Yield: 4

Natasha’s Kitchen

This is a quick, one-pan, 20-minute ground beef stir fry that is loaded with fresh veggies and has the best sauce (which is super easy by the way!). Serve over rice or in lettuce cups for low carb option and you’ll essentially have a copycat of lettuce wraps you’d get from takeout!
Prep: 10 Cook: 10

For the ground beef stir fry:

• 1lb 80-20 ground beef
• 2medium zucchinis, sliced
• 8oz brown mushrooms or baby Bella, sliced
• 1carrot julienned
• chives or green onions, optional for garnish

For the sauce:

• 3TBS soy sauce
• 3TBS BBQ sauce, original, sweet or smoky
• 2TBS real maple syrup
• 2garlic cloves, grated or minced
• 1tsp ginger, grated, or use 1 cube frozen ginger, or ¼ tsp ground ginger
• 1TBS sesame oil

Mix the sauce:

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine all of the sauce ingredients and set aside

Brown the Beef :

Set a large skillet or Wok over medium/high heat and add 1 TBS oil. Add beef and sauté, breaking it up with a spatula for about 5 minutes or until fully cooked through and lightly browned to build flavor. Transfer the beef to a separate bowl, keeping any oil in the pan.

Sauté the veggies:

In the same skillet, add a little bit of oil if you don’t have enough reserved from the ground beef and add all of your veggies, sautéing and stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes or until zucchini is half done and crunchy. Don’t overcook them because they’ll still be cooking a little more with the sauce and you don’t want them to get mushy.

Add the ground beef and sauce:

Add the cooked ground beef back to the pan then add the sauce and stir to combine. Cook, stir occasionally for about two minutes or until fragrant. This gives the garlic and ginger a chance to cook lightly. Zucchini should be crisp-tender.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Serve over freshly cooked rice or in lettuce cups. Garnish with chives if desired.

Storage tips:

Allow the stir fry to cool before packing into an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

To reheat, place stir fry in a hot frying pan and sauté until warmed through or use the microwave to reheat.