Raise your hand if you love a good stir fry. (My hand is raised high – and so are my family’s hands too.)

Stir fries are a busy weeknight’s lifesaver. They are simple, healthy and quick. A no brainer really if you think about it. All it takes is a little prep (those precut bags of veggies at the grocery store come in real handy if you are really short on time) and a good wok.

Here are a few more healthy dinner ideas for you.

I’ve been lacking in the good wok department for quite some time. I have not had much luck with woks over the years for some reason. They have always seemed to get warped and become lopsided on my cooktop and the inside of the wok gets a little sad looking after some time.

Swiss Diamond recently sent me their 14″ Nonstick Wok to test out and I am so impressed. The quality is amazing. It’s a huge wok (and comes with a glass lid) so you can easily make stir fries packed with veggies your whole family will love – like this Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry I made this week. Their nonstick coating is made with real diamond crystals (pretty cool, huh) and they are made of heavy-duty cast aluminum with a flat bottom so no warping, tipping or spinning will be happening.

I’m excited to offer the same wok to one lucky reader too – see the below the recipe to enter the giveaway!

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Stir fry is definitely the way to go if you are looking for fresh, fast and good for you at dinner time. I mean, just look at that plate of food. I could eat that plate up several times a week with no complaints.

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The post Szechuan Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I have been staring at a jar of Five Spice Powder in my pantry for quite some time now.  Something inspired me to use it the other day when I was thinking of how I wanted to cook our fish for dinner.  I was totally caught off guard when I opened up and smelled the jar…this spice mixture is so fragrant, which is I guess what you could expect from a combination of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise and ginger.  I’m not sure what I was expecting…but regardless, I was pleasantly surprised.

Lately my weekly meal planning has consisted of at least 1 or 2 nights of eating fish or seafood.  What I love about cooking with fish is how easily and quickly it cooks up.  You can really play around with seasonings and sides and make something different every time.  This dish was ready in no time and would work well for any family on a busy weeknight.  To serve with this fish I put together a healthy stir fry of vegetables that cooked up in under 10 minutes.  Take shortcuts and buy pre-cut broccoli and carrots at the grocery store to save yourself some prep time.  If you’ve got a few extra minutes, slice up an onion and some red peppers and you’ve got yourself a colorful side dish for your fish that is nothing but good for you!

Both of my kids really enjoyed this so I will be sure to make it again!

Baked Asian 5 Spice Mahi Mahi

Ingredients:

• 4 Mahi Mahi fillets (though I do prefer fresh, I use frozen, defrosted mahi mahi from Costco for convenience!)
• 2-3 tsp canola oil (or your preference, I used grapeseed oil)
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tsp 5 spice powder (you can find this in the Asian section)
• 1 tsp minced ginger (fresh or jarred)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
   In a small bowl combine both oils, 5 spice powder, ginger, and garlic. Place the fish fillets in a glass baking dish coated in nonstick spray. Coat both sides of fish with spice mixture. Pour remainder of mixture evenly over fish. Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes, (depending on thickness - refer to 10 minute per inch rule) until fish is flaky.
2. Serve with stir fried vegetables.

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I spotted a shrimp recipe on Pioneer Woman’s amazing site recently and couldn’t wait to make it. I love shrimp, and love anything spicy even more so this was exactly something I knew I had to make. Last night, I was ready to fire up the grill to cook up the shrimp when something like a monsoon came over us. Lightning, rain, thunder, wind…all of it, and very typical of summer in Florida…so needless to say, I wasn’t overly excited about standing in the porch watching delicate shrimp cook up on the grill. It was time to improvise…

I had a ton of veggies to use up in the fridge…and a brand new wok that I got for a steal at IKEA. So stir fry it will be.

In a bowl I mixed together some hot chili sauce, a little oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar and a couple splashes of fish sauce. Oh and I pressed about 4 or 5 cloves of garlic in there too. I chopped a ton of veggies…squash, zucchini, onion, red pepper and more garlic. Forget the grill…this stir fry was awesome!

Firecracker Shrimp Stirfry

Yield: 2- 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 TB hot chili sauce (I use Sriracha - adjust amount to your taste)
• 1 TB soy sauce
• 1 TB rice vinegar
• 1 TB oil
• couple of splashes fish sauce
• 4-5 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• small pinch of salt, big pinch of pepper
• 1-2 zucchinis, chopped in quarters
• 1-2 yellow squash, chopped in quarters
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced in thin strips
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:

1. Combine chili sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, oil, fish sauce, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl to make a sauce. Toss shrimp in sauce and coat completely.
2. Heat wok over medium-high heat. Add a couple tsp canola oil into wok and sear the shrimp. Once shrimp are just cooked, take out and set aside. Add chopped vegetables and garlic into wok. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5-8 minutes until veggies start to soften. Once veggies are slightly cooked, add back in shrimp and toss to combine, cook for 2-3 minutes more. Serve with cooked soba noodles. Season with more soy sauce, fish sauce or chili sauce to taste.

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While I was in D.C. last weekend I visited the Julia Child exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Now, I’m almost embarrassed to admit this, but I really don’t know much about Ms. Julia Child. I know of her…but have never watched her shows. With “Julie & Julia” out in the theaters today, the book and then finally after visiting this exhibit, I must say, I am intrigued. I may have to dig up some old shows of hers and settle in on the couch one afternoon and just watch…she seemed like such a lovely spirit. Enjoy a peek in her kitchen…apparently it’s all her stuff, donated by her and set up exactly how she wanted it.

PS…Want to join in on the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club fun? Check out Cooking Light’s Test Kitchen Blog featuring Aggie’s Kitchen and other great bloggers!

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Before I get into this week’s Craving Ellie in my Belly recipe, I wanted to tell you all that Aggie’s Kitchen was included in RN Central’s Top 100 Healthy Mom Blogs! I was very excited and honored about this since this is my first time ever being included in any type of “list”…go check it out, there are so many mom related blogs listed full of lots of great information!!
Thank you so much RN Central!

Now on to this week’s recipe…Sesame Stir Fried Chinese Greens. This recipe was chosen by Joanne of Apple Crumbles…don’t you just love that name? 😉 Check out the CEimB group page to see how everyone cooked up this recipe!

I used a combination of Napa Cabbage and Bok Choy and served it with Mary Ann’s Zucchini and Chicken Stir Fry. I thought the greens turned out very good, but mine seemed to be a bit watery. I think it might have been my fault, I didn’t really take the time to dry them out after rinsing them so a lot of the leftover water must have landed into the pan. I am curious to see what everyone else in the CEimB group thinks of this recipe, I felt like it might have been missing something…maybe it needed a little kick or something? It still was a great, quick and light side dish…perfect for an Asian inspired meal. I think next time it would go perfect with a nice piece of marinated grilled chicken or fish.

Sesame Stir Fried Chinese Greens

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 2 pounds baby bok choy or Napa cabbage, sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. In a wok or large frying pan heat the oil over high heat until very hot. Add the bok choy and stir-fry until they begin to soften slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil and cook until just done, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Recipe by Ellie Krieger

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Check out Food Network for a printable version of this recipe!

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This is another one of Mary Ann’s recipes that I have tried recently, I made this along side her potstickers one Friday night and I felt like we were eating guilt free take out. It was so much better than takeout because I knew exactly what was going in it and knew it was all so fresh. Look at all those veggies!

The original recipe calls for chicken, but I found some mahi mahi on sale that day and decided to make it a fish and veggie stir fry instead. Once everything was cooked I tossed the mahi, veggies and sauce with some cooked soba noodles.

This really was oh so good. I can’t wait to make it again.

Zucchini and Mahi Stir Fry

Ingredients:

Marinate:

• 1 pound cubed mahi mahi (with fish only marinate for 20-30 minutes max)
• 1 Tbls oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 Tbls soy sauce

• 2 large zucchinis, halved and sliced 1" thick
• 2-3 yellow squash, halved and sliced 1" thick
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced
• 1 large carrot, halved and sliced
• 1 tsp ginger root, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Mix and set aside until needed- 1 Tbls cornstarch, ½ tsp salt, ¼ cup oyster sauce, ¼ cup water.
2. Heat 1 Tbls oil in wok until hot. Stir in half of the fish and cook until done. Remove fish and repeat with other half. Heat 1 Tbls oil in wok and stir in vegetables and flavorings. Stir fry veggies until tender and then add cooked fish. Stir in sauce mix, stir and cook until thickened. Serve with soba noodles or hot rice if desired.

Recipe adapted from Meet Me in the Kitchen

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(for a printable version of this recipe click here)

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