Big news: we got pre-approved for a home loan, which means we’ll be buying a house in the next three months! I’m so excited–no more upstairs neighbors vacuuming and showering at 3am! No more weird maintenance guys! MORE KITCHEN SPACE!

We’re meeting with a real estate agent this weekend to start a serious search. This summer is going to be awesome.

Quick dinners can be a lifesaver, especially when life gets crazy. This is one of my favorites. It only takes about 20 minutes to make, and the leftovers are delicious, too.

Asian-inspired Beef & Rice Thing

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1T sesame oil
• 1/2C brown sugar
• 1/2C low sodium soy sauce (if you use regular soy sauce, it will be way too salty!)
• 1t fresh ginger, grated (freeze the ginger for easier grating)
• 2t red pepper flakes
• cooked rice (I make mine with some sesame oil for flavor)
• scallions, chopped
• sriracha

Brown the beef in the garlic and sesame oil. Drain (I use a colander), then dump the beef back in the pan. Mix together the brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and red pepper flakes, and pour over beef. Stir around and simmer, covered, for a few minutes. I usually leave this until the rice is done.

Serve beef over rice, topped with scallions and sriracha.