China Food for Dinner

I've been enjoying being home on maternity leave to take care of tiny baby, Big & Middle.  Don't get me wrong - I have a great job with a fantastic schedule for a mom - but who wouldn't love hanging out with these girls more??

One thing that's been nice about being home is getting to spend more time in the kitchen and getting our family back on track with healthy eating habits.  Those efforts aren't always appreciated by my kids. After many nights of complaining about the dinner I've made, I finally asked Big what she liked to eat besides cheeseburgers and mac & cheese.  She said "cereal."  Then thought about it for a few minutes and said "peanut butter and jelly."  I told her that we needed to come up with some meals that had meat and protein in them that we could all eat for dinner.  She replied, "Well, you know I like China food."  It's true - my girls love to go to Chinese food (mostly Americanized versions like PF Changs or Pei Wei) and I sometimes buy the bags of PF Changs stir fry in the freezer section when they have a babysitter.  

I adapted a recipe for broccoli beef to use chicken.  Personally, I'd like it spicier (we added Sriracha and red pepper flakes at the table), but it was finally a meal everyone would eat!  If you have picky eaters, I hope you have luck with this one as well.  A bonus is that you can get it on the table super fast - especially if you buy chicken and broccoli that are already cut up.  

Chinese Chicken Stir Fry (4 servings)

3 teaspoons of cornstarch 

6 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger (peeled)

2 garlic clove minced

2 green onions, chopped

1 tsp chili oil

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

About 2 cups broccoli florets

1.5 lb of chicken breast tenders or strips (our grocery store sells "stir fry strips" of raw chicken)

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips (and then I cut the strips in half) 

Dissolve the cornstarch into 6 Tablespoons of water. In a separate small bowl, combine the soy sauce, ginger, garlic, onion, chili oil, and sesame oil and set aside. Drizzle a little vegetable oil in a wok or heavy skillet and heat it over high heat. Add the broccoli and stir fry for 1-2 minutes or until softened. Remove from pan.  

Cook the chicken until it's just done (in 2 batches if necessary).  Add the red bell pepper and stir fry until the red bell pepper is a little soft, about 1-2 minutes. Add the broccoli, the sauce, and the cornstarch to the pan. Stir fry until the sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes.