Beef and vegetable stir-fry with ginger noodles

Was it really Thursday that I last blogged? I once imagined that with my youngest in preschool, some windows of time would open up. What was I thinking? Volunteer duties along with household chores and kids' extracurriculars are devouring every bit of my spare time. Insatiable! Then of course, there are the unexpected things that pop up. Like the consequences of my pup's carefully opening and devouring 10 mini Nestle Crunch bars.

Enough whinging. At least I'm cooking and enjoying it. Creating meals is a daily (or twice or thrice daily) task for most of us. It's pretty much unavoidable so you may as well have some fun.

Here's a really yummy adaptation of Mark Bittman's beef stir-fry with ginger noodles recipe. All of my children relished it, including Pretzel Boy a.k.a. Mr. Picky.

Stir-fried beef and vegetables with ginger noodles
Adapted from Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express

1 pound udon noodles
1 tablespoon grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sesame oil

1.5 - 2 pounds flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
half of a large onion, sliced into strips
large red bell pepper sliced into strips
half-pound of broccoli florettes, steamed
soy sauce
hoisin sauce
red curry paste

Cook udon noodles according to package directions. Drain. In a large skillet, cook ginger and garlic in sesame oil for a few minutes, until softened. Remove from heat and toss the noodles in the pan.

In some vegetable oil, stir fry the beef strips until cooked through. Remove from pan. Stir fry onion and pepper until they start to soften. Add a little soy sauce and cover the pan for 2-3 minutes. Add steamed broccoli and beef to the pan. Add about 4 tablespoons of hoisin sauce and 1-2 tablespoons of red curry paste along with soy sauce to taste. Stir together until everything is heated through and serve over noodles.