Texas-Style Skillet

Mardi Gras 2022. Beignets. King cake. Rémy's new crawfish claws (version 2.0, one year old, still structurally sound). The parade. The beads. The noise and the color and the absolute refusal of Louisiana to be anything other than itself, which is: too much, too loud, too spicy, too everything. We are a state of excess. We are a people of surplus. We cook more than we need and invite more than we expect and love more than is reasonable, and the excess is the point, and the point is the culture, and the culture is alive, and the alive is the food.

Made beignets and jambalaya. Colette ran the beignet operation. Rémy ran the jambalaya. Luc appeared, ate, disappeared. The family cooks now. Not just me. The family. The kitchen is shared. The spoon is passed. The roux is collective. Year five is ending and the kitchen is bigger than one man, bigger than one pot, bigger than one recipe. The kitchen is a family, and the family is the kitchen, and both are alive, and both are Cajun, and both are enough. Laissez les bons temps rouler.

Rémy had the jambalaya pot, Colette had the beignet oil, and I was left standing in my own kitchen with nothing to do but watch my family cook — which, honestly, was the best thing that’s happened in five years of writing this blog. When I finally got back to the stove later that week, still riding the high of Mardi Gras and that shared-kitchen feeling, I reached for something bold and one-pan and unapologetically filling, the way all good Louisiana food is. This Texas-Style Skillet isn’t jambalaya, but it carries that same energy: communal, hearty, meant to be scooped straight from the pan and passed around a loud table.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 4–6

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (80/20)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
2 cups beef broth
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp fresh cilantro or sliced green onions, for garnish
Sour cream and hot sauce, for serving

Instructions

Brown the beef. Heat a large, deep skillet or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a spoon, until browned and no longer pink, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
Sauté the vegetables. Add the diced onion and bell pepper to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Season and build the base. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Cook for 30 seconds to toast the spices.
Add rice and liquids. Stir in the uncooked rice, diced tomatoes (with juices), beef broth, black beans, and corn. Mix well to combine everything in the pan.
Simmer until rice is cooked. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 18–20 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed the liquid and is tender. Check at 15 minutes and add a splash of broth if needed.
Add the cheese. Remove the lid, sprinkle shredded cheddar evenly over the top, and cover again for 2–3 minutes until melted.
Garnish and serve. Top with cilantro or green onions and serve directly from the skillet with sour cream and hot sauce on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Texas-Style Skillet — The Night Rémy Ran the Jambalaya and the Kitchen Became a Family