BBQ Beef Lo Mein

This dish was originally meant to have a Chinese-esque flair to it... but this Midwest girl didn't exactly have all the unique ingredients that go into an Asian dish... shocker right? ;)
So it turned into a dish that is having a real identity problem...
"Am I Asian? Or from the country? Do I consider myself BBQ or Teriyaki?"

Let's just go with DELICIOUS!

...So, like any girl would do - I threw stuff in here, little bit there, substituted 'til the cows came home, and thankfully it turned out pretty darn tasty!

This dish has more of a smoky/BBQ flavor... if it was going to be any sort of Asian dish it would definitely be the closest relative of teriyaki if anything...

But no matter what family tree, or country of origin this recipe may or may not fit into - one thing is for certain... IT'S DELICIOUS!
And easy, very very easy to throw together in no time at all!

What you're gonna need~

4oz pasta
6 oz steak (cooked and sliced)
2 cups frozen veggies (California Blend is delish)
1 tbsp each:
-Soy sauce
-BBQ sauce
-Worsheier
-Chicken stock
-Brown sugar
pinch of salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper (if you like spice!)
1 tsp. oil of choice (for sautéing garlic and onions)
Garlic (depending on how much you enjoy, my family doesn't really enjoy garlic too much so I used about 1 tsp. minced)
Onions chopped (again, to your liking)
Sesame seeds (opt.)

The drill~
1. Bring a pot of water to boil - add pasta and cook until nearly done, while that is going-mix up your "sauce" aka-the soy, BBQ, chicken stock, brown sugar, salt and pepper (and red pepper if using)

~After pasta is nearly done, drain almost all the pasta water

2. Saute your garlic and onions in a small sauce pan

3. Add sliced steak as well as veggies and cook for a minute or two

4. Add veggies after thawing in microwave if need be
5. Stir fry those all up for another minute or so

6. Add the sauce, pasta and remaining pasta water (I found it easier to add meat/veggies to pasta instead just because I was worried about it all fitting in my baby sized sauce pan!)

7. Let cook a few minutes (about 4 or 5)
8. When everything is hot and mixed together well, and the sauce has thickened and soaked into noodles you're all set!

9. Serve piping hot, and sprinkle with sesame seeds (if you're feeling all sorts of fancy!)

Taco Pasta

What do you get when an Olive Garden receives Taco Bell's shipment of ingredients?
TACO PASTA!

There's a short little clip about the steps of taco pasta... as you can see it's pretty darn simple. It's also a great roll-over meal to have after you make tacos!

What you're going to need (for 3-4 servings)

-2 cups dry pasta (whole wheat works great)

-1/2 cup ground beef

-1/2 cup beans (can have more, this is just what I had after taco night)

-1/2 cup corn (again, give or take depending on what you have)

-2 tomatoes, chopped

-1/2 cup salsa

The steps to supper:

1. Boil pasta until nearly done, then drain all but aout 1/4 cup of the water

2. Heat the salsa, tomatoes, corn, beans and beef

3. When hot, add to the pasta and place on a burner

4. Reheat, stirring often. It may not seem like the sauce is thick enough, but it should thicken as you heat - if not you can always add a little sour cream or cream cheese to thicken

~Serve with chopped lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream-anything you'd regularly add to a taco!

Perfect for a quick and easy (not to mention healthy) supper, and kids LOVE it!