Money-Saving Meals for Two

Spring Lamb Stir Fry — Mediterranean Style

Don't think of stir fry for only Asian dishes. Stir fry is a cooking method, not a cuisine, and it's perfect for this quick-and-delicious Mediterranean lamb dish. If you don't own a wok, a large stick-free skillet works just as well.

• 1 1/2 cups (about 12 ounces) raw lamb cut into bite-size strips. Any cut of lamb will work — even inexpensive shoulder/blade steaks — or you can use cooked leftover bits from a roast or leg of lamb ($2.29 per pound — lamb shoulder chop).
• 2 tablespoons  olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup honey (25 cents portion from a dollar store purchase)
• 4 spring onions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, green tops and all (50 cents)
• 1/2 cup whole olives (green or black — I like to use whole kalamata olives, being careful to avoid the pits) (33 cents based on a $1 can from a dollar store)
• 1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped (60 cents)
• 2 cups  fresh whole-leaf spinach (about 1/4 pound) (50 cents — farmers' market)
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves (from my garden — easy to grow, even in pots)
  
• 1/3 cup feta cheese (about 65 cents — portion from bulk purchase at warehouse store)
  
• 2 cups cooked rice or cut macaroni (50 cents)
  

Estimated cost of ingredients: $5.62

Heat the oil in the wok until almost smoking. Add garlic, then lamb, and cook until lamb starts to brown (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the honey and onions and cook, stirring, for 1 minute to 2 minutes. Add olives and the tomato and cook for about 1 minute. Add spinach and cook until it just begins to wilt. Stir in mint leaves and remove from heat. Serve on a bed of rice or cut macaroni, topped with the feta cheese.

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