home cookin'

I'm a big fan of making stir fries. Buy whichever veggies are on sale that week. Chop them up into the size of piece you'd expect from a Chinese place. Cut up an onion, some garlic, and some ginger. Slice up half a pound of whatever kind of meat you like. Marinade in 1 T of dark soy sauce and 1 T of rice wine (or whatever white wine/vinegar you have). I have a book (Wok Fast) with a bunch of sauces I like, though the easiest is:

1/4 C chicken broth (or water)
1/4 C rice wine
2 T oyster sauce
1 t dark sesame oil
2 t cornstarch
1/2 t sugar
1/2 t ground pepper (or more if you like)

Put a little oil in a wok or large pan, sautee meat on high. Take meat out of pan, put a little more oil in, then throw in your onion. Cook for ~1 min, put in garlic in ginger. When fragrant throw in first veggie, cook 1-2 minutes (if it's a harder one like squash, carrots, or green beans, put 1 T water in the pot and throw a lid over it for 30 second intervals). Put in second, faster cooking veggie. Cook until about done. Put meat back in pan, pour in sauce (mix it prior to stirring in). Cook for ~30 seconds, pour out and devour.

All told it takes maybe 8 minutes of "actual" cooking time, with the rest of it being prep work. Usually makes three nights worth of dinner for two people when eaten with a bowl of rice, so spending 30-40 minutes chopping if you're slow is still a huge time saver vs going out for food.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Vemp, do you guys ever have brown rice? I've found I tend to eat less of it, and it has flavor, so it actually adds to the meal instead of just being a flavor sponge.

A great trick I learned from my uncle for an easy curry is to take a can of coconut milk and mix it with peanut sauce. More peanut sauce you add the stronger the flavor. Just stir fry your veggies and meat however you like, mix up the sauce, and add it at the end. You can also add some sriracha sauce to make it spicier if you like.

Edit: The thing I like about the slow cooker is that you can use really inexpensive cuts of meat and still get amazing results. Sass's link is for pork tenderloin, which is usually $8/lb or more. I use pork butt which is closer to $1.50 a pound. Just trim off any excess fat and you get the same mouthwatering results. I'll also say never use Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce in the slow cooker. There's too much sugar and it'll burn making everything taste like ass. Go with a sauce that has more of a vinegary taste than sugar.

There's nowhere I can't reach.