[FrugalSue]

Usually I don't use recipes for stir fry, I just buy fresh seasonal vegetables and keep a few different sauces in the fridge (teriyaki, hoison, etc.) But I do have an old Americanized sukiyaki recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook that has been a family favorite for years, and I've eliminated some of the unhealthy ingredients from it to make it work for me now.

SUE'S SUKIYAKI

1 lb. steak*
1/3 C soy sauce
2 packets of Splenda
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 cup low sodium beef broth
1/2 lb mushrooms, thinly sliced
8 green onions, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 large onions, thinly sliced
3 medium stalks celery, cut into diagonal 1/2 inch slices
1 can (8.5 oz) bamboo shoots, drained
3 C fresh spinach, either baby spinach or torn up larger leaves
2 C hot cooked brown rice

*How you treat the steak depends upon what kind of steak you buy. If you buy something less expensive and less tender such as round steak, then cut up the steak into strips and marinate it for at least two hours in the soy sauce and Splenda. If you buy more expensive steak, such as tenderloin, then you can eliminate the marinating step. You'll use the soy sauce and Splenda later on in the recipe instead of marinating.

If you marinated the beef, drain it and reserve the marinade.

Cook and stir beef in oil in skillet or wok over medium-high heat until brown. Push beef to side. Stir in reserved marinade (or the soy sauce and Splenda, if you didn't marinate) and the beef broth. Arrange the mushrooms, onions, celery and bamboo shoots in separate parts of the wok. Cover and simmer until the beef is tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the spinach. Cover and simmer another 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with rice.

4 servings

P.S. This is a really attractive dish, besides being healthy, because you have the veggies set out separately around the wok. So bring the whole wok right to the table for serving.