Feelin' Saucy

Okay, I just read a note on a friend's Facebook page where she reported she'd run for the first time in three months and found herself having missed it (followed by the question, "Who am I?"). I responded that having asked myself the same question many, many times that she's in fabulous company. Just sayin'. (insert big smile here.)

Speaking of fabulous company, our pooch has new attire on ... wanna see? I know you do:

She's so pretty!

Here's a closer look:

It's the Peanuts people looking very back-to-school to me. Look
close and you see Sally reading what looks like a report. (very
different from when she read that big ol' poem on the Valentine
conversation heart)

She'll be putting that in motion with me in the morning, but at this point, she was lurking around the corner to the kitchen hoping to get some of the goodness she was smelling. I was making a wonderfully simple dish that we go through waves of making. Being in the latest wave, I'm going to share because I've found it to be great fuel the night before a morning run!

It's a chicken-veggie stir fry recipe my mom and dad stumbled upon many moons ago. (It's officially called "Quick Saucy Chicken Stir-Fry" which I have found on the internet but have not found this exact recipe ... close, but I'm not sure where it originated.) From the first time they made it, it became a favorite dish of mine, but it took some years for it to make a regular appearance in my house. It's first downfall for me was having to cut up the veggies. Doing a lot of prep work when we had really little kids was not going to happen. Besides, it was boring. But, I've grown to understand taking time to prep veggies is a good thing -- not a punishment of some sort inflicted directly upon my very being -- if I want to incorporate the fresh variety into my world! The other downfall is when I forget to thaw the chicken. Forgetfulness and little kids go hand in hand. But, as the Crewers have gotten older, I can remember more things again! And, if you don't use frozen chicken, you won't have such issues!

Its beauty: It's So Simple! See?

There's the chicken cooking up ... I put about a tablespoon of
oil in the pan/wok plus 2 cloves of garlic. I usually use three
medium chicken breasts so we have some left over.
Two would do if we don't want leftovers.

There are the veggies waiting for their turn! Once the chicken
is finished, I put it in a strainer to dry it out and cool down.
While that happens, I stir up the veggies. Have I mentioned
how much I hate cooked carrots and cauliflower? But I love
them stirred and heated so they're still crunchy! For leftovers
for us, we use two broccoli crowns, half a head of
cauliflower and about 3 cups of chopped carrots.

The stir fry is served over a bed of rice. I like to mix brown and
white rice together (2:1); that tastes better to me than either by
themselves. I was thinking while making tonight's batch that
using quinoa with some brown rice would be mmm ... mmm
... yummy ... perhaps next time ...

Ahh, there are the veggies getting all good'n'heated ... no oil
required for the stir-around event in my opinion. It only takes
about 5 minutes to get them where I like them ... warm and
still crunchy.

And, there's Elly hoping really hard for something to drop
while everyone serves themselves. No such luck, dog.

The chicken and the veggies go into a big bowl and mixed
together with a sauce (recipe below). Aaron and I like to add
a few peanuts to ours, too ... really adds a good flavor as well
as acts as just the right amount of salt this recipe benefits from.
Oh ... So ... Good!!!

I just love this recipe, and I am so glad it has the nutrition and energy punches I can use in the morning!! Wahoo!!! I love when things work well in the kitchen!!! (I have plenty of stories to the contrary!)

Elly and I will see you from the road tomorrow! In the meantime, here's the real, measured recipe if you want to give it a whirl!

2T oil, 1/2 for chicken, 1/2 for veggies (if needed or desired)
1C broccoli florets
1C cauliflower florets
3/4C carrots, sliced (or, if you're in our house, chunked)
1/4C green onions, sliced (yeah, I have never used these. Never even saw it in the recipe 'til now.)
1 clove garlic, minced (or 2 cloves ... or more ...)
2 chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces (I make mine smaller ... preference ...)

For the sauce, mix the following ingredients:
1/2C lite mayonnaise
1T soy sauce
1/2t ground ginger
We also add 1, if not 2, garlic cloves. We fear no vampires.

My note: After cooking the chicken and veggies, let them cool a little before stirring in the sauce or the sauce will melt, not stick well to the chicken and veggies and produce a yucky soup in the bottom of your supposed-to-be-delicious stir-fry bowl.

Do not skimp nor overdo the sauce. Both are bad. Because I make way more veggies than called for (and more chicken for that matter), I double the sauce recipe to make sure I have enough, then I just use only what we need. Extra sauce? Excellent, that means we're having it again soon!

Get to cooking!! This is fabulous!!!