Stir Fry For A Crowd!

Good Afternoon! I hope your ready for an amazing stir fry recipe!  Yesterday we went to the farmers market in Dayton and picked some incredibly fresh produce for our Mothers Day stir fry.  Stir fry is one of Mark's specialties and is a great go to recipe for us.  The nice thing is you can load your stir fry with any type of veggie combination you like.  We usually always have a red pepper, onion and corn.  Sometimes we throw in carrots, green beans, and water chestnuts.  We also usually make our stir fry incredibly spicy!  Sometimes the spice is unbearable, but the outcome is always enjoyable!  

This is a great and versatile recipe, that turns out a little different every time!  Thats what makes stir fry so much fun!  If you have veggies that are on there last leg and you need to use them  whip up a quick veggie packed stir fry!  So are you ready for the recipe? Lets get started turning this

into this...

Doesn't that look yummy!  This stir fry was very colorful and loaded with lots of veggies just the way that I like stir fry!!

Here is what you need-But remember you can use your favorite veggies too!

1 Red Bell Pepper (green and yellow peppers work too!  I just love the bright red color!)

1/2 Medium Onion

1 large handful of Shredded Carrots looked like 1/2 cup - I know I never measure!

1-1/12 cup Sugar Snap Peas (ours were fresh from the farmers market-so fresh! We had bought 3 large handfuls)

1/2 cup corn 

1 can water chestnuts drained

2 Chicken Breasts

Brown Rice (we made enough today for 6 people)

Teriyaki sauce of choice- we used half a bottle of-pick our favorite

chili oil

sesame oil 

light soy sauce

A dash of Red pepper Flakes, pepper, and salt

I started by chopping up the pepper, onion, and trimming the snap peas.  While I got this ready...

Mark was busy preparing the chicken.  He first cleaned the chicken and then cut the chicken breast into bite size pieces.  

Mark then seasoned the chicken with this... Thats Korean Teriyaki Sauce, Light Soy Sauce, Fire Oil, and toasted sesame oil.  There was also a dash of Red Pepper flakes in the mix!

Now your chicken should look like this!

Mix your chicken and sauce so every piece of chicken is nicely coated!

Now that your prep work is done get your brown rice a cooking!  Non instant brown rice needs about 30 minutes to fully cook.  The sooner you start the rice the sooner you can be enjoying a delicious meal!  We cooked the rice according to the package directions.  You can simply get your rice going and then start assembling the rest of the meal.

I started by sauteing the veggies in about a tablespoon of sesame oil.  The sesame oil was a nice change from  olive oil.  I started by heating the oil and cooking the onions till fragrant.

I then added the rest of the veggies with a dash of pepper.  

Look at all those colors!  Cook until the veggies are tender about 10 minutes.  While I worked on the veggies Mark got to work on the chicken!

This is going to be really good!  The chicken took about 15 minutes.  Be sure to make sure bigger pieces are fully cooked!  I added the water chestnuts to the veggies right before we stirred in the chicken!

Your getting closer to enjoying a fabulous meal!

Now add your chicken to your veggie medley like so

Add your teriyaki sauce, and soy sauce to taste.  When we make stir fry we tend to do a lot of test tasting and not a lot of measuring!

Stir to combine all this goodness together.  Let your mixture heat for another 5 minutes.  This lets all the flavors meld together, and allows your sauce to thicken a bit!

Now plate your meal and enjoy!

I added a little extra chili oil on my rice, I wanted mine spicy today!  The flavor was excellent, and I really enjoyed the fresh sugar snap peas.  They retained their nice crisp texture even after cooked.  The water chestnuts were a nice texture addition too!  Mark and I both agreed that this stir fry was much more colorful then ones we usually make at home.  Next time we make stir fry I want to make my own teriyaki sauce.  I will need to do a little experimenting with that though!  I may have to talk to my dad about what he usually does.   Stay posted for that!  I am off to relax a bit before Mark and I head back to Indianapolis.  Mark and I will be discussing dinner options for the week.  I want to have recipe ideas before I go grocery shopping!  I am thinking a Trader Joe's run maybe in my future this week.  I am running out of Bananas, mornings just wouldn't run smoothly without bananas in my oatmeal!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!  Happy Mothers day!  And remember to live Happily Ever Healthy

And just for fun here is a picture from the Derby Yesterday!

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day Mom!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom and I,  this picture was taken this past year on my birthday!  And no we did not plan on matching, we just have a way of sometimes wearing the same color!

My mom has always been there for me.  She has been a strong support system ever since I was a little girl.  She always seemed to know what to do and seemed to always have the answers.  However as I got older she sat back and let me make my own decisions.  And while I may not have always made the best decisions, my mom was always there supporting me.  

Despite the fact that I live 9 hours away from home, I feel that we have grown closer.  And I enjoy knowing that no matter what I do she will always be there for me.

My mom did everything in her power to help make my dreams come true.  I was a dancer my entire life, and my mom was there every step of the way.  For years she drove me the hour and a half to the Twin Cities for ballet lessons.  She has been there through the good and bad, and was there as a shoulder to cry on when my world seemed to be crashing down.  As I am transitioning into a new phase of my life she constantly is reminding me to stay positive, and to remember that there is a plan.  

Here are a few things I love about my mother. 

She is patient, and lord knows with me as a daughter she had to be!  She is supportive, even if she doesn't think I am making the right decision she.  She is always thinking of others, and how she can make someone else's day a bit better.  She is a wonderful quilter.  She is a great shopping partner!  She has away of looking at something negative and always seems to pull something positive from it.

Thank You Mom for all you do and have done for me!  I love you!

Happy Mothers Day