Chicken Veggie Stir Fry with Easy Oven Brown Rice

Who doesn't love a stir fry?!  My family loves a good stir fry- heck we even love a mediocre one!  Tonight I make a chicken stir fry with frozen veggies.  Sometimes I will cut all of the produce fresh... usually when we are having company.  It's not that my family isn't special- it's just the ease and hardly any prep time that makes the frozen vegetables so attractive.

There are so many great vegetable blends on the market now.  Tonight I used a Bird's Eye Broccoli Stir Fry vegetables.  It is my favorite.  It is a blend of broccoli, red peppers, onion, water chestnuts, and carrots.
For the chicken, I used boneless chicken breasts from Trader Joe's.  Not organic, but all natural.  I usually would use organic chicken, but I found this reasonably priced bag of chicken breasts and I love a bargain!

There are endless ways to make a stir fry.   It is easy, delicious, and healthy! This is what I made!

 Easy Chicken Veggie Stir Fry:

4 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2- 16oz. bags
Bird's Eye Broccoli Stir Fry vegetables
1/2 bag of frozen chopped peppers and onions
3 cloves of crushed garlic
1 tsp. of jarred crushed ginger
1 tsp. sesame oil  (Tyling Naturals)
1/2 C of teriyaki sauce (San-J traditional Japanese)
splash of szechuan sauce (Wildtree all natural)
3 tsp. (approx.) coconut oil  (Nutiva organic cold pressed)
sesame seeds ( I used black, but optional)
  http://www.nutiva.com/coconutinfo.php

Saute crushed garlic in 1 tsp. coconut oil, for a few minutes, on medium heat.  Add cubed chicken, and cook and stir until no longer opaque.  Pour onto a plate when done.  Add 1 tsp. coconut oil, and saute the peppers and onions until cooked, about 4 minutes.  Pour onto a plate.  Add 1 tsp. of coconut oil, and add 2 bags of frozen veggies.  This will take time here folks.   I'd say around 10 minutes.  After the 10 minutes, add all ingredients back into pan, and add the teriyaki sauce, the sesame oil, and the szechuan sauce.  Cook until it is all warmed through.  I sprinkled black sesame seeds on top.  I served this over brown rice.

Easy Baked  Brown Rice:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a pan large enough to hold the amount of rice you desire to make.
(I used my dutch oven, that is ovenable up to 400 degrees.)

3 cups water

1 1/2 cup short grain brown rice

1 TBL organic Smart Balance buttery spread

1 tsp sea salt

Put rice into greased pan.  Bring water, Smart Balance and salt to the boil in a separate pan.  Pour over rice, stir to combine.  Cover, then bake for 1 hour.  When ready, uncover, and fluff with fork!  That's it!

I know, baked rice sounds unusual, but once you see how easy it is, this is the way you'll make it.  At least in the cold months.

There are many, many variations you could do with this rice.  You could easily double the recipe to use later in the week.  ( I did today, to use with chicken curry later.)  You could use broth or stock in lieu of the water, and add seasonings, and/or sauteed onion and garlic, to jazz up the rice.  It would be nice to jazz up the rice if you plan to use as a side dish.  The options are endless.

Enjoy!
Yours in health,
Natalie