Full Tummies Tuesday - Easy Beef Lo Mein: Takeout From Home!

We really love ordering Chinese food. However, Chinese takeout can end up being super expensive. Especially if you are like us and you like to have a little bit of everything to choose from!

We don't eat out a lot, but we are realizing that when we do it ends up being really expensive. So because Trader Joe's has a pretty awesome selection of reasonably priced frozen options, we decided it's time to start having "take-out" night become "make-at-home" night. The only thing is, Beef Lo Mein is probably our favorite take-out dish, and it very simply MUST be fresh. SO I've combined a few of my favorite recipes and created what we think is the perfect (and easy!) Beef Lo Mein! 

We prefer the lo mein noodles because it makes the dish taste more "authentic" but spaghetti noodles do work just fine. Just be sure not to over cook them! Otherwise your whole dish will be kind of, smooshy. 

Add the sesame oil to the cooked and drained noodles, toss to cover all the noodles in oil and set them aside. Bring the water to a boil and dissolve in the beef bullion, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Stir well, and set aside. For my recipe, I use a combination of two 12 oz bags of frozen vegetables. I thaw them out in the microwave a bit and set them aside. If you are using fresh vegetables for this recipe, you will need to fry or cook them ahead of time. Then, brown the beef in a skillet, and cut into small slices if you haven't done so already. I throw in my onions and garlic about half way through cooking the beef. This adds flavor to the beef and also makes sure that your onions are nice and cooked up. When the beef and onions are done cooking, add the soy sauce mixture and cook together for a few minutes. Combine the noodles, vegetables, beef and onion mixture into one pan.

Cover and cook together on low heat until the vegetables are cooked through. About 5 minutes or so! Voila! Take-out at home! :)

Full recipe below!

EASY BEEF LO MEIN

Takeout From Home!

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INGREDIENTS

8 ounces lo mein noodles or spaghetti 2 tsp sesame oil 1/2 cup boiling water 1 1/2 tablespoons beef bouillon 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce depending on your taste 3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 lb beef or steak cut into thin slices 2 12 oz bags of frozen mixed vegetables of your choice (asian blend, carrots, broccoli, peppers, sugar snap peas, etc.) 1 onion 4 cloves of garlic

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DIRECTIONS Cook the noodles as instructed. We prefer the lo mein noodles because it makes the dish taste more "authentic" but spaghetti noodles do work just fine. Just be sure not to over-cook them! Add the sesame oil to the spaghetti, stir, and set aside. Add the beef bullion, brown sugar, and soy sauce to ½ C boiling water, stir to dissolve, and set aside. Brown the beef in a skillet, and cut into small slices if you haven't done so already. I throw in my onions and garlic about half way through here and start cooking the onions with the beef. Once cooked, add the soy sauce mixture and cook together for a few minutes. Combine the noodles, vegetables, beef and onion mixture into one pan. Cover and cook together on low heat until the vegetables are cooked through.

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  EAT & ENJOY!