Resolution #3

I've flossed twice now. And I haven't had any candy since Sunday. LOL - I sound like I'm at a meeting. Hi, My name is Amy and I've been candy free for 3 days.

Resolution #3 is something I'm pretty excited about. I started doing this a little last year, but I'm determined to follow through this year.

Resolution #3 - try at least one new recipe a week

A fun resolution!

Tuesday I tried a recipe from Sandra Lee's Money Saving Meals. BBQ Beef Stir Fry. It was cheap! And yum! I got the meat on sale and that's always a bonus! I ran to the store Tuesday after work and without the kids.

(honestly my #1 resolution for the new year should have been to never, never, ever never take both kids to the grocery store - long story, but I'm sure you can fill in the blanks)

I went to get the kids at Mimi's and by the time I got home it was 6:30. So I started chopping and dicing and mincing and whisking. TV Joe walked in just as I was starting to cut the meat "thinly" - apparently I was to basically shave the meat. Very thin. Very, very thin. So he kind of took over the cooking - but I watched and made the sauce for him. I'd never made stir fry, and after watching I'm confident I could do it myself.

This is a very good recipe, but I will buy a wok before making it again and - the sauce is a bit spicy, so I might cut to 1/2 tsp and let Joe add his own. I used that Chinese hot sauce with the rooster on the bottle. Next time I will also ditch the celery and add more broccoli. I love stir fry broccoli! The noodles were fun and gave something for Biggie B to eat - he's really picky. He ate one bite of meat in order to get his dessert. I even bought fortune cookies for dessert. It was fun. Joe LOVED this meal - ate 2 servings. P-Diddy liked it, but it was a little spicy for him. I had the leftovers yesterday and they were awesome.

BBQ Beef Stir-Fry, Recipe courtesy Sandra Lee but I made a few changes...

Prep Time: 15 min (pretty much)

Cook Time: 10 min (ish)
Level: Easy (yep)
Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 (1 1/2-pound) beef chuck steak, sliced into thin (really thin) strips
• 2 tablespoons canola oil (vegetable oil worked fine)
  
• 2 carrots, sliced about 1/4-inch thick
• 2 stalks celery, sliced about 1/4-inch thick (I'm omitting next time - adding more broccoli)
  
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon freshly minced ginger root
• 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 (16-ounce) package lo mein noodles, cooked according to package directions

Hoisin Sauce:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce (it was pretty hot - I would start with 1/2 t, and add more if not hot enough)
  
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Stir-Fry: In a wok or large skillet over high heat add the canola oil. Add the beef and cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Set aside on a plate.

To the same pan the beef was cooked in, add the carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, and broccoli and stir-fry until slightly tender but not soft, about 3 minutes. Add the beef back to the skillet along with half of the hoisin sauce (see below), and toss to coat the beef. Arrange the lo mein noodles on a serving platter and top with the beef stir-fry.

Hoisin Sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk all the sauce ingredients until well blended. Add half to the stir-fry and save the remaining half for the next time you make a stir-fry. The extra hoisin sauce will last up to 2 weeks in a sealed container stored in the refrigerator. (But we used all of it - because it was so good)

Enjoy!