BEEF BROCCOLI PINEAPPLE TERIYAKI STIR FRY

WEEK SIXTEEN: RECIPES THAT BRING OUT THE HOMEBODY IN YOU AND MAKE YOU GLAD THAT YOU LOVE TO EAT.

Everyone loves a good Teriyaki dish and this one has lots to love. First of all, since you don't really have to cook the meat, it is a time-saver and in addition, it is about one of the best Teriyaki dishes I've eaten in a long time. The trick is to have a big bag of frozen meatballs on hand because they are the secret ingredient here that gives this a lot of flavor. Everything else is good but not great, but when combined with the meatballs, Wow! That's all I can say.

You probably won't see this on the menu when you go out to a Asian restaurant but that's only because they don't usually use Italian meatballs in their stir fry. Not to worry, though, because it doesn't really taste Italian once you get all the other stuff in with it. If anyone complains, just tell them it's the way your grandmother used to make it and no one can argue with that! Since you cut the meatballs in half it lessens their resemblance to meatballs so you tend not to make the Italian connection, anyway.

I do need to say something about the wine. No, this isn't cooking wine, it's the real thing but not to worry--it's going to be okay because any alcohol will cook out whilst you're stirring your stir-fry. The reason for the real wine rather than cooking wine is that it contains much less sodium in it and the soy sauce adds plenty of sodium on its own.(In fact, I would recommend using the low-sodium kind if you happen to have it on hand.) I don't want to be responsible for driving anyone to drink so I hope you'll avoid taking any swings on the side. Now that that's cleared up, on with the Teriyaki!

2-3 C. frozen meatballs cut in half (depending on how meaty you want it to be)

1 small can pineapple tidbits

1 crown of fresh broccoli in small florets

1 can sliced mushrooms

1 medium onion, cut into small slices

2 T. oil

Juice from the canned pineapple

1/2 C. white wine

1/4 C. soy sauce

4 T. brown sugar (very important)

1 T. cornstarch

1 C. white rice

2 C. salted water

1. Cut up the onion and sautee it and the mushrooms in the oil.

2. Steam the broccoli florets for just 3-4 minutes. Make sure you don't steam it for too long. It needs to be bright green.

3. Combine the broccoli and the drained pineapple with the mushrooms and onion in your skillet. Add the meatballs cut in half.

4. Make the sauce with the pineapple juice, wine, soy sauce, brown sugar and cornstarch. Add to the beef and vegetables and bring to a boil. Cook just long enough for the sauce to thicken.

5. In the meantime cook the rice however you like your rice to be cooked--either steamed or made in a rice cooker. Pour the hot teriyaki over the rice and serve with your choice of side dish. This recipe serves 3-4. Enjoy!