Stir Fry

I'm sure everyone here knows how to do stir fry. It really is just about the simplest thing you can cook. The key is cutting everything to uniform, small size so that it cooks quickly. You're cooking on high heat for a very short amount of time, so you want everything sufficiently cooked through, without the outside being overcooked.
The second thing to remember is to add ingredients into your wok/pot in order of what will take the longest to cook first. Once again, this is so everything cooks uniformly.
When making stir fry, the prep should take you more time than the actual cooking. It might take a little time to chop everything up, but once it is all ready, meal time is in minutes.
You can marinate your meat ahead of time to help impart flavor. Everything else is then cooked and you can add a sauce or seasonings towards the end for flavor. It's very simple, quick, and healthy. Me likey.
Today I did a simple chicken and veggie stir fry and I used some pre-made (yes, I bought it at a store) Hoisin sauce for the flavor. It's a really good, mildly spicy and kind of thick plum sauce.

I used:
Chicken
carrots
broccoli
green onions

Cut up the chicken and marinate in rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a little fish sauce. Let it marinate while you prepare everything else. Twenty minutes is good. An hour is plenty of time.
Get your wok/pot hot on at least med-high heat. Toss in that chicken and cook for few minutes til just done.
Transfer to another dish with juices and keep warm. Wipe the wok clean, add sesame oil, get it hot, and throw in your veggies.
Once they're pretty close to done, add the chicken, with juices, back in and toss around to mix. Add a few healthy globs of Hoisin sauce and toss til everything is coated. Add your green onions towards the end. You can add some toasted sesame seeds, too, if'n you want.
Maybe not the most exciting post, but this blog isn't titled exciting adventures in food. It's called what we made to eat and this is what we made to eat.

Psari Plaki (or awesome baked fish recipe with veggies if you don't speak greek) and Spinach Rice

So it hasn't quite been a month since my last post. I'll try and make up for it with a quick barrage. Hopefully it will be entertaining for anyone still reading.
So, I've got a really good fish recipe. It's really easy and you can do it in about 40 minutes. Sound good? Good. Here goes.
You need:
White fish. I use tilapia cause it's cheap and available. Snapper, cod, or some other flaky white fish will work just as well.
Cup or two of breadcrumbs
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 carrots, diced
1-2 sticks of celery, diced
1 can of diced tomatoes or some fresh tomatoes, diced
juice of 2 lemons
a little sugar
parsley, chopped
garlic, oil, s/p

Fry the onions in oil til translucent. Add the carrots and celery and cook til softened, bout 8-10 min. Add the garlic and let cook for 2 min then add the tomatoes and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Let it cook down til it reduces some. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F and lay the fish in a baking dish. Add the lemon juice and parsley to the sauce and season to taste.
Layer the sauce over fish. Cover with breadcrumbs and drizzle with oil.
Bake the fish til done, about 15-20 minutes.

This dish is light, healthy, and surprisingly good. It also reheats very well. Typically, I don't really like reheated fish, but this works very well. I like it with the following rice dish...

Spinach Rice

This is a good rice dish that complements the flavor of the fish well.
You need:
rice
spinach (I use fresh, I guess you could use frozen)
1 large onion, chopped
garlic
juice of 1-2 lemons
fresh dill, chopped
fresh parsley, chopped
vegetable stock (or chicken or water)

Fry the onion and garlic in oil for a few minutes til soft. Add the rice, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.
Add the spinach, ~tbsp of lemon juice, and the herbs. Season well with s/p, add the stock and bring to a boil.
Cover and reduce heat to low until rice is cooked.
Remove from heat, add remaining lemon juice and season to taste.