By Sue Cockburn
If you're looking for easy to prepare, last minute, healthier, meal choices consider Stir Fries. They provide tremendous variety for meal times and can easily be decided on at the last minute, if needed. They also provide a great opportunity for being creative and trying new things. Who says you have to always follow a recipe?
"What do we have in the fridge and pantry?"
For example, yesterday was one of those days where my plans to go grocery shopping were sidelined by other demands and so dinner became a "what do we have in the fridge and pantry?" challenge.
And, to be honest, I'm pretty impressed with what I came up with because my choices were rather limited: 4 carrots, 2 stalks of asparagus, 4 green onions, a yellow onion (already chopped - phew!), leftover brown basmati rice, eggs (I only needed one), chicken broth and what I thought was frozen halibut, turned out to be sole.
Thankfully, I also had a range of seasonings on hand - always! - And decided on oyster sauce with garlic powder, kosher salt and black pepper, to taste.
My husband, who is not a big fan of sole on any day, really liked what I came up with - even with the sole! And, it was SO easy!
Before beginning to cook anything I prepared the veggies - julienned the carrots, chopped up the green onion and asparagus and diced the yellow onion a little smaller. Then cut the sole into large bite size pieces.
With everything ready to go I grabbed a small frying pan for the fish and a larger deep-dish frying pan for the veggies, the egg and rice.
The sole was seasoned with a pinch of kosher salt and pepper and sauteed in a bit of oil over medium heat until cooked. I added a couple of dashes of oyster sauce to the fish at the very end for a little more taste.
As the fish was cooking the veggies were seasoned with kosher salt, pepper and garlic while being sauteed over medium heat in a small amount of oil, to prevent sticking, and half a cup of chicken broth. After a few minutes of cooking, and while the veggies were still nice and crisp, they were pushed to the side of the pan - the beauty of a large deep-dish frying pan - to make room for an egg that needed scrambling.
Once the egg was scrambled the leftover rice was tossed in with the egg and veggies, along with some oyster sauce. Everything was stirred together until it was heated through. The fried rice concoction was then transferred to two plates, topped with the cooked sole and lightly drizzled with oyster sauce.
So simple and quick, and bonus, my husband actually liked it - a lot!
While this was not a gourmet meal it worked in a pinch and was surprisingly tasty.
It's amazing the options available to us with just a few basic seasonings, some leftover rice or pasta, a few veggies and meat (or not).
Get Creative!
Stir Fries, whether with rice or pasta, can be delicious and healthy meal choices. And it is one area of cooking where we can really get creative with the ingredients and the seasonings, with tasty results.
Veggies are a big part of these types of meals, usually. And that's good news for those of us working to eat healthier. There are other choices we can make too that will increase the nutritional content - like brown rice or pasta instead of white - if we like.
Interested in trying a Stir Fry recipe? I've included one below that is straightforward. Give it a try, switch it up with your favorite meat, veggies, sauces and spices. Play with the ingredients so they work for you. There are lots of options to work with.
VEGGIE STIR FRY
Simple, tasty, healthy!
Ingredients -
Serving size determined by amount of veggies and rice or quinoa prepared.
Preparation -
The Key!
The key to being creative and spontaneous with Stir Fries is ensuring you have 'the basics' in your pantry. The basics for me are pasta, rice, noodles, sauces and seasonings. With these basics in stock it's as easy as looking in the fridge and freezer to decide what veggies and protein, etc. you feel like including in your Stir Fry cooking adventure.
"What do we have in the fridge and pantry?"
For example, yesterday was one of those days where my plans to go grocery shopping were sidelined by other demands and so dinner became a "what do we have in the fridge and pantry?" challenge.
And, to be honest, I'm pretty impressed with what I came up with because my choices were rather limited: 4 carrots, 2 stalks of asparagus, 4 green onions, a yellow onion (already chopped - phew!), leftover brown basmati rice, eggs (I only needed one), chicken broth and what I thought was frozen halibut, turned out to be sole.
Thankfully, I also had a range of seasonings on hand - always! - And decided on oyster sauce with garlic powder, kosher salt and black pepper, to taste.
My husband, who is not a big fan of sole on any day, really liked what I came up with - even with the sole! And, it was SO easy!
Before beginning to cook anything I prepared the veggies - julienned the carrots, chopped up the green onion and asparagus and diced the yellow onion a little smaller. Then cut the sole into large bite size pieces.
With everything ready to go I grabbed a small frying pan for the fish and a larger deep-dish frying pan for the veggies, the egg and rice.
The sole was seasoned with a pinch of kosher salt and pepper and sauteed in a bit of oil over medium heat until cooked. I added a couple of dashes of oyster sauce to the fish at the very end for a little more taste.
As the fish was cooking the veggies were seasoned with kosher salt, pepper and garlic while being sauteed over medium heat in a small amount of oil, to prevent sticking, and half a cup of chicken broth. After a few minutes of cooking, and while the veggies were still nice and crisp, they were pushed to the side of the pan - the beauty of a large deep-dish frying pan - to make room for an egg that needed scrambling.
Once the egg was scrambled the leftover rice was tossed in with the egg and veggies, along with some oyster sauce. Everything was stirred together until it was heated through. The fried rice concoction was then transferred to two plates, topped with the cooked sole and lightly drizzled with oyster sauce.
So simple and quick, and bonus, my husband actually liked it - a lot!
While this was not a gourmet meal it worked in a pinch and was surprisingly tasty.
It's amazing the options available to us with just a few basic seasonings, some leftover rice or pasta, a few veggies and meat (or not).
Get Creative!
Stir Fries, whether with rice or pasta, can be delicious and healthy meal choices. And it is one area of cooking where we can really get creative with the ingredients and the seasonings, with tasty results.
Veggies are a big part of these types of meals, usually. And that's good news for those of us working to eat healthier. There are other choices we can make too that will increase the nutritional content - like brown rice or pasta instead of white - if we like.
Interested in trying a Stir Fry recipe? I've included one below that is straightforward. Give it a try, switch it up with your favorite meat, veggies, sauces and spices. Play with the ingredients so they work for you. There are lots of options to work with.
VEGGIE STIR FRY
Simple, tasty, healthy!
Ingredients -
Serving size determined by amount of veggies and rice or quinoa prepared.
Preparation -
- Prepare ingredients as noted.
- Cook rice or quinoa while you prepare veggies and almonds, or reheat leftovers of either - just before veggies are done.
- Mix together soy sauce and brown sugar. It should have at least a hint of sweetness to it.
- Add oil to a wok or deep-dish frying pan and saute garlic and all vegetables over medium high heat.
- A few minutes into the cooking process add half of the soy sauce and brown sugar mixture to veggies (or your favorite Asian sauce).
- Cover pan and allow steam to help cook the veggies.
- Add remaining soy sauce and brown sugar mixture as needed.
- Be careful not to overcook the veggies. They should be crisp and full of color when pulled from the heat.
- Serve over quinoa or rice and sprinkle with roasted almonds.
The Key!
The key to being creative and spontaneous with Stir Fries is ensuring you have 'the basics' in your pantry. The basics for me are pasta, rice, noodles, sauces and seasonings. With these basics in stock it's as easy as looking in the fridge and freezer to decide what veggies and protein, etc. you feel like including in your Stir Fry cooking adventure.
Sue Cockburn
The Lazy Chef (aka Chief Cook and Bottle Washer)
http://thelazychef.net/
http://facebook.com/suethelazychef/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sue_CockburnThe Lazy Chef (aka Chief Cook and Bottle Washer)
http://thelazychef.net/
http://facebook.com/suethelazychef/
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