After reading about our record-setting vegetable feast this weekend, my friend Melanie asked if she could have our recipe. Sure!
If only I followed a recipe.
The truth is that I do not believe I’ve ever followed a recipe for our weekly stir fry meal – and every week looks different. From the ingredients to the flavorings or sauce, we’ve really never had the same stir fry twice (unless my recipe-following husband makes it, since he prefers the comforting guidance of instructions).
Knowing that, she still wanted to know “how we do it” and I’m always happy to share!
Our stir fry’s usually include vegetables that we have on hand or inspiration from the farmer’s market. I try to include a few different colors (3+) for visual variety and to help us get more nutrients from our food.
We’ve used different flavors over time depending on what we’re in the mood for and what’s in the pantry. I sometimes will use cumin and a smoky chili that friends shared with us, leftover marinades like teryiaki, or whip up a peanut sauce that the kids really like.
I try to always have a protein – either chicken or beans – and we enjoy it over brown rice for a gluten-free whole grain.
Our 8-Veggie Stir Fry dinner this past weekend was definitely a mix of what we had leftover from a few different meals, and the rainbow chard that my son picked out earlier that day from the market. It looked like this:
Sauteed onions and garlic in oil.
Added celery, carrots, green beans and about 1/4 cup of liquid. Covered pan and simmered a few minutes until al dente – not crunchy, but certainly not mushy.
Added red bell pepper, tomatoes while I mixed peanut butter (about 2 tbsp) with 1/2 cup of soy sauce.
Tore leaves off rainbow chard stalks and placed them into pan. Tossed well so that the chard leaves begin to wilt.
I cooked a couple chicken thighs on the side and dicedthem into small pieces. The brown rice was also cooked separately.
The chicken was added to the stir fry, along with the peanut/soy sauce. Everything was mixed until it was well-blended. We served the 8-Veggie Stir Fry over brown rice along with plums and peaches on the side.
While we ate, I threw all the vegetable scraps (onion, celery and chard remains, carrot tops and extra green beans) into a pot full of water that simmered for almost two hours. We placed about 8 cups of “free” vegetable stock in our freezer before heading up for bed time.
The kids loved it and ate every bite. I had the pleasure of enjoying leftovers for lunch a few days later and do believe that it tasted even better!
Tastylicious Lunch
Our kids need to eat, whether we're prepared to feed them or not. Some days it would be great if meals just created themselves, but let's get real. At Feed Our Families we'll share new ideas, recipes and inspiration to help make meals happen in your home. 
