or green bell pepper, cut in chunks (I used red)
2 cloves of garlic (I used six)
3 cups cooked rice
3/4 cup salsa
1 cup thawed frozen peas
1 TBS chili powder
Salt/pepper

**Karin additions: I used 1 TBS Chili Garlic Sauce (spicy and yummy - found on the International Food Aisle) and 1/2 cup chicken broth

1. Sauté the garlic and red pepper over medium heat.
2. Add the ground turkey or beef and brown.
3. Once it is browned, add the chili powder, salt and pepper.
4. Stir well.
5. Add the cooked rice and stir around.
6. Then add the peas and salsa (and Chili Garlic Sauce, if using).
7. Stir well.
8. At this point, the Texas Beef Council said it was done. But I added the chicken broth, stirred it around and put a lid on it at a simmer for about 10 minutes.

This really brought the whole dish together for me. If it's too spicy for you, you can add a little sour cream at the end and it will take the heat down a bit. I did this for my boys, who thought it was a bit spicy until I added the sour cream.

The whole meal took less than 30 minutes to cook. It was tasty and left TONS of leftovers. This would feed a lot of people! Check out the Texas Beef Council's website. They have tons of great ideas!!