stir fry

Quick & Easy Cashew Chicken

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This cashew chicken is, dare I say it, better than take-out.  Made with simple, easily-accessible ingredients and ready in minutes, it’s great for a weeknight or a special meal.  If you love cashews, like I do, you will love this easy take-out fake-out.  ~Erin

1 ½ lb. chicken breast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

½ tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Black pepper

3 T. cornstarch

2 Tablespoon olive or avocado oil

¼ c. low-sodium soy sauce

½ cup chicken broth or prepared bullion

4 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tablespoons)

2 T. brown sugar, packed

2 T. hoisin sauce

1 tsp. Sesame oil

1 c. roasted, salted cashews

Green onions, sliced

Cooked rice for serving

Combine salt, pepper, and cornstarch in a gallon size baggie. Toss the chicken in the cornstarch mixture until evenly coated.

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, chicken broth, garlic, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil; set aside.

Add olive oil or avocado oil to a large, high sided nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, cook the chicken until golden brown on all sides.  Do not overcook.  It will continue cooking when the sauce is added.

Add the sauce to the pan with the chicken.  Add the cashews.  Stir until the sauce is thickened.  This just takes a couple minutes.  

Garnish with sliced green onions. Serve over rice.

This recipe makes 6 – ¾ c. servings.  9-11 points per serving, not counting rice.  Click here for the WW points calculator.

https://cmx.weightwatchers.com/details/MEMBERRECIPE:62918d19d8d71c1b1ebc1c56

Beef Stir Fry

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Occasionally, I find myself in a bit of a cooking rut.  When I realize we’ve had some sort of taco five of the last ten days, it’s time to get a little more creative.  My husband had been craving Asian food recently, and since we have reached the ripe old age of “don’t want to go anywhere unless we have to,” I decided I’d get a little more adventurous with our dinner.  I’ve made this Beef Stir Fry a few times now and it is really is fool-proof! It turns out great every time and you can adapt the veggies to whatever you happen to like best (if there are no teenagers eating with us, I always add extra broccoli).  The ingredients are easy to find, and if you’re lucky enough to have grocery delivery or pick up where you live, you can feel like you’ve had a dinner at a trendy Asian restaurant, without ever having to get out of your pajamas (#goals). ~Tracy

Ingredients:
  • ½ of a yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • ¼ of a large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • ¼ of a large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • ¼ of a large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 package frozen broccoli florets (I use 10.8 oz. of Birds Eye Steamfresh)
  • 1 ½ lb thinly sliced Sirloin steak
  • 2 large cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 t. minced or grated fresh ginger
  • ¼ c. + 1 T. lower sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tsp. Sugar
  • 1 ½ T. corn starch
  • 2 tsp. red pepper flakes (use less if you don’t like a little spice)
  • brown or white rice for serving with the stir fry

Instructions: 

  1. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, sugar, corn starch, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
  2. Lightly salt and pepper the steak. Set aside.
  3. Generously spray a large, deep skillet with nonstick canola oil spray.
  4. Saute onion, peppers, and broccoli for several minutes on medium heat until veggies begin to soften. I sometimes throw in an ice cube with the veggies so that the melting ice provides a little steam to assist in their cooking.
  5. Remove the veggies from the pan and set aside while you cook the meat.
  6. Add the steak, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce mixture to the skillet.
  7. Saute over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes. Sauce will bubble and begin to thicken.
  8. When the meat is almost done, add the vegetables back to the pan so that the meat and vegetables can finish cooking together. Cover the skillet with a glass lid.
  9. The final cooking stage will take approximately 5 more minutes, but check the meat and vegetables frequently.
  10. Vegetables should be fork tender and meat should be cooked through when done.
  11. Serve the stir fry over your favorite brown or white rice, if desired.

WW Freestyle Info.: This recipe makes 5 generous 1-cup servings. Each serving is 6 points. Be sure to add points if you serve the stir fry over rice.

 

Sweet & Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry

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My daughter turns 11 this week. She’s just like I was as a kid in that she starts planning her next birthday celebration the minute her previous birthday ends. I have to put the kibosh on some of her wild hair ideas but I try to always allow one or two. This year we are taking her and a few of her friends to the zoo and she wants to go dressed as unicorns. Yes, unicorns. I ordered unicorn horns as party favors and she’s created unicorn shirts, complete with rainbow colored tails attached. Good thing she’s crafty.

She also wants a 3 layer cookie cake. Not a plain cookie cake. A sugar cookie cake with 3 layers, frosting between, and sprinkles. It’s a little unexpected (as usual) but honestly it sounds divine so, challenge accepted. (I’m sure you’ll be seeing that soft sugar cookie recipe here on the blog soon. I got it from Kathy and it’s THE BEST. Keep your eyes open for it.)

She also requested this Sweet & Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry for her birthday. Just kidding, that’s a lie. Hahaha, she’s 11, she wants pizza. Surprisingly though, as my more picky child, she actually will eat this stir fry. I know that doesn’t sound like a glowing recommendation but I promise it is. She usually turns up her nose at vegetables mixed in with meat. Not this one. She mostly eats the broccoli and chicken out, but I ain’t complaining if she eats it at all! My son likes it but he eats like a grown up. Anybody else out there have a picky eater? (All the moms raise their hands.) There’s one in every family.

This stir fry is one of our mom’s creations. Mom has always liked to create new recipes, and this is one she came up with not long ago and shared with us at one of our visits to her house. I immediately asked for the recipe. Thanks, Momma! It’s made with basic ingredients but is packed with flavor… spicy without being hot, and has a hint of salty sweetness as well. What can I say, our mom knows how to cook! ~Erin

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Ingredients:

  • 8 T. red pepper jelly (found in the jelly isle)
  • 4 T. Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
  • ½ tsp. ginger paste or freshly grated ginger
  • 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
  • Seasoning of your choice for chicken (I used a prepackaged Asian seasoning but salt, pepper, and garlic powder would be fine too.)
  • 1 large white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 T. garlic, minced or pressed (I use pre-minced jarred garlic)
  • 1 yellow, 1 orange, 1 red, and 1 green bell pepper, deseeded sliced into strips
  • 2 small heads of broccoli (about 3 cups), cut into small florets; discard stems
  • 2 ½ T. sesame oil or olive oil, divided
  • Prepared rice, red pepper flakes, chopped green onions, and/or more soy sauce for serving (optional)

Instructions:

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together red pepper jelly, soy sauce, and ginger; set aside.
  2. In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 T. oil over medium high heat. Cook the seasoned chicken a few minutes on each side, until lightly browned and cooked through; remove from pan and set aside.
  3. In the same skillet, heat 1 T. oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook until onions are tender and becoming translucent (about 5-6 minutes, stirring often).
  4. Increase heat to medium and add ½ T. more oil. Add all the bell peppers and cook until they start to get tender.
  5. Add the broccoli and cook for 3-4 minutes, until tender but not overly soft.
  6. Add the cooked chicken & sauce to the pan with the veggies; cook & stir until evenly coated & heated throughout.
  7. Serve over rice with more soy sauce if desired.

WW Freestyle Info.:  This recipe makes 8 servings. Each 1 ½ cups serving is 4 points, not including rice.

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