One of the things N and I loved doing in our newly-wedded bliss was to lounge on the couch with our reheated Ore-Ida fries and Dino nuggets and watch The Food Network. We’d look at all the great foods they made and think that someday we might do the same. You know, after we’d been married for several years and grilled cheese didn’t hold any appeal as our Tuesday night staple. We were ambitious people. Highly ambitious.
You know what happens when you see great food being made. You actually begin to think you are a chef. That you could also whip up a five course meal in 30 minutes, not have a ton of dishes and everyone, absolutely everyone would be standing in line to have some of your great cooking. We started small. We bought all the ingredients to make Emeril’s Essence. We began putting that on chicken and in breading for chicken strips. That Emeril knows how to season food!
Once we tasted great seasoning, the frozen food didn’t cut it anymore. We knew it was time we actually cooked something beyond grilled cheese and taco meat. Just to clarify, we didn’t eat those together. I went online and got some recipes. We both would work in the kitchen, making meals together, salivating over our newest creation. Then we’d sit down, look at each other in a stare down of “who is going to try it first.” Usually N went first and didn’t come back up until he had totally cleaned his plate.
I’m not going to lie. We’ve had some dishes that are less than stellar. We may have used our grilled cheese back-up when things didn’t turn out okay.
Since that first attempt with seasoning, we’ve got a fairly good repartee of dinners. Stir Fry Chicken and Bell Peppers was one of our first attempts at cooking in our very own kitchen. I remember coming home with the recipe and asking N if he thought it sounded okay. Then we went and bought a wok because we had to cook it exactly as they said! It has become a staple in our monthly meal planning. I believe I got this recipe from Rachael Ray, but I’m not entirely sure. The best part is that it can easily be expanded to feed more people or some for leftovers. We usually double this recipe so N and I have some leftovers for the week. Also, if you have little ones who aren’t too fond of all the spiciness, you can take some chicken out before you insert the spicy.
Stir Fry Chicken and Bell Peppers
2 Cups of rice, cooked
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces of even size
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2-3 Tbsp hot chili oil
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 Tbsp soy sauce
Cook the rice per package instructions and set aside. Typically I start the rice the same time I start the chicken and peppers so they are done about the same time. I find this dish to be excellent with brown rice, but I have to pretend we don’t have any white rice if N is going to eat brown rice.
Heat the vegetable oil in the wok over medium to medium high heat and add the chicken to the heated oil. Cook until chicken is done and starting to turn slightly brown on the outside. There will be quite a bit of chicken liquid in the bottom of the wok, but don’t fear, it will evaporate.
To the cooked chicken add the garlic, hot chili oil (you can always add more or less of this) and crushed, red pepper flakes. You can omit the red pepper flakes if you wish. I’ve even used a dash or two of cayenne pepper and it tastes great, with less intense heat. Stir and let cook for about a minute until the chicken is coated and the garlic has a chance to cook a bit. To this add the bell peppers, turn the heat down to medium or medium-low and stir together. Cover the wok with the lid and let the peppers cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the soy sauce to the chicken and peppers to add a little liquid to the mixture. You can add more or less of the soy sauce to the wok, depending on how dry the chicken and peppers seem.
Serve over rice.
It’s a two pot cooking experience and a one bowl eating experience. That the kind of clean-up math I like.
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