Tag Archives: garlic

Homemade Stir Fry Sauce

I’ve been sharing a lot of stir fry recipes over the past few months. The great thing about making a stir fry is that you can put almost any vegetable in the pan, and it will taste good. This recipe is unique because I made my own stir fry sauce this time. I found this article on Food and Family detailing several different stir fry sauces. I thought both of the lemon sauces looked good, so I decided to try combining the recipes.

Lemon Stir Fry Sauce

I used an interesting combination of vegetables in this stir fry-pepper, carrots, celery, onion, and cabbage. Yum!

Lemon Stir Fry
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • Juice of 3 lemons
  • Grated peel of 2 lemons
  • ½ cup chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ large onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 large carrots, thinly sliced
  • 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
  • 2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
  • ½ large head of cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 2-3 tablespoons peanut oil
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice
Instructions
  1. Combine lemon juice and peel, chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes. Marinate the chicken breast in 1-2 tablespoons of the sauce while you chop the rest of the vegetables, about 15 minutes.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in wok or large skillet. Drain chicken, discarding marinade. Stir fry chicken and garlic until cooked through. Remove from wok.
  3. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Stir fry until they just start to soften.
  4. Add peppers and cabbage. Continue to stir fry until everything is tender crisp.
  5. Return chicken to the wok. Add reserved lemon sauce. Stir fry until everything is heated through.
  6. Serve over rice.

 

New Mexico Style Black Bean Soup

Soup in the crock pot on a windy night. Can’t beat that! I can’t believe it is already the third week of Advent. The last few weeks have just flown by. I don’t usually use the crock pot on weekends, but it definitely helps on these busy days during the holiday season (AKA, finals week).

New Mexico Style Black Bean Soup

The inspiration for this recipe came from Allrecipes.com. I used a number of items from our last 2 boxes to create this nicely spiced soup.

New Mexico Style Black Bean Soup
Recipe type: Soup, Main
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Cook time: 
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Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • ½ pound dried black beans
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • ½ large onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 bunch Swiss chard, leaves separated from stems and both chopped
  • ½ cup chopped roasted green chile
  • 2 medium carrots, chopped
  • ¾ pound small red skinned potatoes, quartered
  • 6 cups chicken broth
Instructions
  1. Soak black beans overnight, rinse.
  2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and the chopped chard stems. Saute until onion is translucent and vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
  3. Place beans, sauteed vegetables, carrots, green chile, potatoes, and chicken broth in crock pot. Cook on low for 6-7 hours.
  4. Add chopped chard leaves to crock and turn the heat to high. Cook an additional hour, until chard leaves are soft.

 

Spicy Soup

I was very excited to see baby bok choy in our box this week. For those not familiar with bok choy, it is a Chinese cabbage. When it is picked young, it is really tender and makes a good salad. The bok choy in our box was just a bit too tough for a salad, so I decided to put it in a soup.  I saw this recipe for Chicken and Bok Choy soup on Allrecipes.com. However, I wanted to go with an Asian flavor (since it is a Chinese cabbage).

Spicy Bok Choy Soup

We ate this as a light main dish, but it could also be a soup course for a larger meal.

Spicy Bok Choy Soup
Recipe type: Main or Side
Prep time: 
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Serves: 2-4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small head bok choy, chopped
  • 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 quart chicken broth
  • 1-2 tablespoons chili-garlic sauce
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in Dutch oven. Add onion and garlic, saute until onions are translucent.
  2. Add bok choy, sweet potatoes, chicken broth, and chili-garlic sauce. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, until sweet potatoes are soft.

 

Meatless Monday-Mexican Style

We got some surprise Swiss chard in our box last week; substituted for lettuce. Not exactly interchangeable (especially when I was counting on that lettuce for lunch). Good thing we like chard! I wanted to do something different with the chard. I saw a recipe on Food.com for Enchiladas with Barbecued Greens. The recipe just didn’t say Mexican food to me, but the idea was genius!

Black Bean and Chard Enchilada Casserole

I don’t make enchilada casserole very often, because of the calorie count. This is a really healthy way to make them!

Black Bean and Chard Enchilada Casserole
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 1 bunch Swiss chard
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1-15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • ¾ cup salsa
  • 6 whole wheat tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
Instructions
  1. Separate chard leaves and stems. Chop stems and leaves separately.
  2. Heat oil in large skillet. Saute chard stems and onion for 3 minutes. Add garlic, continue to saute until onion softens.
  3. Add black beans and chard leaves. Continue to saute until the chard leaves are wilted. Add salsa and heat through. Remove from heat.
  4. Place ½ cup of the cooked mixture in the center of each tortilla. Roll the tortillas and place them in an 11 X 7 pan. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.