Making Turkey Stock

Do you make stock with your leftover turkey after it has been trimmed of meat?  I had posted my way of making chicken stock and actually it is identical to that--just using the leftover turkey bones.  Any bones from meat would work for stock such as beef or pork.  I am reposting this recipe for any of you interested making it and storing it for future soups, stews or other dishes.  We had a 22 pound turkey this year, so I had to pull out both my large and smaller slow cookers.  After putting them on last night before we went to bed our home was smelling wonderful when we woke up this morning.  Now I have several containers of this gold to pull out of the freezer when I want to use it.  

Making Stock

Do you make stock?  It's the most simple thing you can do to make the most wonderful soups, stews, and sauces.  I prefer to make chicken stock.  If you are vegetarian you can make stock from vegetable peelings.  Today I'd like to show you an easy way to make chicken stock.

There are all sorts of "official" ways of making stock.  I am not a chef, but I'll show you a very easy way to make chicken stock in a crock pot that my daughter taught me how to do. I used to make this stock on top of the stove--but when she told me about using the crock pot it's much easier.

Last week I made roast chicken for our family.

After we enjoyed the roasted chicken for one meal, I removed the remaining chicken from the bones.  I made a chicken pot pie with that meat.  A chicken can give our family many meals.  Be sure to save all the bones from your chicken. Now you are ready to make stock.  It's so easy, it's hardly a recipe.

Put into a crock pot:

All of your bones from your chicken

2-3 washed carrots

1 stalk of washed celery

1 whole onion with skin on that has been washed

1 bay leaf

10- 15 whole peppercorns

Your can also add fresh herbs if you have them, such as parsley, sage, rosemary or thyme.

If you don't have fresh herbs your stock will still be wonderful.

Cover with water and cook overnight on low.  Your home will smell wonderful when you wake up in the morning.

Turn off your crock pot and let cool for an hour or so. Then strain the stock through a colander or sieve into a large bowl.  I always let that cool and put stock into 1 quart containers and then cool completely and then into the freezer. When you are ready to use just pop into microwave to thaw. You can then use them in any recipe you wish.  You can make soup very quickly with this stock. Homemade is so much better than store bought stock! 

Panko Encrusted Salmon

I have a confession to make.  I'm not wild about eating or preparing fish.  Yes, I know it's good for you and all that.  I do enjoy shellfish, though.  In fact I love it.  But, fish, not so much.  Our son loves deep sea fishing.  When he gifts us part of his catch, I really enjoy it, especially if he prepares it.  Fresh fish can't be beat, but it's difficult to obtain.  Grayden loves fish.  Often when we eat out he orders fish, particularly salmon.  I've tried making it several times and it's okay.  Recently I prepared salmon that was delicious to me and even Samuel who like me is not wild about fish.

I bought Wild Caught Sockeye Salmon from BJ's.  It's individually wrapped so that helps me some with the ick factor.

It you want to give it a try here is what you'll need for 3 to 4 salmon fillets:

• 1/2 cup or so of Panko Bread Crumbs
• 1 teaspoon of dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon of lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Mix together all of the above ingredients in a bowl. 

• Brush 1 to 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard on the skinless side of each fillet
• Press the breadcrumb mixture onto the Dijon mustard of each salmon  fillet

Heat your oven to 425 degrees.

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in an oven safe 12 inch skillet on medium high.  Add your salmon skin side down and cook for 4 to 5 minutes without turning.  

Transfer your skillet to your preheated oven and let them cook for 3 or 4 minutes until the Panko is browned.

Remove from oven and allow to rest covered for a couple of minutes.  Enjoy!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

As I was talking with my daughter the other day, I mentioned a chicken soup I was making.  She and I love to make our own stock and we really enjoy making different soups in the winter.  When I mentioned this soup, she said, "Mom you should post the recipe on your blog."  So here is a wonderful soup that is so easy once you have homemade stock.  I do believe it is the key to all wonderful soups.  Yes, I have bought boxed stock, but I must admit it is not as good as homemade.  If you have never made stock, it's quite simple.  If you don't want to make soup after making stock, you can freeze it for later.  You can go Here if you'd like to make my stock. 

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

• 2-3 chicken breasts or chicken left over from roasted chicken
• 1 large onion diced
• 3 large carrots sliced
• 3 stalks of celery diced
• 8 ounces of button mushrooms sliced (add later if you wish)
• 1 cup of wild rice
• 6 cups of stock

In a large dutch oven, saute' onions, carrots, and celery in a tablespoon of olive oil until your onion is transparent.  Add your chicken stock and chicken breasts.  Then add the following herbs:

• 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried rosemary--if you have fresh all the better.
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried dill
• 1 teaspoon of dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Allow your soup to come to a boil.  Then reduce heat to a simmer for one hour.  Add sliced mushrooms.  When the chicken is done, remove and shred.  Meanwhile in another saucepan make a roux of 1/4 cup of butter melted and 1/4 cup of flour.  Slowly add a cup of milk and a cup of half and half.  Cook about 4 minutes until thick.  Then add to soup along with chicken.  If the soup is too thick you can add a little more milk to thin. Serve your soup with a nice crusty bread or crackers.  Enjoy! 

If you don't like mushrooms, you of course can just leave them out.  A certain someone in my house doesn't care for them, but would never complain.  Love that kid! ♥

There is a lot of ice on our river.  So this morning on our way to our morning walk we stopped to take a few photos.  

Even though our temperatures are warming today, our soup will taste good. 

Strawberries

Strawberry season is coming to a close in our area.  We love these juicy little gems and look forward to them every year.  Local strawberries are the best, but the strawberries from California have been delicious this year as well.  We used to go pick these beauties.  I made jams and jellies and of course, strawberry shortcake.  I even tried growing them, but to no avail in our shady garden.  Strawberries love the sun.

Grayden tells me when he was eight years old, his Mother allowed him to sell strawberries from their garden to local neighbors.  He used the profits to attend church camp.  My sweetie has always been an enterprising fellow.  It all began early when he sold strawberries.  He remembers selling them for 35 cents for a heaping quart.  Along with church funding, he needed to make 6 dollars to allow him to go to camp.

I had a quart of strawberries in the refrigerator that were calling for a different dessert.  I've seen Strawberry Fool referred to in many magazines and online sites.  A Fool is an English dessert that has pureed fruit folded into a custard or whipped cream.  Of course, you could use yogurt or sour cream in place of the whipping cream.  The way I made it today was so simple.  It's hardly a recipe.  It consists of strawberries and whipped cream.  What could be better than that?

Strawberry Fool

Macerate with 2 tablespoons of sugar 1 quart of strawberries for one hour. You can adjust the sugar to your taste.

Then mash the berries with a potato masher or large fork.

Whip 1 pint of whipping cream along with 2 tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Gently fold strawberries into whipped cream.  Place mixture into glasses and top with a strawberry and a sprig of mint.  Chill in the refrigerator.

  

This was a super easy and delightful way to enjoy strawberries.

The full Strawberry Moon was rising so lovely in the eastern sky last evening.   I do hope you were able to get a look at it.  If not, check it out tonight. ♥

Honey Oatmeal Bread

Do you enjoy making bread?  Or do you avoid it because you feel it is too complicated to make?  It's very simple and I hope if you don't make bread you will give it a try.  If you have a stand mixer it is a lot easier than you think to get a wonderful loaf of bread.  I have the Kitchen Aid Professional with the bowl lift.  Of course you can also make bread by hand.  I remember seeing my Grandmother making bread with such fondness.  I truly have never been able to make bread that tastes quite like hers!  With so many of us being so busy making bread by hand can be out of the question.  A lot of the bread making business involves a lot of time where you can be doing other things.  So I hope you will give bread making a try.

I have used many different recipes over the years to find the perfect bread for my family.  Do we eat bread at every meal?  No. We do eat bread at breakfast for toast and bread for sandwiches.  When I make bread I place the finished cooled loaves in the freezer and bring out a loaf to thaw in the refrigerator for our use as needed.  I made a delicious bread today and I thought you may like to try it.  It's from the Kitchen Aid cookbook that came with my mixer.  So you may already have this recipe.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1/3 cup of butter
• 5 1/2-6 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of quick cooking oats
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• Oatmeal to sprinkle on top

Place water, honey, and butter in a small saucepan.  Heat over low heat until very warm-120 to 130 degrees.

In mixing bowl place oats, 5 cups of flour, salt and yeast.  If using a stand mixer use dough hook and turn speed to 2 and mix for 15 seconds.  With mixer still on 2 gradually add warm mixture to flour mixture and mix for 1 minute.  Add eggs and mix for 1 minute longer.

Continuing on speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix about 2 minutes or until dough starts to clean sides of the bowl.  Knead on speed 2 about 2 minutes longer.

Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease top.  Cover and let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled.

Punch dough down and divide in half.  Shape each half into a loaf by rolling each half into a 9 by 13 inch rectangle.  Then roll your rectangle into a loaf and seal the ends.  Place in a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch baking pans.  Cover and let rise until doubled in size about  1 hour.

Beat egg white with water to make a wash to cover the risen loaves.  Sprinkle oatmeal on top of egg wash.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.  My loaves were ready in 30 minutes. 

 “Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” 

― James Beard

Blackberry Roll

Do you love or dislike blackberries?  Grayden is not a fan of these sweet juicy berries because of the seed that seems to catch one by surprise.  Even with the seed, I love these little jewels from nature.  In late July and August and into September, blackberries grow wild alongside the rural roads of VA.  Many folks are now concerned that we shouldn't consume these berries for fear of toxins and other exhaust fumes that comes from the vehicles that travel the roads.  There are many berry farms where you can go and pick cultivated blackberries.

I was reminded of blackberry season when I visited Deb's blog Country Days and Cottage Ways where she was showing her blackberries.  Deb lives in Wales and has a delightful blog and I'm sure she would welcome your visit.

 Every summer that I can remember always included a trip to a road on the way to my Daddy's work that was full of blackberries.  Mama would have us put on old long sleeve shirts and long pants to go pick blackberries even though it was hot.  As most of you know, blackberries grow among brambles and brush that is usually home to ticks and mosquitoes and the dreaded poison ivy and poison oak.  I remember coming home with pails of juicy blackberries.  Of course we always ate a bunch while picking and our clothes were stained with purple juice.  We knew that when we returned home Mama would make a Blackberry Roll!  Mama said she remembered her Mama and her Mama's mother making this dessert.  My great grandmother and Nanny lived in rural Clifton Forge before moving to Richmond where her children could work in the tobacco factories.  My Nanny said there were blackberries everywhere and they made jams and jellies and of course Blackberry Roll.  During really rough times, blackberries that were put up were about the only food they had to eat.

Thinking about the humble blackberry and Deb's reference made me want to make a Blackberry Roll.  My Nanny and my Mama hardly ever used a recipe.  So I don't have their recipe exactly.  They cooked and baked by feel.  A blackberry roll is basically a rich biscuit rolled with juicy blackberries in the center.  Here is my Blackberry Roll made with grocery store blackberries.

Blackberry Roll

1. about a quarter cup of sugar or more if blackberries are tart
2. 2-3 cups of blackberries
3. 2 cups all-purpose flour
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 3 teaspoons of baking powder
6. 1/4 cup of cold butter  (I'm sure my Mama used shortening and my Nanny and great-grandmother used lard
7. around 2/3 cup of whole milk or more if needed to make soft dough
8. 2 or 3 tablespoons of melted butter
9. 1 tablespoon of sugar

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  

Mix together your blackberries and sugar in a bowl and set aside.

In another bowl mix together, flour, salt and baking powder.  Cut the butter into the flour mixture until soft pea sized butter is showing.  Add as much milk you need to form a soft dough. Don't over mix as your dough will become tough.

I like to use a muslin cloth and sleeve that goes over my rolling pin to roll out dough for biscuits or pie crust.  You can find these in any good baking department.  I've had these pieces over 30 years and I keep them in the fridge to make sure they are cold.  You can wash them in your washer when needed.

Roll your dough in an rough 12 by 15 or so rectangle.  Brush the melted butter on the rolled dough.  Then place your berry mixture on the rectangle.

Roll in jelly roll fashion, from the long side and seal the edges of the dough.  With seam side down, place your roll onto a baking dish.

Work quickly as the juice will want to escape.  Make slits on the top of the roll and sprinkle the whole roll with sugar.

I baked mine for 25 minutes until it was lightly browned on top.  You can top with whipped cream or ice cream, but my Mama never did.

It was a lot of fun remembering this very special dessert from my childhood.  Of course, I don't think my Blackberry Roll was as good as my Mama and my Nanny's was, but it sure was nice remembering these times from my past.  Have you ever been blackberry picking or made a Blackberry Roll?

  

Chicken Fajitas

Do you like fajitas?  Whenever we go to a Mexican restaurant it is a choice of many in our family. We eat a lot of chicken and I'm always looking for new ways to prepare it.  I thought I would try to replicate this yummy dish at home.  It's quite easy and I thought it would be nice to try on the grill.  Well, it's been so hot and humid I really didn't want to cook outside.  So I decided to use the oven instead.  Of course it can be made in a skillet, but I like the taste of roasted vegetables better than sauteed ones. 

It's hardly a recipe to prepare this yummy dish.  I always have the ingredients in my pantry to make a lot of different meals and I was happy I had everything I thought I needed except the seasoning packet that most folks use.  I really don't like prepared mixes so I mixed up a few spices to make a good seasoning for fajitas.

Chicken Fajitas

1. 2 chicken breasts sliced very thinly
2.  2 red bell peppers sliced into strips
3.  1 large onion sliced 
4.  1 tablespoon of fajita seasoning *
5.  2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Spread evenly into a large baking sheet lined with foil for easy cleanup.  Place into a preheated 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until your chicken is done.

We like flour tortillas for our fajitas that have been heated in a dry pan for 15 seconds on each side.  I served these plain but of course you could add sour cream and cilantro if you wish.  I made rice and added a can of black beans.  That was dinner that everyone said we should add to the rotation of meals.  You can also slice beef very thinly and make steak fajitas if you wish.

Fajita Seasoning *

1. 1 1/2 tablespoon of chili powder
2.  3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
3.  1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
4.  1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes or more if you like it spicy
5.  1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
6.  3/4 teaspoon of paprika
7.  2 teaspoon of ground cumin
8.  1 teaspoon  kosha salt 
9.  1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Mix all of your spices together and use what you want on the chicken and veggies.  I used a tablespoon.  If you saved an old spice bottle, you could use it to store the remainder with your spices.  I just put a label on mine marked it with the date.

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. Virginia Woolf

Lemon Blueberry Tea Bread

What do you do with an abundance of lemons in your refrigerator?   Yes, make lemonade or make lemon blueberry tea bread.  It's not often I make sweets around here, but when I do the request is usually for something with chocolate.   I'm offended when I have to throw food away so today I decided I needed to use up the lemons.  It's a hot and humid day and normally I would not be heating the oven.  

This recipe has been in my file for years.  It's wonderful with hot tea, but today we'll enjoy it with a tall glass of  iced tea.

Lemon Blueberry Tea Bread

1. 1/3 cup of melted butter
2. 1 cup of sugar
3. 2 eggs
4. 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
5. 1 1/2 cup of flour
6. 1 teaspoon of baking powder
7. 1 teaspoon of salt
8. 1/2 cup of milk
9. 2 tablespoons of grated lemon zest
10. 1/2 cup of chopped pecans
11. 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease an 8 x 4 loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar, eggs and lemon juice.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and then add alternating with milk.  Fold in nuts, lemon zest and nuts.  Pour into loaf pan and cook for 60 to 70 minutes until a tester comes out clean.  Invert bread onto cooling rack.  While your bread is still warm mix together the glaze.

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1/4 cup of white sugar 

  Pour over the still warm loaf.

Do you do much baking in the summer?  Or do you avoid the extra heat in your kitchen?

I do hope you are enjoying your summer. ♥

Grandma's No Recipe Potato Salad

All great cooks that I know don't use a recipe to make most meals in their kitchen.  Of course, if one is baking that can be a different story.  Exact measurements are important there.  My Nanny and my Grandmother made homemade everything.  I never saw them use a recipe.  Even when making bread it was by feel.  My Mama would make the most wonderful meals and I never remember her using a recipe, except when baking cakes.  My son and daughter are the same.  Grayden's Mother was a wonderful baker.  She made the best pies I've ever eaten.  I think she had a sweet tooth as I never had a meal at her table without dessert.

Grayden's Mother that I called Grandma as our children did! 

I had a bag of potatoes that needed to be eaten and I immediately thought of her Potato Salad.  I haven't made this for years.  There is no recipe or proportions for her potato salad, but when I make it I am sitting at her table again.

It's a very simple potato salad.  It consists of very few items.  

Cooked Diced Potatoes

Hard Boiled Eggs Diced

Sweet Pickle Relish---she always used her homemade sweet pickles

Duke's Mayonnaise *

Salt and pepper

That's all it is and it's delicious.  I remember her having a big bowl of this salad with ham or fried chicken and her homegrown tomatoes.  Today we had it with pork chops that Grayden had grilled.  I know there are many different ways to make potato salad with  a lot of different additions, but this is so good nothing else is needed.

*Duke's Mayonnaise is a must for this recipe, in my opinion.  Of course you can make it with your favorite mayonnaise.  I know it's not available all over the country.  I need to ship some to my daughter in New England as it's not available there.

  Duke's is all about family, from its origins in Eugenia Duke's Greenville, South Carolina kitchen, to Richmond, Virginia's C.F. Sauer family in 1929. Duke's has been uniting families through the meals it enhances for nearly a century. Throughout the years, our recipe has remained the same, providing fans with the same outstanding quality and superior flavor that they expect in every jar.
CF Sauer Source

What's for Dinner?

Since I've been posting about our trip out west, I've been craving some southwestern food.  Yesterday I made barbecue pork chops in the slow cooker.  They are so easy to make and since I'm always looking for short cuts to cooking, I put them in the slow cooker early in the morning.  I always slice an onion on the bottom and then layer the chops on top,  I added a little salt and pepper and let them cook on low until tender.  My slow cooker runs a little hot, so  they were ready in 4 hours of cooking.  In the last 30 minutes I added some bottled barbecue sauce to the top of the chops.  We love Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue sauce.

To go along with the pork chops I made beans and rice.  It's such a simple easy dish to make and goes quite well with pork.  Really the beans and rice are sufficient without the meat, but there are folks in my house that want meat.  Here is a very easy recipe that I adapted from the one on the Goya Black Bean can.

To a skillet add a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  I added a diced onion, a diced red pepper and a couple cloves of minced garlic.  Saute' for 5 or 6 minutes until the onion is translucent.  Add 1 can of black beans (undrained), 3/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 packet of Sazo'n Goya without Annatto, 1 tablespoon of white wine or cider vinegar.  Let this simmer for about 15 minutes.

Serve over the rice of your choice and enjoy!

I thought I'd show you my latest needle felting project.  He's made from wool from my friend Jeri's sheep, Sophia!  Thank you Jeri!!

What's for Breakfast?

♫Good Morning Starshine♫

There are so many choices for breakfast.  I love breakfast meals for dinner on nights when I'm tired or we just want something simple.  Pancakes or waffles are favorites in my home.  Grayden loves eggs and is happy to have them frequently.  Most mornings I really don't have time or don't want to make a hearty breakfast.  Those are reserved for slow easy days like weekends or vacations.

Hibiscus

This week I decided to make an old standby ---Granola.  A simple recipe to make ahead so we can eat a healthy breakfast is always a goal.  It's so easy to make and so tasty for breakfast.  Of course it's great over yogurt or as my grandson likes-- over ice cream.

Here is my recipe for homemade granola:

7 cups of rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 cup of wheat germ
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups slivered almonds
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of canola oil
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup of honey

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl.

 Spread mixture in parchment or silpat lined baking pan.  Bake in 275 degree oven for 2 hours.  Stir every 20 minutes or so.  After the granola is all baked and toasty, sprinkle one or two cups of dried fruit over the granola.  I usually add raisins.  Any dried fruit is fine.  Allow mixture to cool completely and then store in an airtight container.  I love old jars and have a collection that I use in my kitchen.

When I was outside today, I noticed this bloom on the same hibiscus plant that produced the bloom above.  I hope this doesn't mean it is reverting back to the white plant it was grafted onto!

Pink and White Hibiscus

The Tale of the Zucchini

In the kingdom of love and joy,  the king and the queen decided that they needed to start their walking again.  Alas, the weather in the land was hot and humid.  Too hot for the queen as she is not fond of walking when the steam is rising from the street.

The king suggested that they go over to the Royal Mall and walk in the comfort of air conditioning.  The queen thought this to be a lovely idea so she laced up her royal walking shoes and off they went to the Royal Mall.

Walking around the Royal Mall, trying not to draw attention to their subjects,  a young woman and three adorable boys approached them.  The young woman said she was from the Royal Agriculture Department.  She corrected herself and then admitted that she and her family had been on vacation and wondered if we wanted a zucchini from her garden.  She pulled it out of her bag and low and behold it was a giant zucchini.  The king looked at the queen and asked what she thought.  The queen looked at the children's faces and said of course we would love the giant zucchini.  You see the queen has a soft spot for children and didn't want to turn those adorable boys down.  The mother handed the zucchini over to the king.  As the children walked away the smallest boy said---"Thank you, now we don't have to eat it!"

The king looked rather interesting walking around the Royal Mall with a zucchini.  The queen arranged to have a royal bag for the giant zucchini.  The king was now able to finish the walk with the queen.

As the king and queen were travelling home in their royal coach, the king asked the queen what in the world was she going to do with this giant zucchini?  The queen was worried along with him about this issue.  Probably the queen would find it to be hollow or rotten inside.

The king loves chocolate and the queen figured she must make a chocolate zucchini bread.  Here is the king with the giant zucchini in the royal kitchen.

The queen still wondered what the zucchini would look like when she went to cut it open.

The zucchini turned out to be fine.  So the queen made some fine chocolate zucchini bread.

If you would like to make the royal chocolate zucchini bread go Here for the recipe

It makes two loaves of really moist delicous bread fit for a king and a queen! 

PS --The queen has enough zucchini for the whole kingdom.

Chicken Stir Fry

If you are looking for something different for dinner, I think I have a great meal for your family.  It is not difficult to make and comes together quickly.  It's healthy and filled with a lot of veggies and breast of chicken.  If you don't eat meat, of course you could just make it with veggies.

You can use any vegetables you wish, but this is what I usually have on hand.  I make this dish often as Grayden and Samuel like it very much.  Samuel has made this for us several times and it is always delicious.  His Mama taught him how to make it.

Chicken Stir Fry

2-3 chicken breasts cubed and a little soy sauce added
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
3-4 carrots sliced
1 large red pepper diced
1 head broccoli cut into florets  ( I always have frozen on hand and use that)
1-2 stalks celery sliced
2-3 tablespoons of fresh ginger minced if you have it--I don't always have it on hand and still make this dish without it--although it gives wonderful flavor.

Using a large skillet or wok--saute' onions and chicken until done.  I use about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, but if you have peanut oil that would be tasty.

Remove the chicken and onions to a bowl and add more oil if needed to stir fry the hardest veggies first--carrots and then broccoli, then celery and follow with red pepper.  When the veggies are cooked to your liking--we like a little crunch:

Add the chicken and onion back to the veggies.

Then add a stir fry sauce--such as La Choy or Kikomann Stir Fry Sauce.  I usually add about 1/4 cup.

Serve over rice.  Enjoy! ♥