Chicken Stir Fry

I love making stir fry for supper, it goes together quickly and is jam-packed with good for you vegetables! :) For just Jerry and I, I only need to use one large boneless skinless chicken breast. I used to buy frozen stir fry vegetables and bottled stir fry sauce but decided it probably made more sense to use as many veggies from the garden as I could; after all, look at all the hard work that went into growing them! ;-) I also decided to start making the stir fry sauce to control the amount of sodium. One of the seasoning mixes I make is a Chinese one that I like to use to season the chicken. If you can find ground star anise where you live you are fortunate, I buy the whole ones and I have a little pepper grinder that I grind it up in.

Chinese Seasoning
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground star anise
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon celery seed

Cut boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks or thin strips, season with some of the Chinese Seasoning. Let it sit while cutting up the vegetables.

Cut veggies into chunks of approximately the same size. This time, I used carrots, celery, broccoli, green beans, pattypan squash and some swiss chard. The nice thing about stir fry is that you can use whatever you like and whatever is in season! :)

Heat a small amount of sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and cooked through. Add veggies and mix well. Cook, stirring frequently, until veggies are desired doneness. I also put a lid on and let them "steam" a bit because we like ours a little more tender. When the veggies are done to your liking, add swiss chard and stir until it wilts in.


For my sauce, I usually just mix up some soy sauce, a little sugar and some cornstarch and stir it in at the end. We like to add some crushed red pepper flakes too! You could also add some orange juice to the sauce or maybe a little ginger.


I hope this has inspired you to whip up a quick and easy stir fry sometime soon!