And Here We Go...

The new year is well underway with January proving to be very busy!  We had a very eventful ending to our stay at our vacation home that resulted in my husband dislocating and fracturing his shoulder.  So, we had first hand experience of the US emergency health care system.  They were very good to my husband who is now healing nicely.  It will be a long haul healing but we are very blessed as thing could have been so much worse!  Normally, we are home by the 22nd of December but this year did not return until the 5th of January.  We had actually planned on staying closer to the 10th but really wanted to be home for follow-up medical care.  Since being home, we have already hosted one large gathering and our family Christmas.  Now it's time to get into a bit of a routine before we are off again!

We spent a total of 15 weeks out of Canada in 2015 with the longest portion of that being 7 weeks starting in November.  Most of that was spent in Florida but one week was in Aruba, another in Tennessee and we even managed to get to Bermuda as a port of call on a short cruise we took.  In all, we had an amazing year filled with beautiful memories.  A lot of the food we enjoyed was stellar!  I'll share more on that shortly. 

For now, we are back to good old home cooking like this left over chicken stir fry I made.  Stir fry is one of my favourite quick meals.  This time I used an ancient grains pasta - whole wheat pasta with quinoa, amaranth, millet, sorghum and teff.  This pasta has a slightly grainy texture with a mild nutty flavour that paired nicely with the left over chicken.  I substituted Worchestershire sauce for soy sauce to reduce the sodium.  Mushrooms, onions and broccoli completed the stir fry. 

I'm planning on resuming regular posting after my hectic hiatus of 2015.  We are hosting our annual Superbowl Party so I'll be sharing a few dishes we will be serving.  This is always a fun gathering that starts just after lunch and running until after midnight.  Next I will be focusing on ideas for Valentine's Day.   Stay tuned...

Shrimp Stir Fry

It has been an unsettled yet interesting year thus far.  Life has thrown a few curve balls but in our true spirit, we have lobbied them back successfully.  We still managed to spend most of the month of May in Florida and Aruba so I'll share some of those foodie adventures.  Earlier this month, my husband had his gallbladder removed.  Despite all of the horror stories folks managed to share with us about this procedure, the only problem was a nasty reaction to his pain medication.  Other than that, the healing process was problem free.  He is back to enjoying food and is quite pleased that nothing seems to be bothering his stomach!

The discharge nurse suggested a bland diet for a couple of months then slowly start introducing fats and spice.  That didn't happen!  Butter, olive oil and coconut oil were all introduced within a day of post surgery.  Garlic pepper was included with his first solid food the evening of the surgery.  The first week, I made various pasta stir frys for dinner. 

Each stir fry was made with spaghettini and seafood (shrimp or scallops).  I added vegetables into the stir fry for the third dinner.  The shrimp stir fry pictured was incredibly easy to make.  It was a tasty,  low calorie, high protein meal.  The jumbo shrimp was frozen precooked so I thawed and removed the tails while the pasta was cooking.  When the pasta was cooked, I drained then heated a little olive oil in a non-stick fry pan.  I tossed in the shrimp and frozen Asian vegetable mix, stirring until warmed through.  Then I added the pasta, a small pat of butter (about 1 tsp) for extra flavour, and a light dash of garlic pepper.  This delicious stir fry, like most stir frys only took 15 minutes to put together.

The beauty of stir frys aside of being delicious is they are very quick to put together.  They are versatile too.  While rice and pasta are often added to stir frys,  quinoa or potatoes can be substituted.  Any meat or seafood can be used as well.  The choice for vegetables is endless.  Although I seldom add a sauce to my stir frys, it is easy to do so if desired.  A thin sauce adds another element of texture and flavour.  Worchestershire sauce, liquid aminos (soy free, low sodium) or soy sauce are all great ingredients to add extra flavour to stir frys in place of a thin sauce.  All the way around, stir frys get two thumbs up in my book!

Steak and Zucchini Stir Fry

The first part of the May trip at our vacation home is quite the adjustment as we are coming off of a four month schedule of up at 3:30 AM and into be by 8 PM.  Suddenly we are thrust back into somewhat normal hours without any time to get used to the change.  We generally spend the first few days of our trip rather low keyed and relaxed.  The second day of any of our Florida vacations is always grilled steak.  The Publix there has a nice meat counter so we buy a couple of extra thick cut steaks.  There is always enough steak left over for snacking and another meal!

Zucchini melody is one of our all time family favourites!  This simple dish consists of sautéed zucchini, mushrooms and onions.  Not only is zucchini melody tasty by itself, it can be quickly converted to a full meal stir fry as I did with the left over steak.

Basic Method:  Heat about a teaspoon of olive oil and a little butter in a non-stick fry pan.  Add the onions and cook until translucent.  Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until onions start to caramelize.  Add the zucchini pieces. Cook, stirring often until zucchini is tender.  Remove from heat and serve.

For the steak and zucchini stir fry modification, I added fresh green beans with the zucchini.  Once the vegetables were tender, I stirred in slices of left over steak cooking just to warm through.  The result was a delicious, quick to prepare stir fry to enjoy on the lanai while chatting about our plans for the rest of our vacation. The following day we would be picking up my husband's sister and her son.  They would be staying with us for four days so we were excited about the days to come. 

Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry

The holiday season begins shortly after the cold weather hits. When the cold weather fits hits our bodies are not acclimatized to the temperature change so we seek warm, comfort foods like thick, rich soups and chowders as well as heavier dishes such as lasagne and roasts with all the fixings. Homemade breads become a norm for most meals and salads get a wee bit plainer. We rely on more of our home canned stores and less on fresh fruits and vegetables. I'm not saying we don't eat fresh fruits and vegetables just we eat less both in quantity and variety. Now overall this wouldn't be a problem for us except this is also the time of year we tend to do a bit more cocooning indoors so our activity levels are down. Knowing that most of the holiday eating we do away from home is going to be packed with extra calories, I try cooking a bit lighter at home for the month of December. A stir fry is an ideal way to cook a bit lighter without it feeling like you are cooking lighter.

Instant Noodles

When it comes to quick cooking noodles many think of the Ramen noodles that come in the little pouches with a high sodium content seasoning packet. Unfortunately Ramen noodles are also high in fat because they are fried as part of the pre-cooking then packaged to complete the cooking process at home. Now Ramen noodles do have their use but if you can eliminate the nutritional problems of this quick cooking noodle (3 minutes), why not?

I found Rooster Brand Instant Noodles that have all the convenience of Ramen noodles without being high in sodium or fat and they only take 1 minute to cook! Unlike Ramen noodles that has a list of ingredients a mile long the Rooster Instant Noodles ingredients are wheat flour, water, duck eggs, colour. So let's compare the nutritional value of each. Ramen noodles contain: 380 cal per 85 g pk, 22% fat (36% saturated fat), 5 mg cholesterol, 77% sodium, 18% carbs (16% fiber), 4% calcium and 23% iron. Rooster Brand Instant Noodles contain: 300 cal per 1¼c (85 g), 0% fat (0% saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 14% sodium, 21% carbohydrates (8% fiber), 2% calcium and 10% iron. In terms of both fat and sodium the Rooster Brand Instant Noodles is a better choice nutritionally even though they are slightly higer in carbohydrates as well as lower in fiber, calcium and iron. As far as cost goes Ramen noodles (85 g) packages are often on sale 4/$1 or 25¢ per 85 g. The Rooster Brand Instant Noodles contains the equivalent of 4 packages of Ramen noodles at a cost of $1.19 or 30¢ per 85 g which really is not uch of a price difference to get a healthier product.

Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry

Instant noodles are ideal for adding to soups and into stir frys. The noodles can be cooked directly is soups just before serving. Once cooked which only takes 1 minute, the instant noodles can also be stirred directly into the stir fry coating them with the sauce. As instants go the Rooster Brand Instant Noodles are worth of a spot in your pantry.

Stir frys are always quick, easy and frugal meals. They really allow you to reduce the amount of meat per serving without noticing that there is less meat. They are ideal for those meals when time is at a premium or during the hot summer months because cooking takes only a few minutes. By far the most time spent is the food prep that consists mainly of cutting up a variety of vegetables. It is important to have all your vegetables ready before beginning to cook. If you are using meat or poultry it goes into the pan first as it takes the longest to cook then vegetables are added in the order of longest cook time to shortest. The resulting liquid can be thickened with a cornstarch slurry then if desired stir in cooked instant noodles. Give a toss and voila you have a lovely dinner with little effort.

Pictured is the stir fry I made a couple of nights ago. I served it on a bed of instant noodles that were cooked in turkey stock. The lightly seasoned chicken (lemon pepper) was cooked first then deboned, cut into strips and reserving the liquid. The chicken vegetable mixture consisted red onions, carrots, broccoli, celery, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and red pepper. The mixture seasoned with a little soy sauce and Hoison sauce. The rich reserve liquid was poured back into the mixture then thickened with a corn starch slurry. The meal was quick, easy, very filling and quite tasty! The best part is the meal was low sodium, low fat, low carb yet quite nutritious :)

Grilled Chicken Stir Fry

Kitchen Update: We had a bit of a set back with the tile edging but have solved that problem. We are now in the finishing stage. The kitchen still is not fully functional as I don't want to use the countertops before sealing the grout. The most recent update with pictures can be found here.

In the last few entries I've shared some of the foods we have cooked on the grill without them being grilled. While this has been necessary because of the drawn out kitchen renovation (hey we are DIYers aka slow and nit picky) In short I'm using the grill as an oven. Yesterday I planned on using some of that lovely zucchini in chicken kabobs for something different but my husband said to KISS (keep it simple silly) and came up with another idea, grilled chicken stir fry.

Grilled Chicken Stir Fry

His idea was to use the grill for the chicken then use the chicken for a stir fry done on the grill side burner. If you are in the market for a propane or natural gas grill be sure to get one with a side burner. They have really come down in price and that side burner can be a real summertime energy saver. It can also serve as an emergency burner if your power is out.

The resulting meal was quite lovely! It was simple yet elegant with lots of flavour. It was an easy and quick meal as well coming in right near the 15 minute mark including the prep time. This was also a very frugal meal and could easily be a budget stretcher by using less chicken. The grill does add a slight smokey flavour to the chicken that can't be duplicated in a skillet. I give my husband two thumbs up for merging grilling with stir frying to come up with a unique meal.

Grilled Chicken Stir Fry

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ large red onion
2 c sliced mushrooms
medium zucchini
1 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp Hoisin sauce
2 tbsp butter
extra virgin olive oil

Cut the onion into strips. Slice mushrooms. Wash and cut the zucchini into quarters lengthwise. Remove pith and seeds. Cut across the the zucchini strips to form chunks.

Place butter and olive oil in a fry pan. Heat on the side burner of the grill. Add vegetables. Grill the chicken on each side until lightly browned. Cut the chicken into strips. Add to the vegetables and continue cooking until zucchini is tender and onions are translucent. Stir in soy and Hoisin sauces.