Skillet Supper

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My dad calls this skillet supper. 

Growing up I didn’t realize that a dad didn’t traditionally do the cooking. My dad’s recipes were simple but they were definitely some of my favorites. Jell-O on toast. Chicken and rice. French toast. Peanut butter chocolate frosting. Boiled hot dogs. Skillet supper. From my memory we had a couple nights per week that my dad would be making dinner. One of my all time favorites was when we would do a really big weekend breakfast. When my sister and I got old enough we would help but for a while it was just my dad cooking. To this day, breakfast is still one of my all time favorite meals regardless of if it’s eaten in the morning or at night. 

My Parents

My dad didn’t have the best life growing up. For starters, there were six kids in his family. Not unusual for the time but still a lot of kids. His parents had a really rocky relationship that ultimately ended in divorce. His brother drowned when he was very young and that was pretty much the cracking point of their family. An alcoholic and absent father with a mother who was more dedicated to the church than her family. Don’t get me wrong, he still loved them dearly, as did we. I just want to paint the picture because my dad learned to cook for himself very young. He made his own food, bought his own clothes, and paid rent for living in his parent’s house. That is how he came up with all of our favorite recipes though. A true blessing in disguise. 

When we were growing up my mom was still going to college. She had my sister at age 19 so going to college just wasn’t an option for them at that point. That meant later in life she had night school once a week and my sister and I were left with a special daddy daughter night each week. There were some weeks it was hard. We wanted to spend time with mom, but there were other weeks we just loved spending time with our dad. We spent summer nights going to mini golf or getting special treats to make the night fun. These nights usually included some of dad’s famous cooking through. We had a good rotation that typically included skillet supper. 

To be fair, my dad also worked late one night per week. My parents did such an awesome job juggling their schedules and making sure us girls still got to have quality time with both of them. They didn’t just keep it standard each week they made those nights of being single parents as special time with them. We never felt like we were a burden or an afterthought, they soaked up those individual moments with us. As an adult I realize how time consuming that was and just want to take a second to applaud them on it. 

Making dinner to mini golf to going to the park just to play. I remember so many of these nights from my childhood and, just like this recipe, they have stuck with me throughout the years. 

Why Do We Love It?

It’s simple. This is such an easy recipe that we can throw it together in about 30 minutes. 

It’s filling. The pasta in this dish with the meat makes this a filling meal even for my always hungry mechanic husband.

It’s comforting. It’s one of those warm, hearty dishes that we love to have when the weather gets colder. 

Skillet supper is or can be semi-healthy. We use locally grown freezer corn. It’s one of the things we preserve in the fall to enjoy all winter. We also use locally grown ground beef. The onion soup mix is organic from Azure Standard. The noodles are organic from Kroger but could be made at home if you are interested. I love the Simple Truth brand from Kroger and find it handy to have noodles on hand. It has a veggie, a carb, and meat so it’s pretty well rounded. There are some variations that could help make this even more healthy too.

Ingredients Needed for Skillet Supper

• 1lb hamburger
• 1-2 cups corn (can use frozen or canned)
• ½ package of egg noodles
• 2 Tbsp onion soup mix
• ½ cup water (approx)

Directions:

Brown the hamburger in a large pan. Please be aware of the fact that you need a lid. So if you cook everything in your cast iron like I do, make sure you have one that has a lid.

Add the remaining ingredients and cover.

Simmer with the cover on until the noodles are cooked al dente. Serve.

Variations

I’ve often thought you could add a lot of different vegetables to this recipe. I’ve considered adding carrots, celery, tomato, etc. I truly believe that all of these would just make this recipe even better. 

Doubling the recipe would also be really simple. As a kid, I remember my dad always making the bigger batch. He’d dump in the whole bag of egg noodles and we would eat until we were stuffed. I decided to adapt this recipe down to make it a little more manageable for just Colin and I. It still has 3-4 servings depending on who is eating the servings. 

Make your own noodles! You definitely don’t have to use egg noodles. We use them but that is because that is what my dad used. If we took the time to make our own noodles I would definitely add them to this dish. That isn’t something that we are currently tackling but is definitely on my list to start doing soon!

In Summary: Skillet Supper

I hope you enjoy this simple homemade dinner! Please let me know what variations you try and if you end up liking them. This is a timeless piece of my childhood and I’m feel so very blessed to be able to share it with you all.

Skillet Supper

A quick cooked dinner that the whole family will love.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 1 lb Hamburger
• 1-2 cups Corn
• 1/2 package Egg Noodles
• 2 Tbsp Onion Soup Mix
• 1/2 Cup Water This is added as needed.

Instructions

 

• Brown hamburger.
• Add the remaining ingredients except water.
• Add water 1 Tbsp at a time until there is a decent amount of moisture for the noodles.
• Cover and simmer until the noodles are soft. Add more water as needed.

Notes

If you don’t add enough water and stir while it’s simmering the noodles will still be crunchy. Enough water will help all of your noodles be soft. 

Keyword One Pan, Skillet