Veggie Sausage Rice Skillet

Yeah it has been awhile since I have posted new content. BUT. After 7+ long months of being absent from new recipes, I had to share this one. This one saved my evening. I made this easy skillet one pot (sort of) thing for dinner tonight, and the result was like a locust swarm descended upon my kitchen table. Usually that means:

a) I should make this again, 

b) it tastes good, 

c) my two little guys are in the middle of a growth spurt, 

d) all of the above.... 

(ding) the correct answer is D

So I have two growing boys, and a husband who doesn't really care for sandwiches. He says they aren't really filling. yada. yada. yada. Then of course it has to be somewhat toddler-friendly. Sometimes cutting things very small works for him. Sometimes it fails in a really bad... wait for it.... let-me-throw-food-at-you-and-all-over-floor... type of way. Hello parenting. Then he cries because he's hungry and I just give in to whatever he'll keep down like crackers and cheese. 

P.S. If you are wondering...I have been making my top 5 of my favorites over and over again. Repetition is one of the keys I found to surviving having a newborn and teething not sleeping adorable baby. Here are some links to my favorites. You def should try these. 

Balsamic Shredded Beef, 

Black Refried Beans (from scratch),

Quick Zucchini Asian Beef Bowl , 

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chip Oat Muffins, 

and 

Cheesy hot easy chicken bacon subs. 

After all that.... here's that previously mentioned lifesaver recipe. Super easy to follow. Super easy to make. Tons of healthy veg cleverly hid under a ton of cheese. Great for kids and tired parents :) Enjoy.

Veggie Sausage Rice Skillet 

Serves 4-6  Total time 20-25 minutes

recipe adapted from hillshire farm magazine advertisement

Ingredients: 

1/2 red pepper, diced small

1/2 onion, diced small

small can of tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp oregano

1 zucchini, diced small

2 and half - 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 pkg of frozen broccoli, defrosted or not (if you forget)

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 & 1/2 pkg of beef smoked sausage, diagonally sliced

3 cups of white or brown rice cooked

Easy Directions with matching pictures: 

1. Heat the olive oil and lay sliced sausage down in a deep skillet. Over medium heat brown the sausage. If all the sausage doesn't fit no worries just push it to the side when you see color to make room for the rest. After one side is browned on most of them continue with step 2.

2. Lower the heat just a little and add in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir often. 

3. Add in the red pepper. 

4. Add in the onion. 

5. Add in the defrosted broccoli

6. Sauté all the veggies together for approx 10 minutes until veggies are tender crisp. 

7. Add in the tomato sauce, seasonings, and water. Stir again. 

8. Add in the cooked rice. Stir really really good. 

Note: If you don't have any leftover rice. Just start some white rice on the stove when you start the recipe and it will be done in time to add it here. Or cheat and use the microwave stuff. I think I have heard some good things nowadays about brown rice.

9. Sprinkle the cheese over the entire skillet and serve it when the cheese is melted.   

That's all folks

Take it easy

Quick Zucchini Asian Beef Bowl

It appears that summer is over. All the familiar and signs of Fall are here. Football preseason has started (yay!), my tv bill (with the nfl ticket) has jumped in price, and my husband and I counting down the days until our fantasy draft. Crazy. Its still over 100 degrees outside, but everything else is saying goodbye to summer. I am always relieved as a mom when summer is over because we have made it another year in Az with the high heat. Its hard living in air-conditioned spaces for a couple months. It starts to feel like you have all become bears living in caves by the end of July. Maybe thats another reason why Autumn is my favorite season. Or maybe I just like the food it brings onto everyones tables..... yummy hearty bowls of food, stews, casseroles, hearty soups, large bowls of pasta with new fall veggies throughout squash, zucchini, pumpkin, and root vegetable staples like potatoes, parsnips, and carrots roasted capturing their natural sugars. So for that....you will need this easy recipe. Its easy and quick enough to fill the most hungry of little stomaches even on a school night, with just enough salty and meaty flavor to perk up the most adult taste buds. 

One of my favorite fall ingredients is zucchini. When I was young I wanted a garden so bad. But to the side of our house there were these "sticker bushes", wild blackberries bushes, that were out of control. Thus no room for a garden, even a small one. But one day my dad decided to remove them. My memory is sketchy here. I don't know if it was all in one day or a weekend. But I do remember being very excited! He was pretty creative in cutting them down and then actually driving over some of them to flatten them, to cut them down easier - as some plants were just as tall as he was. This created a great side yard for us kids to play in. In part of the space, we planted a vegetable garden one year, and had good success. Then the next year, I don't know what happened. We didn't plant anything new. But the zucchini plant still made the biggest zucchinis. I don't even remember watering it much that second or third year but we had zucchini coming out of our ears every fall. I thought it was the most incredible plant ever. To this day, its still a favorite fall vegetable. 

Paring zucchini with beef is easy. They go really well together. I have this chili recipe that uses big chunks of ground beef with lots of zucchini - its really great. But back to this recipe...The sweet salty sauce is so tasty you pour over the zucchini and onion will make the pickiest eater not flinch over the veggies. Veggies? What veggies? See. The zucchini lightens the very meaty dish up a touch without it appearing to be a "healthy" meal. To make it healthier use brown rice. So lets kick off this fall football season with a quick easy bowl of food. Perfect for families with kids, perfect for watching the game, perfect after a long day of work, and amazingly perfect for your budget with an short list of ingredients. 

And the pictures...... the life of a mom with two small kids. I was taking pictures with my phone again. Ugh. But at least you get the idea of what it could look like. I do intend to make this again soon so I will get some better pictures then. Until then make it yourself so you can see how beautiful and simple this dish is - dark rich browns and vibrant green zucchini :)

Quick Zucchini Asian Beef Bowl

Serves 3-4

Adapted from: A reinvented Mom

Prep + Cook time: 15-20 mintues

Ingredients:

3/4 - 1 lb of beef (I used the smaller amount of beef since I have kiddos - but if you are feeding 4 adults I would do the 1 lb or slightly more)

2 small/medium zucchini diced (about 1 1/2 cups - 1 3/4 cup)
1/4 onion diced (approx 1/2 cup)
1 tsp oil, any kind (I used vegetable oil)
2-3 cups of rice, cooked

1/4 cup soy sauce (I used organic)
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 tsp. ginger, grated

optional: roasted or toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Cook your rice in a saucepan if needed. This would be a great way to use leftover rice form another meal. I cooked 1 & 1/2 cups of white rice with 3 cups of water and 2 tsp salt. Took about 15 minutes. 

2. While the rice is cooking, start chopping the veggies. 

3. Over medium heat, in a large skillet, heat the veg oil, and cook together the ground beef, zucchini, and onion. Cook mixture until beef is cooked through. Use a spatula to stir occasionally and keep meat pieces small.  This part took me about 8 minutes. 

4. While rice and beef mixture are cooking, make the sauce. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the sesame seeds with a fork or whisk. 

5. When meat is fully cooked carefully drain any extra oil, fat, or excess water from the zucchini off the meat using a strainer. Put the coconut oil in the pan and put it back on the stove to melt it. Then return the meat and saluted veggies to the pan.

6. Next pour the sauce over the meat mixture and simmer the meat in the sauce for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Keep it warm until the rice is done cooking. 

7. Serve the deliciously sauced meat and veggies over the rice. 

8. Optional: sprinkle sesame seeds over the top of each serving

Enjoy this quick meal

from my az kitchen
Stephanie

Ginger Orange Chicken & Brown Rice

Hi there. 

I got a sweet, zesty, and easy Asian inspired dinner for you to try. Easy as in 10-20 minutes! Serious. Quicker than pizza delivery and much healthier too :) 

This is a recipe from an old cookbook but picture just looked too good to pass up. I love cookbooks with pictures. Do you? I have passed on buying perfectly good cookbooks that didn't have many pictures. I totally eat with my eyes first. 

The recipe turned out great! The thick sweet tangy slightly zippy sauce was perfect on the nutty brown rice and moist lean chicken. I think this would go great with pork or chicken. 

The original recipe was easy to follow and and I was immediately impressed of the short list of ingredients. Short list = easy on the wallet :) Short list also means, in most cases, an easier recipe. The only change I made was more than doubling the fresh ginger. To me, the orange flavor was too sweet, and it needed more zest to balance it out. The thick almost sticky orange sauce kept the lean chicken breast halves really moist and delicious. You could totally make the sauce ahead of time, but it came together within 5 minutes, so it didn't feel like a chore. I chose nutty brown rice to complement the tang of the oj and again balance some of that sweet flavor from the juice. Plus, it used up leftover brown rice I already had in the fridge. So with my leftover rice, put a quick cook on a frozen vegetable, and the entire meal came together in 10 minutes. LOVE! Even though I love cooking, when my husband is working late, and I am home with the kids at dinner time, I love anything that's healthy and fast. This was a huge win for me. 

Totally going to make this again adding in some sautéed or steamed broccoli and maybe some toasted almond slivers or sesame seeds, and egg rolls for a complete Asian style family meal (and hopefully get some better pictures using my camera and not cell phone). I hope you like it too. :) 

Ginger Orange Chicken & Brown Rice

recipe adapted from: Robin Miller's cookbook, Robin to the Rescue

Serves 2 but easily doubled (enough sauce for 3 or 4) 

Ingredients:
Salt 
Pepper
1 tsp oil ( I used veg oil but the original recipe calls for toasted sesame oil) 
2 chicken breast halves
optional: toasted sesame seeds (I didn't use them but wished I did for some crunch)
1 cup oj
2 Tbs reduced sodium soy sauce (I used organic)
1 Tbs brown sugar (I will halve this next time - sauce was really sweet)
1 Tbs corn starch
1 Tbs finely grated fresh ginger (I used organic from the produce section)

Helpful hint: If you buy a knob of ginger, peel it with the back of a spoon, and then throw it in a freezer bag for an hr and its much easier to grate. You don't even need to defrost it. Keep the remaining chunk in the freezer and it won't go bad for months!


Directions:
1. Cook your brown rice. I used a 2 to 1 ratio on my mine. 1 cup of rice for 2 cups of water. Takes about 45 minutes and i put about 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. In the place of water I used homemade chicken stock. But water works well too. I have done it both ways.

2. When the rice is more than half way finished start everything else. Salt and pepper your chicken breast halves on both sides about a pinch of each. I used one chicken breast and just butterflied it, pounded it even, and sliced it into two separate pieces. Pan fry them in a skillet with tsp of any kind of oil for about 3-4 minutes each side over medium heat. For thicker pieces of chicken, not pounded thin, you'll need to add an additional minute but no more than that.  

3. While chicken is cooking, start your sauce in a small pot. Combine soy sauce, juice, sugar, corn starch and ginger with a whisk. Bring it to a boil and then turn it to low until everything else is ready. Sauce should thicken in about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. 

3. When chicken is almost cooked through, pour the sauce into the skillet right over the top of the chicken and everything. Turn the chicken over in the sauce once to coat and finish cooking in the flavorful sauce.  I pulled my son's chicken out of the pan at that point, and sliced it and carefully set it back into the sauce to soak up some of that great flavor and to stay moist. Let the chicken finish cooking in the sauce for about a minute or two. 

4. When rice is cooked. Serve up the chicken and ginger orange sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. 

Enjoy this quick family meal
from my Az Kitchen

Mexican Chicken & Rice Casserole

Easy. Flavorful. Yummy... those are the descriptions that I thought of after taking my first few bites of this new dish. I heart American-Mexican food. Sometimes I think casseroles get a bad rap. In the past they were something I avoided like the plague because they were all made with the same canned, sodium filled, preservative-laden ingredients. I definitely grew up on casseroles, but as an adult my goal is still to enjoy food just in a healthier way. I have been able rework some of my favorites like tuna casserole, by making my own white sauce and using that in the place of a can of cream of whatever. 

Like most casseroles - I love their flexibility, make ahead-ability, and transferability. You can throw almost any vegetable or cheese in casseroles - gotta love that. They can be made a few days ahead, stored, then baked the night you need them. They are excellent for giving to someone who just had a baby or was in the hospital. Throw some foil on it and put it in a bag and take it to any potluck, friend's house, work function. Maybe its just the cheese talking... But there is just something about a casserole that means you care about them.

Mexican Chicken & Rice Casserole

Feeds 4 people 

prep + cooking time = 1 hour

Slightly adapted from cookbook: 

Homestyle Casseroles + one - pots

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup of rice (I used long grain white)

small handful of chopped cilantro probably 3-4 Tbs

1 Tbs oil

4 chicken thighs (I used skin on, bone in, and just removed the skin before cooking)

1/2 jar of your favorite salsa (I used mild)

1 cup of shredded/grated cheddar cheese

1 cup of shredded/grated creamy gouda cheese 

1/4 cup of mild green chilies, chopped

optional: chips (used scoops tortilla chips made eating fun)

optional: avocado or guacamole

optional: sour cream or thick creamy greek yogurt 

Note: Next time I will use boneless thighs just for more kid-friendly option. It was difficult for my kiddo to navigate around the bone. I did like how moist the meat was - bone in meat is definitely easier to cook. Next time I will use brown rice instead of white for more flavor, and add in some corn just for color and and fun. Corn is really best in the summer. 

Directions:

In a pot parboil the rice. Fill the pot with water and turn it on medium. Once the water is boiling start cooking the rice and simmer the rice over medium low. After 10 minutes drain the rice from the water and set it aside. 

While rice is cooking, prep your baking dish by spraying nonstick spray into it or spreading butter throughout. 

While the rice is cooking also start the chicken. In a medium sized pan pour in the oil and swirl it around, and put the chicken in. Over medium heat, brown the chicken for 3 minutes on the first side. After turning the chicken over, pour the salsa over each piece and continue cooking for another 3 minutes. The chicken should be golden but will be still raw in the middle. 

Put the almost finished rice, half of the cilantro, and green chilies in the baking dish. Smooth it out to create a flat surface. 

Top the rice mixture with half of the cheese. 

Top the cheese with the chicken pieces. 

Top the chicken with the remaining cheese. 

Cover the entire dish with foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes

Take the foil off and return it to the oven for an additional 5 minutes. 

Top the cheesy golden dish with the remaining cilantro. 

Serve with chips, guacamole, sliced avocado, sour cream... whatever sounds good

Enjoy!

 Stephanie

Zucchini Salmon Fried Rice with Cabbage

Recently I made a delish and super easy weekday salmon dinner and cooked extra food on purpose to make this salmon fried rice recipe. When I say weekday that usually means you can pull it out and start serving it in 30 minutes or less. Please don't misunderstand me. I love cooking for my family, but I was excited to try fried rice with fish for the time, and maybe a little too excited to have half of the dinner already made waiting in the fridge for a second meal.

So this is the second part of the two for one. Cook once and eat a whole different meal with the leftovers. As fall is starting and busy schedules pick up I know some that might appreciate this - I just appreciate it because my son is in the middle of this crazy growing spurt so it seems like he is always hungry. Another benefit of cooking this fast food look alike at home, is the additional fresh veggies. This is a great way to use up those last, end of the summer zucchini, cabbage, and peas.  

I heart fried rice. But its greasy and expensive these days to treat my whole family to the fast food that comes in the cute, square, white cardboard boxes. Occasionally like once or twice a year I will make it at home. It is easy and pretty fast. But with fish? I was skeptical about making this with salmon but it so worked. Fish, even salmon with a stronger taste is a natural fit in fried rice. Tasted so good! I so can't wait to try it with other fish as well.... so tasty and so much better for you than some of the greasier fast food options out there. This will be my go to when I am craving that sort of salty fried rice fast food. If you weren't sure before, now you know, I am definitely one of those gals that crave salt way more than sweet things. I have a special place for chocolate or carmel or cinnamon rolls, but cheese, tuna, pretzels, and all things salty come first. Any one else know what I am talking about here? Trust me - You aren't going to get fresh cabbage and zucchini out of a fast food restaurant fried rice container. You have to try this one. 

The other surprise at least for me, was the addition of cilantro. I was like this isn't Mexican food.... but it adds a freshness that really makes this salty yummy fast food look alike come alive. Don't omit it. You will miss out. If you love fried rice do try this. Salmon is good for you :) 

The Recipe

adapted from Real Simple magazine using leftovers from:

 Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Salmon 

with Green Beans & Shallots 

Serves 4 adult size portions (1-2 cups each)

Cooking time is approx 18-20 minutes

The leftovers that I used were: 

3 cups leftover cooked white rice

1 cup of garlicky green beans 

Two 6-7oz pieces of cooked salmon, broken up in to large pieces

Additional ingredients to complete the recipe are:

1-2 Tbs of oil

2 Tbs of finely chopped fresh ginger (or grated if you have some stored in your freezer - it lasts forever in your freezer)

1/4 -1/2 of a head of green cabbage, thinly sliced (about 2-3 cups)

1&1/2 cup of shredded zucchini, drained thoroughly*

1 cup of frozen peas

2 Tbs of rice vinegar

1/2 Tbs of soy sauce or to taste

1/4- 1/2 Tbs of salt or to your tasting (I did 1/2 Tbs)

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 handfuls of cilantro (1 cup loosely packed), chopped

1 egg

2 egg whites**

*I will have another great zucchini recipe for you next time so buy 2 or 3 small ones or 1 large one at the store or farmers market. 

**I will have a use for that egg yolk with another recipe so store it in the fridge covered for breakfast or for an amazing sandwich spread that will blow your socks off. 

How to put the fried rice together

1. Grab your largest nonstick skillet or a wok if you have one

2. Heat half of the oil over medium high heat and saute the rice, zucchini, and ginger together for 5 minutes so the everything is warm and softened. Stir often. 

3. Add the cabbage and cook until it begins to softened - 3 minutes. Keep stirring, tossing, moving the food around over the medium high heat. 

4. Add in the green beans, peas, pepper, and remaining oil as needed. Saute for about 4 minutes until peas are warm. Carefully add the salmon don't crush it into tiny pieces. 

5. Add the vinegar, and pepper. Taste and add the salt as needed. Taste again and add the soy sauce as needed. You can always add more salt but you can't take it out once its there. Keep stirring.

6. Cook up the egg. I used a separate pan just to make sure it was scrambled and cooked all the way through. Then add it to the skillet. 

7. Turn off the heat. Add in the cilantro and toss everything together so it looks like the picture. 

8. Eat & enjoy your healthier fish-ified fried rice. Try saying that ten times fast :) 

From my kitchen to yours!

Jerk Fish with Pineapple Rice

Beautiful. Simply elegant. Easy to make. Easy to eat. 

I reluctantly admit, I had been sitting on this recipe for awhile before trying it. Wow! It had some heat, which you should expect with anything with the words "jerk" in them, but it was mild. My 3 yr old even enjoyed it, which for him usually heat/spiciness is a prect.  It had enough sweetness to cut the heat, but not take it away. It was done in 20 minutes and had only 5 steps. My 3 yr old even enjoyed it, which for him usually heat/spiciness is a problem. 

I cannot wait to do this one again, in the warmer months. It will be a wonderful addition to recipes that can be done on the outside on the grill/bbq. Trust me in Arizona during the summer the last thing you want is a heated kitchen when its 110+ outside. Besides grilled pineapple is the best!  It gets a deeper orange caramelized golden color and texture. Grilled pineapple makes a great dessert. 

This recipe is from a Rachael Ray magazine Feb 2008.  

1 1/2 cup of rice
2 Tbs unsalted butter
4 pieces of tilipia
Sliced pineapple (2 slices per person)
1 cup frozen corn, defrosted (original recipe had peas - use what you have)
1 lime, cut into wedges
1/4 tsp Jamaican jerk seasoning blend per fish per side 
1 Tbs oil
1/4 tsp or 1 cube chicken bullion flavor
1/4 cup of pineapple juice (from the can with the sliced pineapple)
2 1/2 cups water (original recipe called for 1/2 a cup of unsweetened coconut milk - will be doing next time just subbed water for it this time) 
1/4 tsp salt

1. Combine the rice, salt, butter, pineapple juice, chicken bullion flavor, and water.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer, undisturbed & covered, for 15 minutes. 

2.  Coat and rub the seasoning into each side of the fish fillets. 

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet and cook the fish for approx 6-8 minutes (3 or 4 minutes each side until golden). Fish cooks fast. Watch it carefully. 

4. Remove the fish when cooked and set aside, put the sliced pineapple in the skillet until golden approx 2 or 3 minutes over med low heat. 

5. Chop some of the pineapple up and mix it with the rice. Serve the rest of the pineapple on top of the fish. Combine the defrosted corn with the rice and garnish with the lime wedges. 

Super flavorful. Super easy. 

Time may be against you in the kitchen but with this 20 minute meal you will win every time! 

From my kitchen yours

Chicken with Rosemary Cream Sauce & Rice

After hitting the gym with my hubby tonight and letting the kiddo romp in the children's play area, I was in need of some serious food. This is definitely a meal I like to make when I am hungry. Its easy fast and has like 12 ingredients total for the chicken, sauce, veg, and rice. I have been making this for years just because its easy and wellllll with Superbowl just passed I have too many leftover crackers around my house. I hope you try it. It always gets good reviews. 

Takes approx 30 minutes

 Serves 4

Note: Can be multipled easily to serve more people. Breading could cover up to 6 fillets. 

Ingredients

1 cup white rice

1 steam of fresh rosemary (for the rice) + 1 Tbs of fresh rosemary (for the sauce) + 1 Tbs fresh rosemary (for the chicken breading)

1 bay leaf

1 cup of water

1 cup of chicken broth (for the rice) + 1/2 cup of chicken broth (for the sauce) 

10 Ritz crackers ( I used whole wheat but use whatever you have on hand)

3 oz of cream cheese

2 Tbs white wine

1 Tbs dried parsley

2 Tbs mozzarella shredded cheese (grated also works)

1 Tbs oil

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves 

Your favorite frozen veg (tonight we had peas) 

Directions: 

1. Cook the rice. Put the rice, chicken broth, water, bay leaf in a pot. Turn the heat up and until it begins to boil and then put the steam of rosemary right on top. Cover and turn the stove down to low. Set the timer for approx 20 minutes. 

2. Start heating a large skillet with the oil for the chicken and put a pot of water on half filled for your choice of frozen vegetable. 

3. Smash and combine the breading mixture in a large gallon sized bag. Combine the crackers, cheese, rosemary. 

4. Drop one chicken fillet or chicken breast half in the bag to coat at a time.  Shake it around and immediately put it in the hot skillet.  Cook the chicken for approx 10 minutes on each side. If you pound the chicken a little to ensure even thickness you will have an easier time getting them all done at the same time, and it will cook faster. 

Moist, Yummy, Crunchy Chicken

5. Once you turn over the chicken, and it is half way done, put your favorite veg into the hot water. It just needs to be brought to a boil and then you can turn that burner off. You don't want mushy veggies. 

6. When the chicken is done place them on a plate near the stove to stay warm or cover the plate with foil.  Keep the heat on medium on the skillet to make the sauce. Pour the chicken broth and white wine in the skillet and use a spoon to get some of the bits of flavor up off the bottom.  Stir the cream cheese into it. Once everything is fully combined and it comes to a boil add in the parsley and rosemary and you are done. 

7. Serve the the sauce over the chicken and the rice with the vegetable. 

I hope you enjoy it. 

From my Az kitchen to yours. 

Jamaican Pork Stir Fry

Originally I was going to write about pancakes but after tasting this Jamaican pork stir fry I had to write about it instead. Confession: I have never had Jamaican style food before. I know. I am a bit sheltered. So this being a new experience I had some cash on hand to order a pizza incase it didn't work out - as you can guess - it was amazing and the pizza guy never needed to show up. Must try this easy dinner.

The recipe was adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Magazine Jan 2007 Page 108

Jamaican Pork Stir - Fry 

Start to finish 20 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 Tbs oil (used light olive oil)
16oz pkg frozen stir fry veggies (found one with long green beans, peppers, broc) find one your family likes
12 oz pork strips for stir-frying (used pork stew meat - love buying meat already cut up)
2 tsp Jamaican jerk seasoning
1/2 cup bottled plum sauce ( I had to look around for this but found it at a bigger grocery store)
soy sauce (used prob 1/4 cup or less)
dry roasted unsalted peanuts (handful)
2 cups of hot rice or pasta or tortillas or a combo of two


Method:
1. In a wok or skillet heat oil over medium
2. Pour frozen veggies into pan and stir around to break up big clumps
3. Cook for 5 minutes having a bowl nearby to deposit them into after they become tender crisp
4. Remove veggies from pan
5. Toss seasoning with pork (now or before in the day if you want to give it a good dry rub)
6. Add pork to wok/skillet and more oil if necessary - I needed more oil prob 1-2 Tbs
7. Cook meat for 5-6 minutes until almost completely done (no pink)
8. Add plum sauce over meat and stir around so everything is covered
9. Return the veggies to the pan
10. Gently toss, heat through
11. Season with soy sauce and peanuts just before serving
12. Serve with heated tortillas (wrap in foil and heat in the oven 4-5 minutes at 350 degrees) or 2 cups hot rice 

See its easy. This makes 4 servings although we ate 3 servings just my husband and I for dinner. So do make more rice or add an additional side if you are needing 4 adult sized servings.