The Frugal Feast ~ Orange Broccoli Beef, a Stir Fry Divine!

Stir Fry is one of the fastest meals on Earth! And easiest, too! To say nothing of it being economical! The meat, being super thinly sliced, gives the feeling that you're eating more than you really are...and that meal $$ stretches! The serving in the pictures is about 3 oz. of meat. A go with of rice, simple steamed or fried, is quite inexpensive, as well.

This week I had a client that ordered some of my Orange Broccoli Beef with Chinese Fried Rice, in a Meal Prep, so the rest of the package of super thin sliced sirloin had to fulfill it's mealtime destiny...as supper for the family. This is great after a hard day of planting, it's so fast to make up!

Orange Broccoli Beef Stir Fry (4 servings)

• 3/4# of a pound of thinly sliced sirloin steak
• 1 head of broccoli florets, just the florets
• 1 large onion, sliced (whatever you have handy will work)
• 1 small bell pepper, sliced (red would have been prettier, but I only had green left)
• 8 oz. can Mandarin oranges (optional, but tasty and pretty)
• Marinade & sauce: 1/4 cup orange juice, zest of one orange, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon or so of cornstarch. Use just enough to coat the meat for the marinade, save the rest for finishing.
• Oil for frying

Place your thinly sliced sirloin in a ziplock baggie, add just enough of the marinade to coat the meat...about a quarter cup. Toss to coat and let it sit on the side while you get the veggies cut up and ready.

Heat a tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil in a large pan or wok, over high heat. When it's hot, carefully add in your meat, draining off the excess marinade...don't discard. Too much liquid in the oil will make it spit and splutter at you...it's hot! Keep the meat moving...this takes but minutes.

When the meat has some color, add in the broccoli florets. Stir fry for a couple of minutes...shorter if you like your broccoli to stay crunchy.

In go the onions and bell pepper. I had two halves of onions left, after today's catering...might as well use them both! You'd regularly just use either a white or yellow onion. Give these a few tosses. I don't let them go too far, they'll finish in the sauce.

And in goes the delicious sauce! Cook this just until it thickens and the vegetables are done to your liking. We actually prefer our broccoli on the less al dente side...so I let it cook a bit past the thickening stage. This rarely, if ever, needs salt...the soy sauce is sufficient! If you like things spicy, you could add in some crushed red pepper flakes.

We served ours over Chinese Chicken Fried Rice...I had it left from the same client. A swap out for the meat is sirloin pork chops, thinly sliced. Also quite tasty! As a side, instead of rice, you can do this with Asian noodles, or even cooked spaghetti, for a Lo Mein dinner...super versatile! With the Egg Rolls and Popcorn Shrimp on the side, it was a really fun meal! Do give it a try, and let me know how it turns out for you!