Four Simple Stir Fry Recipes

I absolutely LOVE stir fry. One, it's healthy- packed with protein, veggies, and usually low in fat. Two, it's easy! Cooking your meat, veggies, and making your sauce all in one pan is quick and an easy clean up. Three, it's so versatile. Whatever veggies you have on hand will do, and you can make a sauce from pretty much anything. You can vary the sauce really easily- make it spicier or sweeter depending on your mood, AND, you can serve it over quinoa, rice, noodles, rice noodles (ha!), or just by itself. Fourth, it makes excellent leftovers for lunch the next day. What's not to love?

When I stir fry I don't follow a recipe most of the time, I just throw ingredients together and sample the sauce to reach the desired taste.

Here's some stir fry ideas that we love!

clockwise from top left: Spicy Beef Stir Fry, Asian Broccoli Salad with Peanut Sauce and Baked Chicken, Orange Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken. 

Orange Chicken:

Cut uncooked chicken into bite sized pieces, cook in frying pan with oil over medium-high heat. When chicken is just under fully cooked, add sauce ingredients: soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, a little honey, orange juice, ginger, roasted red pepper flakes, garlic, and orange zest. Push chicken to outside of pan, bring sauce to a simmer. It should thicken slightly, if not, add a bit of flour or corn starch. When sauce has thickened, add chopped veggies. Veggies that go great with this flavor are red and orange bell peppers, green beans, snap peas, onions, and broccoli. Stir fry veggies for about 5 minutes or until they reach desired crispness.

Sweet and Sour Chicken:

I followed a recipe from skinnymom.com for this sweet and sour chicken. Breading can be intimidating, but it's super easy when you throw your chicken and all the breading ingredients in a ziploc bag and shake it! Also, easy clean up- you just throw away the bag. I didn't use pineapple in my batch because I didn't have any at the time, but I'm sure that would make this dish even yummier.


Spicy Beef:

Cut uncooked beef into small strips, cook in frying pan with oil over medium-high heat. When beef is about half cooked, add sauce ingredients: soy sauce, sriracha, a little wine or rice vinegar, ginger, garlic salt, red pepper flakes, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, add a bit of corn starch to thicken sauce, stir. Add chopped vegetables and stir fry until vegetables are just tender. Really any veggies are excellent with this sauce.

Asian Broccoli Salad with Peanut Sauce and Baked Chicken:

Okay so this one isn't exactly stir fry but it fits in with what I love about stir fry!

Marinade chicken in garlic, balsamic vinegar, and ginger for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. Place in baking dish, pouring all remaining marinade into the dish. Cook chicken for 15-20 minutes in oven set at 425 degrees, or until no longer pink.

I followed a recipe from gimmesomeoven.com for the Broccoli salad. Oh my goodness it is yummy. It's the kind of thing you want to just keep eating, and you totally can because it's oh so healthy. Broccoli, edamame, peanuts, green onions, and some sauce ingredients unite for a crunchy, full flavor. You've gotta try it!

Stir fry is my quick dinner go-to. What do you make when you're in a hurry but want a healthy and flavorful meal?

Have a lovely week!

www.thecountrycook.net

Motivation Monday

A Season of Rest

Isaiah 30:15

Sometimes God gives us seasons of challenge, or adventure, or uncertainty... and sometimes, he gives us seasons of rest.

I have found myself in a season of rest.

And it has been a long time since I have rested.

I kept myself extremely busy in college with a full load of classes, writing a thesis, teaching fitness classes, ministry, work, and social life. After I graduated, I spent the first half of 2014 working full time as a social work administrative assistant with a hour commute a day, still teaching fitness, and planning a wedding. During this time I was also majorly stressed about where my fiance and I would live once we were married, as he was still on the job hunt. My busy and stressful 2014 reached a peak in June, when the only thing I was certain about was that everything was uncertain.

Twelve days before our wedding my fiance was offered a job in Hermiston. This meant we would be moving to an area completely new to us, at least 3 hours from our friends and family. It also meant that I would need to quit my job and we would need to move right after our honeymoon. We went on the wait list for an apartment in Hermiston and in the in between were able to live with some very generous family of a friend.

After  over 4 years of go-go-go and 6 months of working full time and wedding planning, I found myself newly married living in the guest room of a couple I had just met, in a town I didn't know, by myself all day, with nothing to do.

I certainly did not take to this well at first. My poor husband probably wondered who he married. It took a while for me to recognize and accept that God had given me a season of rest. It continued longer than I thought it would, too.  But by the grace of God (seriously), over time, I learned how to do something I never should have forgotten how to do: rest.

Here's some things I've learned throughout my season of rest.

• Rest is Individualized. Rest is not the same for everyone. When I was struggling to relax when first given this season, friends suggested Netflix binging and getting really good at MarioKart. While I like to do a bit of this, I feel more rested when I have time to get in touch with my creative side. When I am able to engage my imagination and express myself, I feel truly at peace and rejuvenated. What is truly restful is different for everyone and sometimes we need to do some exploring to find it.

• Rest has to be practiced. Especially for those of us who have gotten out of the habit, rest is not easy. When we're addicted to being busy, we turn quiet moments into busy ones. Sometimes I might go on a walk to enjoy nature, and I find that in my mind I've focused more on making it a workout than an enjoyable walk. I then practice rest by sitting down on a bench to close my eyes, listen to the sounds of the birds and the wind blowing, and feel the sunshine. Sometimes when I'm waiting in the car, I resist the urge to pull out my phone to pass the time, so I can rest instead. It's almost as if I have to practice to keep "in shape" for resting. 

• Lies we Believe about Rest. Our culture values a packed schedule. We ask "what do you do?" Our world teaches us that if you are busy, you are important. During my season of rest I've had all sorts of voices bounce around in my head telling me I'm wasting my time, that I'm not contributing anything, that my life has no purpose. These statements are false, these are lies. My purpose and my identity are not defined by what I do or how I spend my time. I am a beloved child of God and He gives me purpose and importance. If he has given me a season of rest, I believe there is meaning to it. 

• To Rest is to Trust. To be able to rest, I have to trust that I am enough. That in Christ, I do not have to work my way to being good enough. I have to trust that in being His child alone, I am important and my life is full and useful. Also, I have to trust that He is doing the work. Even when I am not directly furthering my career or checking off my to-do list, I can sit back and relax knowing my Savior reigns.

 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. -Matthew 11:28-30 

God gives us not only permission to rest, but invitation to rest. Let us give ourselves permission and feel his quiet invitation; to know that we are enough, because He is enough.

      

Summer Friends

Aaah, summer- that long anticipated stretch of lazy, lingering days, free of responsibility and rife with possibility. It's a time to hunt for insects, master handstands, practice swimming strokes, conquer trees, explore nooks and carannies, and make new friends. -Darell Hammond

I have always loved summer, and I still love summer. I think there's a reason so many of the best books and movies take place during the warm months. There is a glowing feeling in the air that radiates both rest, and adventure. I can't get enough of it.

There is something particular about friendships that grow during those three months. The long days and nights  whisper invitations to explore, to wander, to adventure. Silliness and authenticity intersect and create a beautiful, rich kinship.

A lot of relationships are built around a common activity, something you both enjoy that keeps you busy, saving you from empty silence. it's a landmark when you reach a point in a friendship where you can sit in comfortable quietness. In the summertime, however, relationships are built on doing nothing together. On enjoying freedom together. On waking up on a sunny day having no idea what you are going to do, but certain of who you will do it with.

Summer friends are a special kind of friend.

When I think of summer friends, many treasured memories come to mind. But one summer, and one friendship, stands out to me as one that truly captured the essence of summer friends.

It was between my freshman and sophomore year of high school. Things at home were changing as my sister got ready to head to college, I had my first boyfriend, and I was still figuring out who I wanted to be in high school.  It was a time of transition that could get a little overwhelming if I thought about it too much. But I didn't spend June, July, and August worrying about it- I spent it with my summer friends.

We were an unlikely trio, really. All different ages, two different schools, two guys and one girl, not a ton of mutual friends. But the summer put us together, and it was one I'll never forget.

We got together most days after lunch. I'd get a text that would say "pool party?' or "wanna jam?" and then walk the half mile from my house. One of the guys had an above ground pool at his house, and we'd usually go there to hang out.

 Sometimes it wasn't warm enough to swim yet, and we'd play music. Our friend had all sorts of instruments. We would collaborate on songs we had written and put my poems to music. Sometimes we played thoughtful folk songs, sometimes we put a beat on the keyboard and made up bizarre raps about potatoes.

When we got in the pool, we played a ridiculous game where one person closed their eyes and reached out, trying to find two people hidden by floaties. We'd splash the seeker and cheat by hopping out of the pool. we'd try to climb and balance on mats at the same time, we'd make whirlpools.

We'd usually go back to our respective homes for dinner, then we'd reunite later on. More jamming would commence, maybe we'd walk to the park, sometimes there was a late night Taco Bell run. The other guy's family had a hot tub, where we would spend the evening. In our small town neighborhood, we could look up and see the stars. when we got too hot we would walk back over to the yard with the pool and dare each other to jump in. Shivering, we'd run back to the hot tub, laughing at our squeaking shoes.

But whatever we were doing, we would eventually fall into a place where we would put down the instruments, the games would come to a lull, and we would just enjoy the nothingness together. There was a remarkable permission between us: permission to be completely ourselves, to be creative, to express what was within us.

A picture taken by my friend of me at the pool that summer

We remained close while we all lived in the same town, but of course, just like Summer drifts to Fall, things changed as we became close to different friends, pursued different interests, and moved to different places.

I have a hard time understanding and accepting that friendships change. If someone was my dearest friend for a given time, why shouldn't we be close forever? How can we go from talking everyday to talking once a year? I'm learning that even if we don't keep in touch, that doesn't make the friendship any less. It was beautiful because of the time we had together, and that beauty lives on.

 Although we haven't kept in touch real well, these friends will always represent to me what that summer did. They came to my wedding, and sharing hugs with them that day was so meaningful. When I think about best friends, what comes to mind first is girls I shared clothes, sleepovers and secrets with. But when I really think about it, I think that my summer friends, too, were some of the best friends I've ever had.

 I think that every summer teaches us something about ourselves. Maybe summer friends are special because they have a unique opportunity to be part of that learning.

My two summer friends taught me that being creative and expressive was cool. That it was okay and good to be silly. They challenged me with good questions. They made me laugh. They taught me that the best people to be friends with aren't necessarily those who are similar to you, but those who are kind and let you be yourself.

Here's to memories and stories of summer friends: past, present, and future.

http://letmetelluastory.blogspot.com/

Thursday Favorite Things

Menu Planning: Yummy, Balanced Dinners

Happy Spring, my friends!

I don't know about you, but when Spring comes I start to feel refreshed in the kitchen. A whole bunch of new veggies are in season and grilling becomes a possibility. I generally feel energized when the sun starts coming out, so I'm excited and motivated to be cooking and creating.

A lot of times, this new energy is accompanied with a health kick. This time, I'm taking this kick in a simple direction- balance. 

I find that healthy eating for my husband and I lasts longer when we focus on balance. Cutting things out or making specific diet plans doesn't work for us (we love dessert and cheese too much- but who doesn't? Yum). Balance seems to help us avoid burn out.

I find that balancing each plate, each day, and each week helps us stay healthy while not feeling restricted. 

Here's an April menu for a yummy, balanced week. I'm excited to be sharing this menu on Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com,  What's For Dinner Menu Planning at jillconyers.com and Monday's Musing at whatjoyismine.net !

Monday: Kale,Chicken & Bacon Pizza

We bought Boboli crusts for pizza and anticipated we'd just do pepperoni for both crusts, but my husband took charge and got creative on this one! He made a garlic olive oil sauce and topped it with kale, bacon, chicken, and of course mozzarella cheese. This was VERY tasty, and the Boboli crust made it pretty easy and quick.


Tuesday: Sticky Honey Lemon Ginger Chicken with Jasmine Rice and Broccoli

This recipe from Carlsbad Cravings is one of my favorite Pinterest recipes I've ever tried. Daniel always requests it when I ask for menu suggestions. I cook a lot of Asian foods because they're usually pretty quick, yummy, and easy to include veggies. I also like that it tastes just as good (if not better!) than takeout, but doesn't leave you with that way too full and way too salty feeling. This recipe takes a few more steps to get that perfect crispiness, but it's well worth it.

Wednesday: Crispy Oven-Fried Fish, Rolls, and Kale Chips

For the fish I followed a recipe from Better Homes & Gardens (love my big pink recipe book- anyone else who can't live without this book?). Kale chips are so easy- spray em with oil, add a dash of salt and pepper, and pop them in the oven at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Tuesday: Stuffed Bell Peppers

These stuffed peppers from It's A Flavorful Life are packed with yummy and good for you stuff. Black beans, kale, cheese, onions and ground turkey come together in a yummy enchilada sauce. They also made great leftovers for lunch.. I wished I doubled the recipe, they were so good.

Friday: Chicken Taquitos

Another great alternative to take out, these baked chicken taquitos from Recipe Girl are great to make when you are craving Mexican food. We topped them with fresh guacamole, salsa, and plain Greek yogurt (my choice for sour cream). 

Saturday: Barbecue Beef Sandwiches, Garlic Potatoes, and Grilled Asparagus

Daniel marinated thin beef cuts in garlic, soy sauce, red wine vinegar and spices, then threw them on the grill. We chopped the beef into small pieces and then coated it in barbecue sauce and put it on toasted hamburger buns. We paired it with roasted garlic potatoes and some grilled asparagus.

I know I definitely can always work on balance in my life, and not just with what I eat. This Spring I hope to find balance in how I spend my time between being productive and being restful. I also hope to find balance in my mindset and self care. Just like I balance a doughy dinner roll with kale chips and oven baked fish, I hope I can balance gentleness and patience with a desire for growth. 

Thanks for stopping by! What are you eating this Spring?