Stir Fry Night!

I admit I am not the best cook, but boy do I give it all I've got. I also admit that I am really good at taking someone else's recipe and making it my own. I love trying new recipes and rarely ever follow it to a T, unless it is full of new ingredients then I follow it exactly for the first time.

Tonight I made my first orange chicken stir fry. My recipe (I once heard if you make any changes it then becomes your recipe) goes as follow:

2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp ginger (I ran out of fresh so I used powder, I found this to be too strong so I will either lessen the amount of dried or use fresh.)
1 whole orange squeezed (I will double this next time)
orange zest (My orange fell apart while squeezing so the amount of zest was very minimal this time, next time I will use a lot more!)
3/4 T vinegar (I only use Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar in my cooking, I don't see the point in having a cupboard full of different vinegars when one does just fine. Speaking of Braggs vinegar, remind me to write about my vinegar experience.)
1T soy sauce
1 1/2 C water (I like a lot of sauce with my stir fry and these measurements just didn't cut it for me. Next time I will double the sauce!)
2tsp brown sugar (this was plenty sweet enough, just needs more sauce!)
3-5 shakes of red pepper flakes (I really lost count, so that is why the numbers. My kids said it was too hot, I said I do that so they will drink more water at dinner!)

Broccoli (about 3 cups)
Carrots (about 1-2 cups)
I was going to throw in pea pods at the end and I forgot.

And of course Chicken.

(Just a side note: My husband just got home and ate some and said it was absolutely perfect, not to change a thing and that I am an excellent cook.)

A trick I have discovered through trial and error of making a lot of stir fry (one of my favorite things to eat) is to steam the veggies to my desired consistency and then put them in the bubbling sauce. Not only do I get perfect veggies but also I achieve it using no oil.

Today was my first experience cooking chicken in my new and loved pressure cooker. The chicken came out nice and tender! Plus it cooked really fast and I made enough for recipes in the coming days.

I like to add my chicken cubes to the bubbly sauce for a few moments before I stir in the steamed veggies so it can absorb some of the yumminess!

Well there you have it! I can't wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow!