Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry

When my husband and I were first married, I loved to experiment with different styles of cooking and was always trying some new recipe or method of cooking that I had not tried before. Then, enter 3 children who did not appreciate my culinary attempts to enrich their lives with the many flavors of the foods we loved! While I was not a picky eater growing up, 2 of my 3 children were. And none of them would eat anything related remotely to stir-fried food! So, I would sneak it in occasionally for just my husband and I. This recipe was given to me by a long ago friend. It is healthy and not at all difficult to prepare. In fact, with some preparation, you could fix it after working all day, as it comes together fairly quick. You can cut up the veggies the night before and put them in baggies in the fridge, and that would have most of the work out of the way!

I used zucchini, carrots, red bell pepper, onion, celery,and broccoli, and also fresh garlic and ginger root. You could also use asparagus, mushrooms, cabbage, bok choy, whatever you have on hand. The most time consuming part is just cutting up the vegetables. After that, the cooking is pretty quick. Also, I use 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, that have been cut lenght wise into 3 pieces and then sliced fairly thin so they will cook fast. You don't have to have a wok to do this! This did just fine in my skillet. The secret is to cook each veggie by itself so that you can make sure it reaches the desired tender crisp stage. Also, put the rice on to cook right before you start the stir-fry. Cook it for about 15 minutes and then turn off the burner. It should be done about the same time! I used 1 &1/2 cups of white rice and 3 cups of liquid( half chicken broth and half water), 1/2 tsp.salt and a Tbs. oil. So let's begin, shall we? Make sure all vegetables are washed and dried before you begin. Slice meat and have all veggies chopped and ready to go. It is very important, because the dish will come together quickly.Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry

4 Tbs. oil, sesame or canola works too

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut in 3 strips and sliced fairly thin

3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally

2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli or broccoli florets

1 cup celery, sliced diagonally

1 small zucchini, cut in thin slices 1medium onion, the ends cut off, and standing on flat end, thinly sliced

1/2 of a red bell pepper, sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 inch or so of fresh ginger root, peeled and minced

1 cup of chicken broth

1 Tbs. cornstarch

2 Tbs. low sodium soy sauce

1/2 tsp. salt, I don't use the salt, it's plenty salty for me

Mix the chicken broth, soy sauce and cornstarch together in a small bowl.

Heat 1 Tbs. oil in skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add chicken and stir fry until pieces turn white. Remove to bowl or pan that you are keeping near the stove. Next, add the vegetable which will take the longest to cook, in this case, the carrots. Stir fry for about 3 minutes or until tender crisp. Remove carrots to the other pan. Make sure there is oil in the skillet, then add the celery and cook for2-3 minutes, stirring constantly; remove to the other pan. Add broccoli to skillet and stirring, cook for 2-3minutes. You get the picture! By cooking 1 veggie at a time you can make sure it's not overcooked. Continue with other veggies, adding more oil as needed. With the last veggie, add a little oil and the garlic and ginger root and stir fry, taking care not to burn them. When done, put the meat and all veggies back into the skillet and pour soy sauce mixture over all and stir until sauce is bubbly and thickens, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Put rice on plates or bowls and top with your wonderful stir fry! This doesn't take long at all and is so healthy and delicious! I love the crunch of the vegetables and the bite of the garlic and ginger. The only problem that I've had, is one time the pan burned on the bottom and I think it was liquid left from the chicken in the pan. So, I now wipe out the pan with a paper towel, if needed after cooking the meat. Otherwise it turns out great! Also you may use steak instead of chicken, if desired. So, go ahead and have stir fry some night soon. You'll be so glad you did!