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Beefy Rice with Veggies

One pot skillet dishes are great in theory.  Sometimes, however, I find the recipes and the final results to be vastly different.  With a collection of veggies building up in the fridge, a one pot skillet dish was needed.  Finding nothing stimulating on any of the recipes feeds, a new dish was created to meet our tastes and needs.  Something without tomatoes or tomato sauce.  A dish built upon a T&T staple, Porky Rice but slightly tweaked.  Thus, Porky Rice Vegetable Medley.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 cup each carrots, corn, bell peppers, chard, onion (diced bite size)
1 cup rice
Tony Chachere seasoning
2.5 cups water

Instructions:
In large dutch over, brown ground beef.  Set aside to drain very well.  To beef fat in dutch oven, cook veggies (except chard) to soft.  Return beef, add rice, water, and seasoning.  Cook until rice is absorbed checking for seasoning and water level occasionally. When water is absorbed, toss in finely sliced chard and mix into rice to soften.  Let dish rest for 10 minutes, test for seasoning.

Scaled for Likability: Good
It was everything I hoped it would be.  Easy to cook, easy to modify with leftover veggies or meat, and easy to store/reheat the next day.  The issue arose in the cooking of the rice.  Rice in a pot cooks in 15 minutes with 5 minutes rest time.  This dish was cooked for close to 45 minutes and the rice was still slight crunchy.  If made again, and it is possible a need will arise to cook again, the rice will be  seasoned and cooked separately and then added to the dish before serving.

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