Here's a quick weeknight meal for you: A one-skillet ragu with big, southwestern flavor. It's so easy that I simply direct you over to recipe at TheKitchn.
What I like about this recipe is (1) it's fast and easy and (2) it tastes like comfort food. It also reminded me of the latent power of pantry spices (don't underestimate what some chili powder can do!).
I skipped the mushrooms and used half a pound of grassfed beef instead of the 1-1.5 lbs. ground beef called for in the recipe. As expected, the beef was drier than your usual ground beef, which meant that more olive oil had to be added to the pan to keep things from burning. Also, I didn't follow strict measurements when it came to the vegetables.
There are endless substitutions and adjustments you can make to this dish. You can use different vegetables or ground meats, or a different pasta. You can also, as I did, tweak the ratio of meat to vegetables. But do keep the spices, since they really make the dish. And don't forget plenty of grated cheese. [There is usually some part of every recipe that shouldn't be omitted. Here, leaving out the spices would leave you with a disparate combination of tomatoes, meat, and vegetables.]
