Do you ever need to just whip up something quickly for dinner? Are there times that you know you need to cook, but just don’t feel up to it?
That happened to me last night. I’ve been dealing with what I’ve come to think of as a “hurricane headache” for the last two days now. As anyone who has migraines knows, barometric pressure can mess with your head and cause extreme pain. During my years of dealing with hurricanes, one thing I noticed was that whenever one was anywhere near us, my head would start throbbing with a pain that was unlike my regular migraines and much worse than a typical headache. With Jose churning off the east coast, I must be close enough to it for the pressure to be affecting me.
Anyway….I had taken out some frozen chicken breasts to thaw on Sunday but didn’t use them because my headache drove me into bed. Yesterday it was still hurting too much to cook, but I didn’t want the chicken breasts to go to waste, and I was afraid to leave them for another day. I definitely didn’t want to cook what I had planned because it involved too much prep, so I started thinking about how to take a shortcut. I had the chicken breasts and asparagus, so I thought, “Why not stir-fry?”
I always have gluten-free Teriyaki sauce in the cabinet, so I knew this was something I could cook very quickly. Preparation was as simple as cutting the asparagus into about 1-inch pieces and slicing the chicken into thin strips, then cutting the strips in half. I like to cut the pieces small so they cook more quickly. As I’ve mentioned before, whenever I cook brown rice, I cook extra and freeze it. I grabbed a bag of this out of the freezer and defrosted it in the microwave (not in the bag, of course). The whole dinner took less than 30 minutes from start to finish, and it was yummy!
Stir-frying is a great way to get a meal on the table fast. Because you cut your veggies and meat into small pieces, they cook quickly. You can even speed up the process by lightly steaming your vegetables in the microwave before adding them to the cooked meat in the stir-fry. Once your meat and vegetables are done, you just add your sauce and let it all simmer for a few minutes to meld the flavors together.
Even if you don’t like Asian flavors, you could still use the stir-fry technique — just use your favorite sauce or seasonings instead. It works well for most types of meat and vegetables, so you just choose what you want and cut it into small, fairly thin pieces.
Instead of the brown rice, you could use pasta, quinoa, or some type of potatoes for your starch if you want one. The possibilities are endless!
I have some stir-fry recipes I’ve found on Pinterest on my Pinterest page, so if you’re interested, check them out at www.pinterest.com/reclaiminghopeblog.
For more quick and easy meal ideas, check out the first two posts in this category, here and here.
What are your favorite tricks for getting dinner done quickly? Please share!
Blessings,
~Terri
I do hope you are feeling better Terri. I love this recipe and like the idea of quick and easy cooking πΌπΌπΌ
Thank you so much Brigid. I think my headache is finally starting to subside. I’m glad you like this idea – I know you do a lot of cooking from scratch. I love to cook, but I also like being able to find quick things to cook for those days I don’t feel like being in the kitchen. I believe I remember you saying you do some bulk cooking, which is a GREAT time saver.π
I am glad you are recovering. I make pretty much everything from scratch but quick and easy suits me just fine. πΌπΌπΌ
I am going to your Pinterest for the recipie ideas! ~Kim
Thanks Kim! I just started my Pinterest page. I hope you find some things you like!
I started following your boards, I am sure I will be filled with inspiration! Just need time for my favorite thing in the world, Pinterest! It is addicting, I have to limit myself… HAHA! ~Kim
Ha ha! I know what you mean about Pinterest being addictive.π I can lose hours just looking around on there….
Oops…. I hit enter before I finished…..thanks a bunch for following!
Stir-fry is a great meal idea! I like how we can throw in lots of vegetables to make it healthier π
That’s one of the things I like best about it as well. Putting the veggies in makes it super healthy and as an added bonus, it can help stretch the food budget. π
Reblogged this on Dream Big, Dream Often.
Thank you Danny – I appreciate it!
You are most welcome!