One of my go to dinner recipes is this quick and easy stir fry. You can throw whatever veggies you have in the fridge along with a protein of your choice and you have a delicious, belly happy meal. Stir fry has little prep work and can be thrown together at the last minute. It is perfect for the night where you are low on time and want a veggie packed, delicious dinner.
Alright I’m definitely not a chef so keep that in mind as I don’t know fancy cooking terms. LOL Before I start a stir fry, I like to pull all of my ingredients out of the fridge and cut any veggies so that I am ready to go.
Cook the rice.
First, start by cooking your rice. You can use whatever rice you prefer. We usually have basmati or sushi rice but brown rice works too! (My belly digests white rice easier so I prefer it over brown rice.) Sometimes we will do quinoa instead of rice just depending on what is in the pantry.
If you are cooking on the stove, fill a pot with 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice you will be using. Get the water boiling and then pour in the rice. Turn the heat down to a simmer and let the rice cook covered for about 15-20 minutes. Once it is done, fluff with a fork and you are good to go. I always start with cooking the rice first because by the time it is done cooking the meat and veggies will be ready!
To be honest, I rarely cook rice on the stove. We got this rice cooker a couple of years ago and it is awesome. It makes cooking rice and quinoa so. much. easier. I highly recommend one if you don’t have one!
Next up, meat and veggies.
Next up, brown your meat using medium to high heat. We use ground turkey for pretty much everything so that is what I used in this recipe. People tend to be scared of ground turkey but I promise it is delicious and tastes very similar to ground beef.
Once the meat is about 99% cooked through, toss in your veggies. This is where you have fun and make this recipe your own! You can add literally anything you want! If you have veggies that will be going bad soon, throw them in. If you want to try a new veggie combination, do it! Endless possibilities. One of the simplest combos and our go-to veggies are carrots and broccoli. Not only are they great in a stir fry but I always have them in the fridge. Chopped carrots and frozen broccoli are a staple in our house. Other yummy ideas include water chestnuts, snap peas, edamame, bok choy, and cauliflower.
Once you combine the ground turkey and veggies, put a lid on the pan so that the veggies steam a little. I leave the pan covered for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook the veggies until they are to your liking.
Last but not least, sauce.
While the veggies are cooking, it is time to mix the sauce. Combine the soy sauce, maple syrup, water, and corn starch together in a bowl. I love to add a bit of ground ginger to the sauce to make it a bit spicier! Put the corn starch in last so that it is easier to incorporate into the mixture. Set the sauce aside until the veggies are done.
You can easily use a store-bought sauce but I have yet to find one that wasn’t filled with a ton of sugar, preservatives, and other additives that are unnecessary. This sauce is simple to make and delicious!
Now that the ground turkey and veggies are cooked, turn your heat to low and pour in the sauce. Stir everything together as the sauce thickens. Make sure to stir continuously so the sauce doesn’t burn. The sauce starts out very runny but as you continue to stir everything around, it thickens up to the usual stir fry sauce consistency. Soooooooo yummy!!
Well there you have it, the quick and easy stir fry that we eat at least once a week! If you try out this recipe make sure to tag me in a picture on Instagram so that I can see it!!
Quick and Easy Stir Fry
Ingredients
Stir Fry Sauce
- 1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger *optional
Stir Fry Base
- 1 lbs ground turkey
- 1 cup uncooked rice *may use any type of rice
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 2 cups brocoli
Rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup rice
Instructions
Cook the Rice
- Boil 2 cups of water in a pot.
- Once boiling, add the rice and reduce to a simmer.
- Cover and let cook about 15-20 minutes.
- Turn of heat and fluff rice with a fork.
Stir Fry
- Brown the ground turkey with a dash of olive oil in a pan.
- Once the ground turkey is almost cooked completely, add the carrots and brocoli.
- Cover the pan and stir occasionaly for about 5-10 mintues.
- In a seperate bowl, mix together soy sauce, maple syrup, water, and cornstartch.
- Once the ground turkey and veggies are cooked, turn the heat to low and stir in the sauce.
- Continuously stir the mixture for 2-3 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.
- Serve stir fry over cooked rice.
