Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Clean Eating #32: Sweet & Spicy Ginger Chicken, Steak or Vegetarian Stir Fry

Sweet & Spicy Sesame Ginger Chicken Stir Fry with Brown Rice
We're really getting down to the bare pantry essentials here!  My freezer is nearly cleaned out!  I came up with two slightly different stir fry dishes.  Last night's was such a hit that I made a big batch today for lunch.  Picky kids tip below:)
PREP:  If you have a prep day, dice and cook the chicken, store in freezer bag labelled for the stir fry.  Chop/dice the peppers, onions and garlic and store in a bag together also labelled for the stir fry. 

Sauce Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Shredded/Ground Fresh Ginger
1/2 diced red onion
2 Tbsp Ideal Brown Sugar Substitute
1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
5 garlic cloves minced/pressed
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp coconut oil
*Optional (our second pan for the 'guys' in the house)
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced portobello mushrooms

Stir Fry Ingredients:
1-2 cups of diced/cubed cooked chicken breasts
two heads of broccoli, finely chopped
4 medium carrots, finely sliced on grater
1/2 small bag of frozen corn
1/2 small bag of frozen peas
1 red bell pepper, diced or finely sliced

Stri Fry Veggies bewing steamed

"Sauce" veggies being sauteed











When done, serve veggie stir fry over cooked brown rice and top with sauce and sesame seeds.

Variation Day #2:
Everyone loved this SO much last night, that today I made it again, with some other leftover frozen veggies and a few fresh things I had on hand.  I used less chipotle powder and it was Fantastic.  I used the rest of Squatch's OJ, so I owe him a bottle by now (Its great that my teenage boys are finally off of their sugar addictions and now crave fruit smoothies and OJ instead of a box of candy and a soda everyday!  I'm so thrilled to see them spend their money on healthier choices!).

I used frozen peas, corn & broccoli; fresh sliced carrots, red and yellow bell peppers; precooked and chopped flank steak and then the same sauce, minus most of the chipotle pepper.  I still topped it with plenty of sesame seeds, because the kids really liked that addition yeseterday... as did I! It was Awesome!

Picky Kids Note:  My youngest doesn't care for rice or peppers, so I always leave the peppers in pretty large chunks, because she's happy to just pick them out (and my son will eat them for her:).  She also doesn't like rice, so since she's getting more nutrition from the veggies anyway, we just don't mix anything together.  She has her bowl of veggies and steak, healthy, good food.  I'm not going to complain! 

I have a pan of lightly steamed veggies on the stove, a pan of sauce and a pan of brown rice.  The kids put their dishes together in whatever proportions they want.  Win Win! 
 Enjoy!