Oriental Pork and Cabbage Stir Fry

I wanted to cut down on the carbs tonight so I decided to try using cabbage in place of noodles or rice when making my stir fry. It worked out great! We didn’t miss the noodles or rice at all.

As I’ve said before, I LOVE stir fry. It is one of the easiest ways to incorporate a ton of vegetables into a perfectly simple one-dish dinner.

You should try this version and see if you like it as much as we did. I can’t wait to eat the leftovers tonight. That is, if my husband doesn’t eat all of the leftovers for lunch!

Oriental Pork and Cabbage Stir Fy

Servings: 4
Time: 20 minutes
Level: Easy

ground pork (it only took about 1/2 lb. or less)
1 head of cabbage
2 radishes, chopped
1 handful of broccoli, chopped
1/2 – 1 c. vegetables, frozen (I used an Oriental veggie mix from the freezer section)
1/3 c. sweet green peas, frozen
1 tbsp. water
3 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
sprinkle of red pepper flakes
sprinkle of garlic powder
sprinkle of ginger powder
sprinkle of curry powder
1/3 c. cashews or peanuts
1 tbsp. Sriracha

In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook meat until no longer pink.

Add cabbage and water directly to the skillet with cooked meat. Stir frequently, until cabbage begins to wilt. Add soy sauce and all vegetables.

Sprinkle mixture with spices, enough for your tastes, and continue to stir until cabbage is wilted a little more and vegetables are cooked.

Add nuts and Sriracha and stir until heated throughout.

Yum!

Tips
- Try using cubed or ground chicken or shrimp instead of pork.
- Try adding a little Chinese Five Spice to the ground pork mixture.
- Use different vegetables. Whatever you have on hand would work! Carrots and red bell peppers would have been great in mine! Bean sprouts, anyone? Yum!
- Leave out the meat or add tofu for a great vegetarian dish.

Asian Pineapple Chicken

Fresh pineapple really made this dish delish but canned would definitely work, too. I ALMOST ordered Chinese take out tonight since I got home so late, but this recipe was easily whipped up in less than 30 minutes (and I had to cut up a fresh pineapple!) and I probably saved us a ton of extra calories. No take out means no extra oil added to my rice (and I can use brown instead of white), no extra box of white rice, and no fortune cookie. For some reason the extra white rice and fortune cookie are impossible for me to say no to!

I hope you enjoy this dish. We really did! Plus, Jason gets to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Asian Pineapple Chicken

Servings: 4
Time: 25 minutes
Level: Easy-Medium

1/4 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tbsp. corn starch
1/4 c. vinegar
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 can pineapple chunks, drained, or 1 c. fresh pineapple chunks
1/2 c. green bell pepper, sliced
1/4 c. onion, sliced thin
1 tbsp. oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

In a medium sized bowl, combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Slowly add in vinegar and soy sauce. Stir to combine. Add pineapple, green bell peppers, and onions to marinate.

Set marinating mixture aside. On high heat, heat oil in a deep non-stick skillet or wok. Add chicken and stir fry just until chicken turns white.

Add marinating mixture. Stir until well mixed.

Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Yum!

Tips
- Serve with a brown rice stir fry… just scramble an egg… add rice, green peas, peanuts, and a tbsp. or two of soy sauce.

Stir Fry

For dinner tonight,  I made an old stand by, Stir Fry.  Stir Fry is where I go when I’m not quite sure what to cook.  Since it is chock full of veggies and protein, it is a great card to have stashed in your back pocket.  Also, Stir Fry can be made 1,000+ different ways so no two meals have to be the alike.

Here is what I did:

Stir Fry

Cook Time: 15 minutes, max
Level: Easy
Servings: 2-3

2 c. brown rice, cooked according to package directions, then chilled in the  fridge for a little bit.
2-3 chicken tenderloins
1 tsp. canola oil
1 egg, large
1 c. frozen veggies
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper or cayenne (optional)
1/4 c. stir fry sauce OR low sodium soy sauce
1/4 c. cashews or peanuts (optional)
sriracha (optional)

Place chicken in a sauté pan and add just enough water to cover.

Turn heat to medium high and boil chicken, covered, for 5-8 minutes, or until no longer pink inside. While chicken is cooking, put canola oil in a wok or deep non-stick pan.

On medium high heat, scramble the egg, then set it aside. Add frozen veggies and sauté until thawed but still crisp, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in spices. Add stir fry sauce or soy sauce. At this point, the chicken should be done. Remove it from the water and chop or shred into bite sized pieces. Add scrambled egg, chicken, cold rice, and nuts (if using) to the veggie mixture. Move mixture around until warmed throughout. Top individual servings with Sriracha to taste. Yum!

Tips:

-You can use white rice if you want to but brown rice is much healthier!
- Any type of protein will work! Try chicken breast, thinly sliced, seared, steak, shrimp, or even tofu.
- Pick whatever veggie blend you like! The freezer section has bags of all kinds of veggie blends and the leftovers are GREAT to have on hand. My favorites are the sugar snap pea and broccoli blends.
- The stir fry sauce OR soy sauce option is up to you and what you have in the pantry. Tonight, I used Kikkoman’s Stir Fry Sauce.
-Sriracha is SUPER hot! Be careful!!It can be found in the Asian section at the grocery store.

-This is the deep dish, wok-style pan I used: