So what do you do when it is near the end of the month, you are low on cash and you still have to make meals? Or what do you do when you are just plain lazy and don’t want to go to the trouble of making something to complex? Or if your brain is on vacation and you can’t think of anything all that great or interesting to eat for the week? For me…it’s stir-fry time!

So stir-fry is my cheap old stand-by, the one thing that never changes or gets old.  Since starting this blog I have been having fun making new and interesting foods, so I haven’t fallen to my old stand-by.  Until the end of February.  For most people February is the best month because it is the shortest and you can do better with you monthly paycheck, spending and saving wise.  For me, my company pays by days worked during the work week-which means for the last week of February it was only 9 days…So February itself was fine, but March is the tough month. That is where cheap cooking comes in.

Thankfully I had some leftover frozen vegetables and rice on hand, so I only had to buy the tofu and a large back of frozen stir-fry veggies (and the fruit for the week, which was just apples and pears).  I love tofu, I know it’s weird texture, and looks like curds when broken up, but really it is the best thing ever after sautéing it and it gets a crust on it.  I often just make tofu with tamari sauce and boil some veg on a weekend for something easy, cheap and yummy. Again, nowhere out of my comfort zone.

I didn’t even use anything extravagant spice wise either to make it amazing.  It was just my good ole repeat stir-fry.

Stir Fry, 8 servings

1 C Brown Rice

8 Tbsp Tamari

¼ Tsp Salt

12 C Frozen Vegetables (your choice of veg)

2 Tbsp Ground Ginger

¾ Tsp Red Pepper Flakes

4 Tbsp Minced Garlic

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Blocks Extra Firm Tofu

1 Tsp Turmeric

1 Tsp Black Pepper

3 Tbsp Onion Flakes

1. Measure rice and follow cooking directions of your rice choice.  Add salt and tamari and water.
2. In large pot measure 2 tablespoon olive oil, 12 cups frozen veggies, 2 tablespoons tamari, 1 tablespoon ginger, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons minced garlic.  Stir everything together, turn heat up to high then put the lid on to sweat all the vegetables.
3. Drain both blocks of tofu and squeeze liquid out.  Cut tofu into small chunks.
4. In large sauce pan drop 1 tablespoon olive oil, chunked tofu, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 3 tablespoons onion flakes, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, 4 tablespoons tamari, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon black pepper.  With a flat spatula, combine all ingredients until tofu is fully covered.
5. Continue to stir veggies until your desired toughness or squishiness.
6. Continue to stir tofu until the bottom has a crust and all liquid has evaporated.
7. Turn off all burners and poor all items into the large veggie pot.
8. Stir everything together then portion out.

Calories: 319

Total Fat: 11g

Sodium: 591 mg

Total Carbs: 33.5g

Protein: 18g