Spring Skillet Cooking

This is my son's favorite time of year because he can run around in the backyard barefoot! I love spring, too. Activities seem to migrate outside, and we find ourselves hanging out on the patio instead of in the living room. The colors seem brighter, and the world seems happier, but cooking in the kitchen definitely seems like more of a chore. We don't feel like eating hot, heavy meals, and I certainly don't enjoy heating up the house via the oven.

I love my slow cooker, but even the meals from that seem too hot and heavy for this weather, so lately, I've been preparing a lot more skillet and stir fry type meals. The other night, I was "punting," and I stumbled across a delicious stir fry. It reminded me of those frozen Chicken Voila meals I used to make regularly. They were easy, and because we got nice big chunks of chicken and vegetables in one meal, I assumed I was feeding my family a healthy supper.

Here's the problem. Check out the list of ingredients in Chicken Voila's Garlic Chicken:

Vegetable(s), Broccoli, Corn, Carrot(s), Macaroni Product Enriched, Water, Semolina, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid (Vitamin aB), Chicken Breast with Rib Meat, Seasoning, Chicken, Soy Protein Isolated, Sugar, Garlic, Cheese Romano Dehydrated, Milk Pasteurized Cow's, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzyme(s), Onion(s) Dehydrated, Salt, Sodium Phosphate, Flavoring Natural, Yeast Extract Autolyzed, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Calcium Sulphate (Sulfate), Caramel Color, Corn Flour, Corn Flour, Cream, Dipotassium Phosphate, Paprika Extractives, Garlic Powder, Lactose, Maltodextrin, Milk Non-Fat Dry, Paprika, Soybean(s) Oil Partially Hydrogenated, Sodium Alginate, Sodium Aluminum Sulfate, Sodium Caseinate, Spice(s), Wheat Flour, Flavor(s) Natural & Artificial, Corn Starch, Corn Starch, Soy Flour Defatted, Calcium Acid Phosphate

I could point out any number of problem ingredients here, but what I especially want you to notice is the soybean oil partially hydrogenated on the third line from the bottom. Any time you see a partially hydrogenated oil in the list of ingredients, the product contains trans fats.

Okay, so I'm not going to tell you that if you cook my recipe below that it will taste just like Chicken Voila's Garlic Chicken, but it does taste somewhat similar (without sauce) and is basically just as easy to make. The only added steps were to cut up the chicken and sprinkle on some spices.


This is a very inexact recipe, but it's also pretty foolproof. I literally just threw it together, with no planning (or measuring), and it tasted delicious!

Garlic Herb Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
15-20 oz. frozen vegetables, your choice
Salt and pepper, to taste
Mrs. Dash's Garlic & Herb Seasoning Blend, to taste
Oil*
Noodles (optional)**
Cheese (optional)

Directions:
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cut the chicken up into small, square pieces. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, then toss it into the skillet and stir fry for a few minutes, until no pink remains on the outside of the chicken. Toss in the vegetables, add a little more oil if needed, then sprinkle the garlic & herb seasoning over everything.

Stir fry for a few more minutes, until the chicken is lightly browned and the vegetables are tender. Taste, and add a little more seasoning blend, if needed. Feel free to toss a little cheese into the mixture, if you desire. I didn't add any cheese, and it tasted fine that way, too.

If you want noodles with your dish, cook 1-2 cups of them in a saucepan, substituting chicken broth for water while you stir fry the chicken a nd vegetables, then stir everything together at the end.

*I don't recommend olive oil in stir fry recipes unless you're keeping your temperature at medium-low or low. If your olive oil starts to smoke, it has turned rancid. It's no longer the good, healthy fat you need. Grapeseed oil has a higher smoke point, but coconut oil is even better. You can pretty much cook coconut oil on a high temperature and avoid smoking.

**Try your favorite 100% whole wheat or brown rice noodles.

I've got quite a list of stir fry dishes to try in the coming weeks as we transition into increasingly warmer weather, and I'll be sharing some of them on here with you. I hope you enjoy these flavorful ways of cooking vegetables and chicken. One of my favorite things about these one-skillet wonders is how seamlessly you can leave out the pastas and starches for a super healthy meal.