Beef Satay Fried Rice

Ingredients:

2 tsp vegetable oil, divided
1 lb beef stew meat, diced into smaller pieces
3/4 cup baby carrots, diced
1 medium red bell pepper
4 green onions
1/2 tsp Thai red curry paste
2 cups uncooked rice
3/4 cup peanut sauce
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
**salt & pepper to taste**
chow mein noodles for garnish
egg rolls (as the side)

* cook rice as directed, set aside to cool

* heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in a deep pot or wok, cook stew meat pieces until just cooked then remove meat from pan to a separate warming dish reserving liquid

* add additional 1 tsp vegetable oil to reserved liquid in pot (wok) and return to heat

* add Thai curry paste to pot (wok) and stir until well combined

* to the pot (wok) next add the diced carrots, red pepper, green onions and stir fry until tender crisp

* combine rice into the vegetable stirring until the rice is well covered with the sauce

* finally add peanut sauce, peanuts, and cooked stew meat to rice and vegetable mixture

* stir until well combined and food is thoroughly heated, add salt and pepper if desired

* serve topped with chow mein noodles and prepared egg rolls

Hints & Tips: We used up the leftover vegetables from other meals this week and bought frozen mini egg rolls to save time in the kitchen. 5 of 5 family members enjoyed this meal completely!!

Spicy Beef & Broccoli

Ingredients:

2 TBS vegetable oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 TBS cornstarch

1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat

3 cups broccoli florets

1 medium onion

1 medium red bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 tsp peeled fresh ginger root, freshly chopped

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup beef broth

1 cup dry roasted peanuts
**rice or noodles**

- In a large ziploc bag combine soy sauce, cornstarch, stew meat, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Place filled bag in refrigerator to marinate 2-4 hours prior to cooking.

- Prep broccoli, onion, and red pepper by cleaning and cutting into bite-size chunks.

- When you are ready to cook, heat vegetable oil in a deep skillet to a medium heat.

- Cook marinated meat with juices in vegetable oil until meat is completely browned. Juices will begin to thicken the longer the meat cooks.

- Slowly add beef broth and continue to stir.

- Add the vegetable to the skillet last, and cook until tender crisp.

- Serve over prepared rice or noodles, garnished with dry roasted peanuts.

**Tonight we used unseasoned ramen noodles...a compromise to make my kiddos very happy campers**

Italian Stew Beef

Back in the day, before my husband retired, I had a daycare in my home. I found that using the crock-pot to cook dinner was perhaps the best thing I could do to preserve my sanity, save my family money, and de-stress our home after a long day of work and school.

That line of thinking has definitely carried over into our retired life!

This morning when it was time to start our day, I was very happy to see on our menu plan that this dish was for dinner. Easy. Easy. Easy.

My husband likes it because it is BEEF. My kids like it because it is tender. I like it because of the flavor added by the Italian dressing. Win. Win. Win.


Ingredients:

1/2 bottle of Italian dressing, (the oil & vinegar type...not the creamy)
1 package of stew beef

Put in crock-pot on low in the morning to have ready at dinnertime after the kids get home from school or start on high at lunchtime.

Excellent with hot buttered noodles or rice or mashed potatoes. *We will be have roasted brussel sprouts and rice at our house*

Beef Lo-Mein

Ingredients:

3 packages ramen noodles
1 1/2 lbs. stew beef
1 medium onion, chopped in large pieces
2 celery stalks
1 1/2 cups baby carrots cut in quarters
1 chow mein mix/marinade packet
2 Tbs. oil (to cook meat & veggies)
2 Tbs. soy sauce (for marinade)
2 tsp sugar (for marinade)
3/4 cup water (for marinade)

*4-5 cups water for ramen noodles*

- prepare ramen noodles as directed, using 1 seasoning packet to season the stew beef
- brown stew beef in oil in skillet with 1 packet of seasoning from ramen noodles
combine ingredients for marinade and set aside until meat and veggies are fully cooked
- add chopped veggies to meat and cook until tender crisp
- add marinade to meat/veggie mix, turn off heat and stir often
- when noodles are fully cooked, drain excess liquid
- serve meat & veggies over cooked ramen noodles

Stewed UP Spaghetti Sauce

I vaguely remember being asked what meat I wanted taken out of the freezer for today's dinner last night before I fell asleep.

Vaguely.

When I got up this morning I decided that spaghetti sounded really good - and we should have it for dinner. I love it when a plan comes together!

But when I went to get meat out of the freezer, I found that this package of stew beef was already thawing.



The only sensible thing to do was to plan on using it in the spaghetti sauce. And I could cook it in the crock-pot! Now we're talking!!

Time to assemble...




Ingredients:

1 1/2-2 lbs stew beef
1 14 1/2 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 26 1/2 oz can of prepared spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup red cooking wine
1 packet, dry onion soup mix
1 1/2 TBS Italian seasoning
1 TBS minced garlic
1 can of water (use the diced tomato can)

Mix well.

1 tsp sugar sprinkled over the combined ingredients.

(Mom always said to do that, and her advice has always been pretty darn good.)

Cook on low 6-7 hours.

With our Stewed UP Spaghetti sauce we served spaghetti noodles, garlic bread, and a fresh salad.

Long after the noodles were gone, the sauce was a welcome dipping sauce for the remaining garlic bread.



Now the garlic bread is gone too.

Success!!

Mushroom Soup + Stew Beef + Pasta Ribbons = YUM

Rainy, cooler, lazy Saturday here. Crock-pot? I think so!

Stew Beef in Mushroom Soup x3:

1 1/2- 2 lbs stew beef
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet onion & mushroom dry soup mix
2 soup cans water

**Mix ingredients well in crock. Cook on low 6-7 hours, stirring every hour or so."

Pasta Ribbons:

I went to buy egg noodles at W-Mart (commissary got closed early), and found 'pasta ribbons'. They worked just fine! After cooking as directed and draining, we added them to the crock-pot mix.

Skillet Cooked Frozen Green Beans:

2 TBS butter or margarine
1 16 oz bag frozen cut green beans
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp of minced (marinated) garlic
1/2 tsp minced dehydated onion

**Cook until green beans are tender.**

Made more rye bread today. Yes, it's just that good!