The Experimental Alchemist: Stir Fry Salad

So, my husband I decided that we need to take a break from so many carbs. I think this came about after a horrible gnocchi fail a few days ago. I have made gnocchi many times in my life, and after I found a recipe online for roasted butternut squash gnocchi, I decided I had to make it again. I was super confident that I could make some really awesome, soft, pillowy gnocchi like I had made so many times before. But knowing me, I didn't follow a recipe....and I used whole wheat pastry flour. BIG mistake. Do not make gnocchi with whole wheat flour. It will be hard, and tough, and deeply disappointing. It is so frustrating to make lots of good food in the week, and then have a massive dinner failure that leaves you bloated and unhappy. Then again, we've been eating lots of carbs recently with noodle salads and carrot cakes. That is why I don't bake often because it's just the two of us trying to finish off muffins/cake/tarts that I make...and inevitably, it will be mostly me. So, we're taking a healthier course this week. Lightening the load, so to speak. Thankfully, I've really been craving salads lately, so I decided to make salad the focus of the week. I went and bought arugula, spinach, cabbage, bean sprouts, olives, pepperocinis, and made a batch of hummus...all things to make some great salads with.
Just because you're going lighter doesn't mean you have to exclude flavor. Last night I made a stir fry salad that was rich and spicy, but also crunchy and fresh. It would have been really good with rice or noodles, but was actually very satisfying as is. Plus, cabbage salad goes a long way, and keeps well in the fridge for about a week. So, we'll be having cabbage salad for a couple days!

For breakfast this morning, I turned this whole meal into a frittata which was very good. All of these recipes are extremely versatile.

Stir Fry Salad
Serves 2

Stir Fry:
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup mushrooms, slices
1 jalapeno, sliced or minced (exclude if you don't like it spicy...or use less)
2 cups chicken, roasted and cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup spicy Asian peanut sauce (recipe below)
1 TB sesame oil (optional. Just add in more coconut oil for frying)
1 TB coconut oil or canola oil

Heat oil on high heat in a large skillet or wok. When oil is hot, add in broccoli, mushrooms, and jalapeno and stir to coat. Saute, while stirring, until broccoli is bright green and mushrooms are wilted, about 3-5 minutes. Add in chicken and sauce, stir to combine, and cook about 1 minute. Take off the heat and serve immediately.
NOTE: Do be afraid to add more veggies to this! Carrots, onion, bell peppers, kale, or cauliflower would work great as well.

Spicy Asian Peanut Sauce:
Makes about 1 cup

1/4 cup peanut butter
2 TB sriracha (Asian hot sauce)
3 TB Bragg's Liquid Aminos (a very good soy sauce alternative!) or soy sauce
2-3 TB rice vinegar (get the full sugar/sodium kind...since you don't use much anyway)
1 TB molasses
1 TB peeled fresh ginger, fine mince
1 TB garlic, fine mince

Whisk all ingredients together. Will keep for at least a week in the refrigerator.

Asian Cabbage Salad:

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2-3 cups bean sprouts
3 cups green cabbage, finely sliced
1/2 cup green onion, thin slice
broccoli stems, sliced thin

NOTE: Do not throw away your broccoli stems! Although the outside is tough and not very edible, the inside of the stems are tender and delicious! Just cut away or peel the outside tough skin and chop up the tender insides. These work great in stir frys, salads, or cole slaw. Plus, you get your money's worth out of all the broccoli!

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Will keep for several days in an airtight container in the fridge.

For the Salad, pile the salad on a place with a little bit of peanut sauce or a squeeze of lime. Add hot veggies on top. You can garnish with more cilantro or roasted peanuts.

Stir Fry Frittata:
This is great for breakfast if you have leftovers! Or is could also be a quick dinner. Serves 2-4

1 cup stir fry (fresh or leftover)
5 eggs
spicy peanut sauce and/or sriracha
salad (from above)
spray oil

1. Turn on oven broiler or set oven to 500F.
2. Crack eggs into a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Chop stir fry into small pieces, and stir into eggs. Add about 1-2 tsp of peanut sauce and stir to combine.

3. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Spray pan well with oil and pour in egg mixture. Cook, without stirring, until the bottom starts to set and browns slightly.

4. Turn the heat off the skillet, and put it in the oven under the broiler, leaving the door open and handle out (unless you have oven safe pans/handles). Broil frittata until it browns on top and middle is set. You can jiggle it to see if the middle is wet or not.