Friday, August 19, 2011

Vegetable Stir-Fry

Getting my kids to eat vegetables that are anything other than baby carrots and occasionally salad is nearly impossible. Boy 1 doesn't like broccoli unless it's in the form of Broccoli Cheese soup. (Go figure.) The girl likes broccoli but doesn't really care for anything else except carrots, as long as they're not cooked. Boy 2 will occasionally eat carrots as long as they are uncooked and only baby carrots. Not carrot sticks or large carrots. None of the kids like celery or cauliflower. HOWEVER, I can make this vegetable stir fry and I never get complaints from the older two kids. Boy 2 doesn't complain either, but he'll only eat the rice that we put under this. It's wonderful to have a non-complaint meal!

Vegetable Stir-Fry
from Swanson (Think broth - I got it from a magazine, I think it was Woman's Day but I can't remember for sure.)

1 cup Swanson Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural Goodness or Certified Organic)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 cups cut-up vegetables ~ broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, baby carrots and sliced celery
2 tsp grated fresh ginger root or 1/8 tsp ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
Toasted sesame seeds ~optional
(I add about 1/2 tsp of salt while this is cooking but you can just season as you like after it's on your plate, too.)

Stir the broth, cornstarch and soy sauce in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth.

Heat the oil in a 10" skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables, ginger root and garlic and stir-fry until they're tender-crisp.

Add the broth mixture to the skillet. Cook and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds, if desired.

We serve this recipe over rice and it makes a whole meal for us. Enjoy!


Tips:
- You may be tempted to use frozen veggies for this recipe. I'm here to tell you that it will work, BUT it turns out a whole lot better with fresh veggies.

- Remember that fresh ginger is usually more potent than the bottled stuff you find in your spice cabinet. If you aren't a huge fan of ginger, like me, then you might want to go with just a bit less than 2 tsp of fresh grated ginger. It can be pretty strong for me with the full 2 teaspoons.

1 comment:

Beth M. said...

So, explain how this whole thing works. You have a meal. And the kids eat it. And there are vegetables in it. And the spousal unit eats it. And there are no complaints. I'm not following... :)