Easy Peasy Dinner

Looking for some holiday craft inspiration? Check out this huge Inspired Ideas e-zine when you have some spare time. There were some really cute projects in it.

Easy Beef Stir Fry

This is such an easy and inexpensive dinner to throw together, I don't know why I don't do some version of it every week. To start, slice inexpensive beef (top round, flank or some other thinnish piece of beef). If it's slightly frozen, it's easier to slice. I am microwave defrosting challenged, so this comes in handy for me. Marinate the pieces in a mixture of soy sauce, corn starch, black, rice or balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, oyster sauce, sesame oil, scallions, Sriracha sauce if you like heat, and anything else you want to dump in. Lime juice would be good, fresh herbs, etc. Make sure you have quite a bit of marinade because you'll need it for the sauce. You can marinate for as little as 10 minutes or as long as overnight.

While the meat marinates, get your veggies going. Anything goes. Broccoli, snow peas, red or white onion, bell peppers, celery, water chestnuts, carrots, bean sprouts, grape tomatoes, mushrooms, bok choy, beans, etc. Anything your family will eat or be able to pick out if they don't like it.

I used broccoli, carrots and red onion this time around. I did blanch the veggies first, but you don't have to. Now get a frying pan screaming hot and add some oil. Shake off excess marinade from the beef and sear the beef. Do it in batches so you're not boiling the beef. You want kind of a crust and color on the meat. Not gray meat. Don't throw the leftover marinade away, we're going to use that. Once the meat is seared, transfer to a clean plate and add your veggies to the pan. If you've blanched the veggies, they won't need long to cook. Once they are crisp, tender, throw the meat and leftover marinade back in the frying pan and let everything cook together for a few minutes. There should be a light sauce that will thicken and coat everything. Serve on white or brown rice and garnish with scallions. That's it. Since you have all the veggies, there's no need for a salad or side vegetable.

You could easily replace the beef with chicken, pork, shrimp, fish or tofu. Whatever your floats your family's boat. Or whatever they won't pick out!