Beef Noodle Bowl

My older two kids LOVE this meal. Which is funny since, like the vegetable stir-fry on this site, it has broccoli and cooked carrots which are both unfavored items as a general rule. This is also a really great recipe to use if you have a lot of leftover cooked pasta. When we do spaghetti or something like that we never put the sauce on the noodles while they're in the pan because some kids don't like the sauce and others only want a little, etc. So, we often have leftover noodles to use. It's a versatile recipe, too. You can always add different veggies than what the recipe calls for and it still generally turns out. I haven't tried all combinations of veggies so I can't say it always turns out.

Beef Noodle Bowl
from Kraft

8 oz. linguine, uncooked
3 cups broccoli florets
3 carrots, peeled, sliced (about 2 cups)
2 tsp oil
1 lb beef sirloin steak, cut into strips (I cheat and buy stir-fry beef at the grocery store)
1 Tbsp teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing

Cook pasta as directed on package, adding vegetables to the boiling water for the last 2 minutes of the pasta cooking time. (I've found they usually need longer so I add the veggies when I add the pasta to the water.)

Meanwhile, heat oil in large nonstick skillet. (I use a really large pot because, once you add everything to this pan, it will be really hard to stir it together without spilling stuff over the edge of the skillet.)

Add meat to the oil and cook for 4 minutes or until the meat is browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. (I often have "juice" from the meat that is more like water, so I drain this out during the cooking of the meat.)

Stir in dressing and teriyaki sauce and cook for 2 minutes or until the sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally. (I usually double the sauce amount depending on how many veggies I'm using or how many noodles I'm using. The original sauce amount isn't very much anyway.)

Drain the pasta mixture and place in a large serving bowl. Add the meat mixture and toss to coat. (Unless you don't want t make another dish dirty and you serve it in the pan, like me. See the comment about pans above.)

Tip:
When you are using leftover noodles you won't be cooking the veggies with the noodles. When that's the case, I add a little salt to the water with the veggies while they cook, otherwise they are a little bland. But that is completely a personal choice. And, warm the noodles up in the microwave before adding it to the meat mixture. You don't want to cool off the meat and then have to reheat it with the noodles.