Stir-Fried Beef and Asaparagus

This dish has so much flavor for how short the ingredients list is.

1 cup brown rice (I use the boil-in-a-bag variety)
2 t. olive oil1 pound steak, trimmed and cut into thin strips
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 T. fresh ginger, minced, peeled
1 lb asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 c. sugar snap peas
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
4 scallions, thinly sliced
3/4 c. chicken broth
1 T. reduced-sodium soy sauce

Heat a large, deep non-stick skillet or wok over high heat until a drop of water sizzles in the pan. Add the oil and swirl to coat the skillet. Add the beef and stir-fry until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a plate.

Add the garlic and ginger to the skillet and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the asparagus, peas and bell pepper and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes longer. Return the beef to the skillet and add the remaining ingredients. Stir-fry until the liquid is reduced, and 3 minutes longer. Serve with cooked rice.


Side note: while I was typing this out, Mr. B. snuck up behind me and read over my shoulder. He tapped the screen and said, "That stuff's good." while he walked out of the room. This, from a man that views "food as fuel" and has no grasp on the term foodie or why I have such an obsession with wonderful meals. Glory.

MyPeeDoesNotSmellAfterEatingAsaparagus,

Mrs. B.

Asparagus for dummies

I am kind of assuming everyone knows this but I just learned this tonight. I am 33 yrs old and I just learned this. (shakes head) And of course I learned it from my sister and she informed me that our mother taught her...which means she probably taught me but I was probably day dreaming or something at the time... (shakes head again)

Once you buy your asparagus and bring it home and get ready to cook it...

Take 2 or 3 stalks at a time and gently "bend" them near the bottom...the bottom of the asparagus will then break off at a natural breaking point. The remainder top part of the asparagus is ready for you to cook up however you like.

This eliminates that tough bottom of the asparagus that is soooo hard to eat.


Seriously people. How did I not know this before?!

PS. I read in an etiquette book once that asparagus is the only veggie you can eat with your fingers and it is not considered rude.



How we cooked it tonight:

Covered the bottom of the pan in Olive Oil
Medium Heat
Put the Asparagus in and toss it in the Olive Oil until they are covered.
Cook till they look good. We made ours really al-dente (is that a pasta word or can I use it on asparagus?).
*depending on the thickness of your asparagus the cooking times will vary...ours were really thin and didn't take long at all
About half way through add cut up Honeyed Almonds (I had some in a pouch already cut up from the grocery store)
At the very last we added diced tomatoes (minus the seeds/slimy part) in and gently cooked them for a minute or two...long enough to warm them up.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

I have to say...this was A-Maze-ing!

I hope you try it and I hope you learned something new too!