Beef Stir Fry with Ramen Noodles

When I got some beef to make a stir fry, I instantly thought of this recipe which I have been holding on to forever.  I realized that I got it so long ago that I didn't get a link to the recipe to share.  I searched for the name on the internet and couldn't find it!  I was starting to write a post about how horrible I was that I didn't know where any of my recipes are from and then I did another search.  I actually searched all of the words that I had that weren't the recipe and I finally found it!  I should have figured that it was from Campbell's since it was using Campbell's soup.  Check here if you want to see the original recipe.
 
The only problem is that I don't keep tomato soup in the house.  These things never stop me because I figure out a replacement with the help of the internet. I had tomato juice (frozen homemade), tomato paste, and tomato sauce on the counter to try to figure out what I was going to use to replace the tomato soup.  I found this recipe to make condensed soup at home.  It gave me the great idea to add cornstarch which I then got out of the cupboard.

I heated up the pan and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Adding the thinly sliced strips of steak. Do you see the steam from the side with the sizzle?

Then, I stirred the steak strips around the pan to start to cook.  Don't over crowd in the pan so that they all get nice and brown.

 I tried to flip the pieces the best that I could do and wait for them to brown.  At this point, you should add the veggies that you are looking to cook but I got a little worried about the sauce and they jumped to the sauce part without thinking.

 
If you are a multi-tasker, start the ramen noodles in the microwave (or your preferred cooking method).  I actually used the bigger packages of noodles because we had a few that were getting older and close to expiration.  Mine took 4 minutes but the regular package takes 3 minutes in the microwave.

I added the tomato juice and some tomato sauce to the pan.  I sprinkled the oriental flavoring to top and stirred in.

The sauce was really thin and didn't look too good so I added the corn starch suggested in how to make condensed soup.

It turned the sauce more of an orange color instead of the bright red and it thickened it a little.

This was the point at which I saw the bag of snow peas on the counter...  UGH! 

I put the noodles on the plate and placed the steak mixture on the top.

Then, I emptied the pan so that I didn't have to dirty another one and sauteed them a little.  The great thing is that they stay a little crunchy which is how we like them anyway.

I put the cooked snow peas on top of the already prepared plate.  I brought a little extra sauce to the table because I didn't know how it would go over.

The meal was interesting but not really what I was expecting.  There wasn't a lot of flavor other than the tomato.  I added a few splashes of soy sauce and it was much more tasty.  If I were to make this again, I would add garlic and ginger as well.  I might also coat the steak with corn starch to give the extra crunch to the meat and thicken the sauce at the same time.  If you have tried it, let me know what you think and if it turned out different with the condensed soup.

I don't think that this dish was really what I was looking for when I tried it but it did give me other ideas on how to use up ramen noodles to change up dinner.  Any dish with a nice sauce is perfect to put over the noddles as a super frugal side dish.  Great reminder that even if it isn't your favorite recipe that cooking always teaches something!!  I hope that you try the dish and see what you think!!

Beef Stir Fry with Ramen Noodles

Non-stick cooking spray or oil

Very thin cut strips of steak

Tomato sauce

Corn Starch

2 packages oriental flavor ramen noodle soup 

1 package of Oriental seasoning packet
Snow Peas (or other favorite veggie)

Soy sauce

Spray a 10-inch skillet with the cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Stir fry the snow peas and remove from pan.  Add the beef and stir-fry until well browned.  Stir in the tomato sauce (or Campbell's soup) and 1 ramen seasoning packet (reserve the remaining seasoning packet for another use) and heat to a boil.  Add some corn starch to thicken the sauce (if not using Campbell's soup). Simmer for a few minutes until thickened.  Return the snow peas to the skillet and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling.  Add soy sauce to taste.  Add any additional spices you prefer like garlic or ginger.

Cook the ramen noodles according to the package directions without the seasoning packet.  Drain the noodles well.  Serve the beef mixture over the noodles.

Shared on Homemade Mondays 

Pan Fried Cube Steak

I got a great deal on some cube steak that my husband really wanted so it was $1.11 after coupon.  Have you ever eaten cube steak?  It used to be a cheap cut of meat that you could get to have some meat for your family.  Currently, it is $5.99 per pound at Harris Teeter so I don't think that it is a cheap piece of meat anymore. 

Let me give you a little background my history with cube steak.  I used to hate eating cube steak when I was growing up because my mom cooked it in a pan until it tasted like shoe leather.  We used to have A1 steak sauce in the house to just have a little more moisture to get it down.  My husband told me that he loved cube steak early in our relationship so I thought that I should give it a chance.  Thinking that I would have to eat some things that I didn't like in this relationship so I should suck it up now.  Well, he made me this wonderful meal with Pan Fried Cube Steak with white rice.  We eat it the same to this day!!!

It is super easy to make.  I took out plain bread crumbs, one egg, and the cube steak package.

I cracked the egg and mixed with a little water in the bowl.  It makes the egg a little bit looser and it helps stretch it so that you only need one egg.

There were two pieces in the container and it was plenty for us for dinner!!  I dipped into the bread crumbs first.  I pressed the bread crumbs into both sides so that the cube steak is coated.  Don't worry about getting too much coverage because this is the first layer and there will be another one.

Then, I dipped it in the egg mixture.  I put it on one side and then turn it to the other to coat.  Don't leave it to sit too long or the first layer of bread crumbs will come off.

Then, put it back into the bread crumbs to coat both sides.  You will have to press more into the cube steak so that it is all covered with bread crumbs and none of the egg mixture is showing the cube steak is not wet.

When it is completely covered, you can put in a pan with heated oil so that it can fry.  I usually cook at medium heat so that it can brown slowly and cook through.

Repeat the process with the other piece of meat (or as many as you have).  When they are cooked in the pan, flip them to cook on the other side.

When the cube steak is done cooking, take them out and drain them on a paper towel or put them directly in a casserole dish to put in the oven.  I usually bake them a little in case I have fried them on a low enough temperature.  It takes care of cooking them and it takes out a little bit of the oil.

It also helps so that you can wait for the other items to go with dinner to be ready like the rice.  It is hard to time everything to come out hot at the same time especially if you are doing multiple pieces of cube steak in the pan.

Serve over yummy rice or with your choice of side dishes.

I hope that you like this yummy treat!  We haven't had this in at least 5 years in our house so it was a super nice treat to have cube steak and share it with you.

Pan Fried Cube Steak

Cube Steak
Egg
Bread Crumbs

1.  Put bread crumbs in a bowl big enough to dip the cube steak in the bowl.

2.  Mix egg and water in a second bowl that is big enough to dip the cube steak into.

3.  Add oil to pan that is big enough to fit the meat and turn on a low temperature to heat while preparing the meat. 

4.  Dip the cube steak in the bread crumbs and coat both sides.

5.  Dip the cube steak in the egg mixture to coat both sides.

6.  Dip the cube steak into the bread crumbs again and evenly coat both sides so that now more wet spots are showing through from the egg mixture.

7.  Add cube steak to pan with oil to fry.  Don't over crowd the pan because if the pieces are touching, it is harder to cook and flip.

8.  Flip cube steak when first side is browned towards the edge.  Fry on both sides until browned.

9.  Drain on paper towels or put in casserole dish in the oven to keep warm until serving dinner.

I hope that you take this chance to try some yummy cube steak because I know that you will enjoy this change of pace from the normal dinner!  Since we only used about 1/2 a pound, it would still be a frugal meal at the high charge per pound but we got lucky with the great coupon because it was only $1.11 after the coupon for the serving we had.  I know that we enjoyed the meal and we hope that you will too!!

Shared on Swap and Share Sunday and  Church Super

Grilled Roast Beef Sandwiches

I used to work a restaurant where my favorite meal on the menu was a roast beef sandwich with melted provolone and a grilled roll with a horseradish mustard.  Of course, normally I couldn't afford restaurant food every day but this was way back in the day and we got our lunch for free.  Since this was my first restaurant job, I was a little frightened of the cook (if you ever have worked in a restaurant you might understand my hesitation).  Luckily, he was the nicest cook in the world and taught me how to make my own lunch on the grill!  I made the same thing every time I worked and probably should have payed more attention to the recipe for the horseradish mustard.  After years of looking for a replacement, I found this one at Wegmans.

Of course, the restaurant is long out of business and it has been 20 years since I have had one made at the restaurant but I quickly learned to make them easily at home.  I usually get roast beef from the deli counter but I had a great coupon so I got this container for $0.50 after coupon at Harris Teeter super doubles ($0.17 for each sandwich).  I pulled out some of my homemade rolls from the freezer.  The most expensive item was the provolone cheese because the package was on sale for $3 but there were 12 slices and I only used 1 per sandwich ($0.25 for each sandwich).

If you would like to make these at your house, first butter both sides of the bun.  Sometimes it is easier to separate them in order to move them on the griddle.

Then, you put them on a griddle to brown them.

After they are browned, set them aside.  I usually put them directly on the plates that we are going to eat unless I still have out the cutting board or another plate.  Don't those look pretty??

Next I cook the roast beef on the griddle.  When they are cooked around the edges, I flip them over to brown in the other side.  This part happens quickly so it was hard to get a picture.  Then when there are a few together, I put a slice of the provolone cheese and cover with another few slices on the top.  The cheese melts in between the layers to make it super yummy.

Then I take it off the griddle and put it on the prepared rolls.

I top mine with the horseradish mustard but my husband prefers ketchup (yuck)!! 

I thought that I had a picture of the finished sandwiches but it turns out that we ate them too quickly.  They are super easy to cook up and perfect on a busy night to get dinner on the table in a few minutes.  I hope that you try these yummy sandwiches for your family!!!  I can't wait to make them again soon since I have more roast beef and provolone cheese waiting in the refrigerator.

Shared at Spatulas on Parade Swap and Share Sunday and Everyday Mom's Meals Church Supper