One cooking experience + two adults = three meals.
Day 1: Cook whole-grain brown rice on the stove-top while you’re cutting, chopping and prepping nutrient-rich vegetables and lean protein-rich chicken breasts. Stir-fry the veggies and chicken in an electric wok. Eat and enjoy.
Day 2: Heat and enjoy leftovers for Dinner.
Day 3: Heat and enjoy remaining leftovers for Lunch.
Only one day of prep and cooking, yet three meals filled with whole-grain goodness and antioxidant-rich vegetables! That’s what I call a real timesaver.
And that’s exactly what I did the other night. I made this huge batch of stir-fry Tuesday night, and my husband Jeff and I enjoyed it for dinner Wednesday and finished the remaining leftovers for lunch yesterday.
I’m already brainstorming for new meat and vegetable combinations….maybe even a different sauce. Oh, speaking of sauces. Don’t think you have to make them from scratch. Take advantage of the prepared bottled sauces in the Asian section at your supermarket. Aside from the canned bamboo shoots and water chestnuts – which I drained – that bottled sauce and a few shakes of Lite soy sauce were the only higher sodium ingredients in the stir-fry. I call that balance.
Very Veggie Stir Fry
1 ¾ – 2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces or chunks
1 large head broccoli, cut into small florets
¾ lb. snow pea pods, string removed
1 can (8oz.) bamboo shoots
1 can (8oz.) sliced water chestnuts
8 oz. baby carrots, cut into long thin slices
2 medium onions, cut into big chunks
3 to 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 bottle (15 oz.) General Tso’s Sauce, added incrementally
Crushed red pepper
Lower sodium soy sauce*
Several tablespoons canola or peanut oil
Cooked brown rice
Heat a couple tablespoons oil in a large wok; add chicken chunks and stir-fry until cooked throughout. Remove to a large bowl or plate, cover and set aside. Add another tablespoon or so oil to the wok along with the garlic. Heat until garlic starts to soften, then add carrots and stir-fry a couple minutes. Add onion and stir-fry another minute. Add a little sauce. Add broccoli and snow peas, stir-fry until barely tender. Add a little more sauce, along with canned vegetables and crushed red pepper. Continue to stir constantly, until vegetables are desired crisp-tenderness. Add remaining sauce and a few drops of lite soy sauce, along with cooked chicken and stir-fry everything until well blended and heated throughout. Enjoy over brown rice.
Serve two adults for three meals.