Summer, or winter? This year the weather is swinging between the two seasons every few days. I think summer is about to set in and it suddenly flips back and I need to put on a jumper to stay warm.  Warm days, cold days, no rain on any of the days. This has meant that the vegetable garden is growing a little slower than usual, the warming foods of the cooler months are not yet off the table. The pressure cooker, or the slow cooker doesn’t need to be packed away just yet, which I love! It makes me feel feel very efficient to have dinner cooking while I am doing other things. It is like a magic trick for busy mums.

Warming meals that are a little heavier than the fresh, lighter summer meals are still on the menu here as we wait for the vegetable garden to catch up to the season and the sun to warm us.  With Christmas, and all that comes with it, approaching fast the easier dinner is to prepare the better.  Extended activities marking the end of the year, celebrations, get together’s and events to mark the milestone of another year can be disruptive for family meal time and/or preparation.

Usually my children balk at the first summer salads as they get used to the change in produce available from the vegetable garden.  Having the cooler, delayed start to the season has it’s upside – no dinner stress today. As the days draw closer to Christmas I always find that the little things you can do that remove time and stress at the end of the day make a big difference.

This single dish family friendly meal is very easy to make.  I added a few vegetables that I know the kids enjoy eating and it made for an easy weekday dinner that everyone loved.

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One pot family meal with rice, pork and vegetables

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Simple one pot family dinner with rice, pork and vegetables. Baked with vegetables for an easy meal.

Course: Main

Servings: 6

Author: Kyrstie Barcak - A Fresh Legacy

Ingredients

• 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 shallot finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 300 grams pork mince
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 carrot grated
• 1 zucchini grated
• 1 capsicum grated
• fresh parsley to serve

Instructions

1. Heat the oil to 160 degrees and use a pot that can be transferred from the stove top to the oven with a lid
2. Add the oil to a warm pan and then the shallot, garlic, cumin, pepper, cloves, coriander, fennel seeds
3. Once the spices are fragrant, add the pork mince stir to brown
4. Add the white wine and continue to stir for a minute then add the rice, stirring again
5. Add the stock and vegetables and continue to stir occasionally until the liquid comes to the boil
6. Put the lid on the pan and move to the oven
7. Bake for 15 minutes, remove and allow to sit for 5 minutes
8. Add the fresh parsley leaves to serve

How are you going in the lead up to Christmas? Do you change the way you cook at this time of year to help make things a little easier at the end of the day?