Asian Beef And Pepper Noodles–Quick Dinner

What dinner can be quicker than a stir fry? The answer to that is not too many.

Anything Asian is likely full of flavor. Most Asian stir fries are also economical because meat is, more than likely, used as a condiment. Stir fries are also a great place to use any leftover fresh veggies and meat. If you’re like me, you probably have bits and pieces of fresh veggies in your crisper. With me it’s usually bell peppers–I’ll have half or a quarter of a pepper. That’s perfect for this Asian beef and pepper noodles. With this, I was lucky enough to have several colors of bell peppers due to a sale.

Noodles

I use the Asian stir fry noodles because I love the chewy texture. They have a satisfying texture that spaghetti does not. But since my mantra is always “use what you have” then if you have good old spaghetti, use it here. Trust me I’ve made it with spaghetti and it’s very good.

If I’m using regular spaghetti, I tend to use the No. 8 because it’s a bit thicker that No. 9. Sometimes No. 8 is called spaghetti where No. 9 is called thin spaghetti.

Leftovers?

You betcha!

This is the perfect dish to use them up. I had some leftover uncooked round steak and pepper halves so I took advantage.

Now, I used beef but if you have some rotisserie chicken left over, then use it here. Also, feel free to change up the veggies either to what you have left in the crisper or to ones you prefer over my choices. The two constants here should be onion and garlic–unless you have allergies to either.

The Recipe

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Asian Beef & Pepper Noodles

Leftovers work great here.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: easy stir fry with leftovers, lo mein stir fry, using lo mein noodles

Servings: 4

Calories: 400kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/2 each yellow orange & red bell peppers, cut in matchsticks
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 2 cups Napa cabbage shredded
• 1 clove garlic thinly sliced
• 8 oz beef round steak cut in thin strips
• 2 tbs oil
• 8 oz lo mein noodles or spaghetti

Noodle Sauce

• 1/2 cup oyster sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp fresh ginger grated
• 2 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook noodles per package directions. Drain and set aside
• Heat oil in a large, deep skillet or wok. Add the beef and cook until browned.
• Add the peppers, onions, cabbage, and garlic in the same pan and stir fry until crisp-tender.
• Add the cooked noodles and sauce and toss until coated and heated through.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 1734mg | Potassium: 410mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 178IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2mg

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Honey garlic shrimp is perfect for when you have little time but want a great meal. Ready in 10 minutes!

A Meal In Minutes

If you’ve got 10 minutes, you’ve got dinner. What’s more, it’s real food too!

This quick dinner doesn’t rely on any convenience ingredients. And even better, there’s very few ingredients and I’ll bet you’ve got them all on your shelf and freezer already!

Yummy Ginger

There’s really no substitute for fresh ginger. The dry stuff in the jar doesn’t even come close. But this is one ingredient a lot of us don’t use often. I do a lot of Asian-style cooking and I’ve had some trouble with it “keeping.” You don’t have to buy the enormous root you see in the produce section–I always break off about a 2-inch section–and there’s plenty to go around with that size.

I have two methods of preservation that work very well. The first method I recommend is peeling it and then finely mincing it and freezing it. It’s easy to break off portions of about a teaspoon and it will last a long time.

If you have potted plants or an outdoor garden, then you can portion off what you need for a recipe then “bury” it in the soil in the pot or outdoors. It will last a long time that way–provided you keep the soil moist.

Often On Sale

OK it’s not as economical as ground beef or chicken, but shrimp has come down in price and is often on sale. So if you love it, stock up!

I’ve gotten it as cheap as $5.99 a pound for the large size, which I think is about 20 to the pound. However, I’m willing to pay a bit more for the convenience of having the peeled and de-veined  variety on hand. Recently, I was lucky enough to catch a sale on the organic peeled and de-veined  for $13.99 for a 2-pound bag.

But even if you get the cleaned and de-veined they are all easy peel and quick to prep.

Shrimp cooks quickly so if you are pressed for time but want to prepare a nice dinner–and often low calorie–shrimp is your best bet.

The Recipe

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10-Minute Honey Garlic Shrimp

Honey garlic shrimp is perfect for when you have little time but want a great meal. Ready in 10 minutes!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time8 minutes mins

Total Time13 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Asian shrimp recipe, quick dinner, shrimp

Servings: 4

Calories: 229kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 3 tbs honey
• 1 tbs reduced-sodium soy sauce
• ¼ tsp crushed chili flakes optional
• 1 tsp fresh ginger minced
• 2-3 cloves garlic minced (about 1 Tablespoon)
• 1 lb medium uncooked shrimp peeled & deveined
• 2 tbs olive oil
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tbs sliced green onion optional garnish

Instructions

• Whisk honey, soy sauce, chili flakes (if using), ginger, and garlic, together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In another medium bowl, add shrimp and olive oil. Season the shrimp with salt and ground pepper and toss to coat.
• Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Place the shrimp into the pan in an even layer. Cook the shrimp on one side until nicely seared, about 1-2 minutes. Flip the shrimp over and cook for another minute or until they’re just cooked but still a little translucent in the center.
• Pour in the honey garlic marinade and cook until the shrimp is cooked through, about 1 minute more. If desired, remove the shrimp from pan so they don’t overcook, and reduce the sauce a little to thicken it (keep an eye on the sauce while reducing, the honey makes the sauce easy to burn if you forget about it on the stove).
• Serve the shrimp with the reduced sauce. Garnish with green onion, if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 229kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 286mg | Sodium: 1018mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 67IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 167mg | Iron: 3mg

*Adapted from Tip Hero

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Marco Polo brought spaghetti to the west.  We take it back east.

This is a simple and filling dinner where meat is the condiment.

I’d had a bit of pot sticker filling (link is in the recipe), and wanted to use it, however, I didn’t want to fuss with pot stickers or wontons.  I’d bought a case of udon noodles from Amazon because I love them and they are pretty cheap bought in bulk.  I wanted to use some so I thought I’d combine the noodles with meatballs made from the leftover pot sticker filling.

Delicious!  And easy for when you don’t want to fuss.  The Kame brand noodles are all pre-cooked so all you do is add them to the pot.  I squish the little bags they come in to break them up well so I don’t get that many clumps.  You can pre-cook the meatballs and refrigerate until ready for use, so you can put this together in 2 shakes if they’ve already been prepared.

Asian Spaghetti & Meatballs

Makes 2 servings

Asian Spaghetti & Meatballs

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Vegan Peanut Noodles

Delightful and filling dinner that is totally vegan!  What a great way to celebrate Meatless Mondays!

This Meatless Monday entry is totally vegan!  And guess what?  It’s filling, satisfying and good for you too!

Udon noodles have a “chew” factor involved so you really feel you’ve eaten something substantial.  Instead of creamy peanut butter, I used chunky…which I like better anyway.

You won’t feel you’re meat deprived with this one, promise!!! I ordered mine from Amazon since it works out way cheaper and I like to buy these in bulk.  Use them a lot.  They’re very convenient because they’re already cooked and have been improved so much because they separate much easier now than they did years ago.

Vegan Peanut Noodles

Vegan Peanut Noodles

Vegan Peanut Noodles

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Beef and Broccoli

Beef and broccoli stir fry is a quick and easy weeknight skillet dinner recipe. Everyone's favorite Chinese carryout dish, made at home.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: beef and broccoli, skillet dinner, stir fry recipe

Servings: 4

Calories: 216kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 8 oz lean sirloin steak sliced thinly (best if partially frozen)
• 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 tbsp oil

For the Marinade:

• 2 tbsp white wine or rice wine
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda

For Stir Fry Sauce:

• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dry sherry or dry white wine
• 1 slice ginger crushed
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1 tsp ketchup
• 1/2 cup water

For Thickener:

• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

• Mix tenderizing marinade. Pour in a zipper freezer bag and add the sliced sirloin. Seal bag and mush the beef around in the marinade so it's coating all the meat. Place bag in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Meanwhile, mix the stir fry sauce ingredients in a small dish and set aside. Mix the thickener ingredients in another small dish and set aside.
• Remove meat from the bag, draining off marinade.
• Heat a large wok or a large deep skillet over high heat. Add the oil. When oil begins to shimmer, add the garlic and the drained meat. Stir fry, stirring constantly, until meat is no longer pink. Add broccoli and stir fry for about 1 minute or until broccoli is bright green in color.
• Add the stir fry sauce and stir in well. Bring sauce to a boil. Stir the thickener until no lumps are present and add to meat/broccoli mixture, stirring constantly until sauce begins to bubble. Cook for 1 minute. Serve immediately over rice.
• Serves 4

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 2348mg | Potassium: 414mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 283IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 2mg

Beef & Broccoli

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Quick, easy and delicious.  Can be made with chicken or pork too 

The things you find when you go through your freezer!!!  I found a 2 lb bag of large shrimp that I forgot about.  Yeah, I forgot shrimp…hard to believe, but I did.

Since they are expensive, I wanted to use them before I forgot about them AGAIN, so this week, I will be eating shrimp–a lot LOL.

I was also dying to try some new ready-to-serve Asian noodles I’d recently gotten off of Amazon–Kame rice noodles. These are so much better than they were a few years ago as they are no longer a solid brick of noodles that even though they are fully cooked, you had to boil to separate.  All you do now is squeeze the pouche(s) they come in and voila–separated and ready to heat.

This proved to be a delicious dinner!  One I’d definitely make again.  Feel free to change up the veggies or the type of noodles you use.  I used what I had on hand.

Peanut Rice Noodles with Shrimp

Mix sauce ingredients; set aside.


Heat a wok or large, deep skillet over high heat.  Add oil. When oil begins to shimmer, add shrimp, garlic and bok choi. Stir fry until shrimp begins to turn pink.


Add the entire package of noodles (the bag contains 2 pouches–use them both) and stir fry for 1 minute.


Add the sauce and stir fry for 1 minute.  Add the red bell pepper, green onion and the snow peas.  Stir fry for 1 minute, or until snow peas are bright green.


Serve immediately.


Serves 2

Peanut Rice Noodles with Shrimp

Peanut Rice Noodles with Shrimp

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Cheap, cheerful and goes together in no time.  Healthy it ain’t, but tasty it is and ready in under 30 minutes.

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Polynesian Hot Dogs

Cheap, cheerful and goes together in no time.  Healthy it ain’t, but tasty it is and ready in under 30 minutes.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: beef, Pork, skillet dinners

Cuisine: Polynesian

Keyword: hot dogs

Servings: 4

Calories: 563kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 lb any variety hot dogs
• 1 medium green bell pepper cut in 1-inch cubes
• 20 oz can pineapple chunks (drained, reserve juice)
• 1 tbsp oil

SAUCE

• 1 cup pineapple juice reserved from can
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

THICKENER

• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions

• Slice hot dogs in 2-inch pieces. Drain pineapple and reserve juice.
• Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Mix the thickener ingredients in a small cup.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add hot dogs and brown, stirring the hot dogs around so they brown but do NOT burn. Remove hot dogs from pan when browned.
• Add the sauce ingredients, drained pineapple and green pepper to the hot skillet. Bring to boil and reduce heat to medium. Cook and reduce for about 5 minutes.
• Add the thickening mixture, stirring constantly until mixture begins to boil. Add hot dogs back to pan and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Serve over rice.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 563kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 1291mg | Potassium: 526mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 54g | Vitamin A: 181IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 4mg

Polynesian Hot Dogs

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Mongolian Beef

 

This dish is a REAL winner.  Uses ground beef and ready in less than 30 minutes with a minimum of prep.  Who could ask for more?

This recipe comes from my blogging buddy Lillian R who personally developed this recipe in her own kitchen.  Whoever makes it gives it rave reviews.

Lillian has very kindly consented to me presenting her dish on my own blog.  I have made some additions, one she even recommended–adding baby carrots for a little crunch factor and color.

Easy and inexpensive

Make sure to check her blog for many fantastic recipes, including the original of this.  She has tried literally thousands of online recipes and has posted hundreds of results on her blog with her own critiques.  Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee and visit with Lillian here:

My Recipe Journey

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Mongolian Beef

This dish is a REAL winner.  Uses ground beef and ready in less than 30 minutes with a minimum of prep.  Who could ask for more?

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: beef, skillet dinners

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: mongolian beef

Servings: 4

Calories: 382kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 lb extra-lean ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dry white wine
• 2 tbsp sherry
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar my substitution
• 1/2 cup baby carrots cut in chunks (my addition)
• 1/4 tsp grated ginger
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp creamy peanut butter
• 2 tbsp dark sesame oil for frying
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• rice

Instructions

• Heat a wok or large heavy skillet. Add sesame oil. Add ground beef, carrots and garlic and brown well. Continue browning until all the meat juice is evaporated.
• Add all other ingredients except the scallions. Stir well and heat until sauce is reduced by 50%--about 5 minutes.
• Serve over rice. Top with chopped scallions.
• Serves 4 (but Lillian says it serves 2 LOL)

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 382kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 927mg | Potassium: 570mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 2378IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 4mg

Mongolian Beef

 

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Slice scallion diagonally into 1 inch pieces.  Lightly beat eggs. Crush garlic.

Serve immediately over a bed of rice. 

Shrimp with Lobster Sauce

 

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Shrimp & Lobster Sauce

A light and delicious alternative to cocktail sauces or melted butter

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Seafood

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: asian dinners, chinese take out, shrimp, shrimp with lobster sauce

Servings: 4

Calories: 317kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 lb shrimp shelled & deveined
• 1/4 lb ground pork
• 3 scallions green onions sliced in 1" diagonal pieces
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 large cloves garlic crushed
• 4 tbsp light soy sauce dark soy sauce may be substituted
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbs water

Instructions

• See step-by-step pictures

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 317kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 388mg | Sodium: 2520mg | Potassium: 265mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 209IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 194mg | Iron: 4mg

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