Beef and Vegetable Bowls

I love having a lot of recipes that use the ingredients I always have on hand. Those are the recipes I fall back on regularly and since they use items I try to have on hand all the time I can make them whenever the mood strikes.

This dish takes advantage of a couple of items that are always in my freezer (steak and frozen veggies) as well as some basic pantry items. The big bonus this can be a complete meal. Also it is quick to make, the beef & vegetable mixture cooks while the rice is cooking so dinner is ready in about 20 minutes to a half hour (unless you opt for brown rice of course)

Speaking of the rice let's start there. Rice is something that is always in my pantry and since I cook it in my rice cooker is super easy. I have used both brown and white rice for this dish and it is great both ways. It is really up to your tastes and how much time you have until you want to eat.

I said above that I always have steak in the freezer, not so hard to do. I keep my eye out for sales of steaks year round in the “family” or “value” packs. Those are the terms I see in my local stores for the larger packages of meat that are usually on sale for less than the price of the smaller packages. It only takes a couple of extra minutes when I get home with a larger package of meat to wrap each steak individually and them put them all in a gallon size freezer bag and slip them in the freezer. I try to keep a variety of meats available in my freezer all the time. This recipe uses one rather average size petite sirloin steak to make 2 servings.

The vegetable portion is provided via a bag of frozen vegetables, the kind that are labeled as “stir fry starter” or “stir fry blend” or something similar. Most grocery stores will have at least one variety of these. The bag I used this time was a combination of asparagus, carrots, green beans, and some other stuff. I sometimes get one that has snow peas or sugar snap peas in it instead. Use whatever stir fry blend your store has or the one you like best.

The other ingredients are just staples in my kitchen and you probably have most of them hanging around.

Beef and Vegetable Bowls

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

¼ cup cold water

¼ cup orange juice

1 ½ Tablespoons soy sauce

½ teaspoon dark sesame oil (look on the aisle with the Asian foods in you grocery store)

pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)

1 boneless petite sirloin steak (about ¼ to ⅓ lb) cut into thin strips

2 teaspoons oil

1 bag (about 12 oz) frozen stir fry vegetable blend

2 cloves garlic, minced

hot cooked rice

In a small bowl combine the cornstarch, water, orange juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper flakes. Stir until smooth and set aside.

In a large skillet (or a wok if available) heat 1 teaspoon oil and add the meat. Stir fry for a few minutes until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

Add the remaining oil to the pan along with the vegetable blend and the garlic and cook, stirring until the veggies almost cooked through.

Stir the cornstarch mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil and stir until thickened. Add the meat back to the pan and cook until heated through.

Serve in bowls over hot cooked rice.

Serves 2