Easy Stir Fry-A Family Favorite Meal

Today’s families are busier than ever and will appreciate speed and consolidating time spent preparing their evening meal. One of the ways I have chosen to enhance quality family time and decrease meal prep time is to think of ways to stretch the menu. Weekly menu planning helps me to stay organized in the kitchen. I plan one large meal, such as roast chicken or pork tenderloin, and count how many more meals I can get from it. It doesn’t even have to be within the same week, but can be frozen and removed for a quick meal later in the month.

I have discovered stir-fry to be a healthy and versatile meal. There are so many ways to prepare it that it never gets old or routine. For those families who do not consume meat, it can be easily converted to a vegetable stir-fry by merely eliminating the addition of any meat. Or, just add tofu for an additional protein boost.

Tofu is an important source of protein for vegetarian diets. It originated in Ancient China as part of the Buddhist culture. It is often referred to as bean curd and is made by extracting the soy ‘milk’ from the soybean, then coagulating it into white blocks. It has a mild flavor. Caution: if you are allergic to soy, or are on medication such as levothyroxine, that is contraindicated with soy products, do not ingest tofu or soy products.

**Total family meal serving six (one cup serving) with rice:

1 package of four pork chops=$4.19

1 C brown rice = $0.50

stir fry sauce=$2.89

1/4 lb. of carrots= $0.50

½ onion=$0.35

1 can baby corn=$1.49

1 C zucchini-free

1 bunch broccoli=$1.89

Total price for meal=$11.81

**Price will vary depending on current cost and number of items used.

The great thing about making stir fry is that the ingredients can vary depending on what you have on hand, and it is a wonderfully simple way to use left overs. For example, on the first day I may have chicken, on the second day I will throw the left over or tiny bits of chicken into a stir fry pan and mix them with vegetables.

Plus, the whole family can help chop vegetables or throw the veggies into the pan, providing an opportunity to engage in dialogue. For this evening meal I used a cheaper cut of pork chop, a portion of a zucchini given to me from a friend’s garden, half of an onion, one cup of carrots, broccoli and a can of baby corn, chopped. I used a store bought stir-fry sauce, which tends to be higher in sodium, but can be reduced if you can find a low sodium brand. I don’t use a homemade sauce due to the time factor. There are so many ways to enhance the stir fry-like a big pot of homemade vegetable soup-add what you have.