(The following is guest post #2, that I shared with
Erin @ 5DollarDinners back in June 2009. Enjoy!)
Erin @ 5DollarDinners back in June 2009. Enjoy!)
In the quest for easy, naturally gluten free dinners, a simple stir fry was one of the first meals we added to our menu in the Ginger Lemon Girl household! It was easy, quick, incredibly tasty, and quite frugal. Erin has a better handle on $5 dinners than I do, but generally our meals are very frugal. My husband and I both work full time, and are working very hard to pay off our home and other debts. In order to pay things off to meet our financial goals in a timely manner we have to carefully budget for groceries and household items.
When I first went gluten free grocery budgeting was incredibly difficult. I bought many specialized "gluten free" convenience foods because I did not realize there was a much easier and more frugal way!
This meal is one very inexpensive meal if you are able to buy chicken on sale. Frozen packages of stir-fry vegetables are also quite cheap and stretch your meal a long way!
This meal makes 4-6 servings for the two of us. It means we have enough extra food for lunches or leftovers, which is wonderfully convenient.
Quick, Easy, Naturally Gluten Free Stir-fry
Created by Carrie Forbes @ GingerLemonGirl.com
(Free of gluten, soy, dairy/casein)
1 lb. chicken breasts (2.99 on sale)
1 (28 oz.) package of frozen **stirfry vegetables (1.49 on sale with coupon)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided (.pennies)
1 tablespoon sesame oil (pennies)
Salt & Pepper, to taste (pennies)
1 teaspoon ground ginger (pennies)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds (pennies)
2 cups cooked brown rice (.50)
Total cost for entire meal = around $5.00
Directions:
Cut chicken into small bite-size pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium high heat in a large non-stick skillet. Saute chicken until golden brown for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Heat remaining olive oil and sesame oil in pan. Add frozen vegetables, ginger, and salt & pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes on medium high heat. Vegetables should be bright and crisp. Add chicken back to skillet and heat through. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on just before serving. Serve immediately over 1/2 cup hot, steamed brown rice. Enjoy!
Carrie's Cooking Notes:
** MAKE SURE to purchase stir fry vegetables that do not have any added sauces or spice mixes, as they may not be gluten free.
** You can also use soy sauce if you would like, I do not use it because many soy sauces contain wheat and I also have an allergy to soy! We have thoroughly enjoyed this stir fry without additional sauces! But if you do use soy sauce or another asian sauce, make SURE that is gluten free!
