vegetable-chicken stir-fry

i found this easy recipe on bettycrocker.com. i knew it would be the perfect recipe to try out the wok we got as a wedding gift, and i also knew that with only 5 ingredients, it would be a perfect weeknight dinner recipe. so we made it tonight! i followed the recipe exactly for the stir-fry portion, and i added a side of rice. i "doctored the rice up" a bit with soy sauce, stir-fry sauce, salt, pepper, and sesame seeds.

i LOVED this recipe, and it will become a weeknight dinner staple. it was ridiculously easy, tasty, and super healthy! i might try it with some shrimp, pork, or beef sometime soon too.

ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast halves or thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups cut-up assorted vegetables (bell peppers, broccoli florets, and shredded carrots)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 cup stir fry sauce

as i mentioned above, i added rice as a side dish.

directions:
1. heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in 12-inch skillet or wok over high heat. add chicken; stir-fry about 3 minutes or until no longer pink in center. remove from skillet.

2. heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in skillet. add vegetables and garlic; stir-fry about 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.

3. add chicken and stir-fry sauce. cook and stir about 2 minutes or until hot.

4. while not included in the directions, as mentioned before, i made rice to go along with it. i made regular white rice (according to package directions). i made 4 servings of rice, because the stir-fry yields 4 servings, and we planned it to have leftovers. once the white rice had cooked, i added soy sauce, just a bit of stir-fry sauce, salt, pepper, and sesame seeds. i didn't really measure any of these ingredients. i just kind of played with it. there are also some "fried rice" packets that you can get at the store. that might go pretty well with this too.

i love the way that a well-balanced meal looks on a plate. it's even better when it smells delicious!

close-up of the rice. i sprinkled some more sesame seeds on top. i may have gone a bit overboard. i don't really even think sesame adds that much as far as flavor is concerned, but it sure is PRETTY!

i added a few sesame seeds to the stir-fry too. looks pretty, huh? :)

aaaaaaaaand another clean plate! (YES!) that means a job well done!

all in all, i was VERY happy with this meal. i must admit, the rice, even with all its additions, lacked a lot of flavor. however, if you eat each bite of the stir fry with a bite of rice together, it is PERFECT! next time i make this, i plan on putting the stir-fry on top of the rice. i usually separate those, because i don't like when my food touches each other on a plate, but, in this case, i'm willing to make an exception.

something that made this meal even easier was that we did a lot of the prep work ahead of time so all of our veggies and chicken were already cleaned and cut up, so preparation time was amazingly quick - i'm talking less than 5 minutes. this makes a great make-ahead meal.

i ate it up so quickly, and i'm already looking forward to lunch tomorrow. it was super easy, super quick, and super delicious - everything you need in a weeknight meal! we'll be doing this again soon!

fin.