Recipes: Thrifty and Yummy

I love to save a buck and one way to help the family budget is rethink what we eat. It might be easy to stop for fast food but most of the choices are calorie and fat laden. Besides, after a week of fast food the only thing that got skinnier is your wallet. Not good. Here's a few ideas to cut costs, cut calories, and eat nutritiously.

I came up with this recipe years ago when I wanted to get some Chinese and was broke. I had one steak in the freezer and a family to feed. That one steak became a meal for everyone and an instant family favorite. Although I use beef in this recipe, boneless pork chops, venison tenderloin, or chicken breast would work well.

Beef Stir Fry
1 lb steak, cut in strips
1 onion cut in 1/4 inch slices
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 bell pepper, any color, sliced and seeded
2 cloves of garlic, minced, or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
2 tablespoons of Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 tablespoon Vegetable oil

Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, saute until the onions start to become transparent.  Add the meat and soy sauce. Stir frequently until the meat is browned. Add the vegetables. If you like your vegetables crisp, remove from heat in about 5 minutes. Remember to stir frequently. If you like your veggies a little soft, turn the heat down to low and cover. Allow the steam created to soften the vegetables. This will take about 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

I use a cast iron frying pan but this recipe works with a saucepan, too.
Don't eat oysters? Use oyster sauce made from mushrooms or leave it out.
What kind of steak? Sirloin or chuck works well. The soy sauce tenderizes the meat.
Other vegetables you like work well for this dish. Good choices include mushrooms (canned or fresh), cabbage (sliced), zucchini, and summer squash (sliced). Fresh vegetable work well but canned and frozen can be substituted for fresh.
The more vegetables you add, the more people you can feed.