Waiting in line at the grocery story is a thing of torture. I try not to look at the magazines promoting the new fad of “losing 15 pounds in 3 days by starving yourself!” Or the ridiculous, “Justin Bieber started smoking again? We are disappointed in you Biebs.” And let us never forget the alluring, “Top 10 sex tricks to make him obsessed with you!” Yay societal norms for advocating such health and wellness for our own lives!  Bull. It makes me feel stupid, so I refuse to look unless I need a good laugh.

And yet, something bright and colorful caught my eye yesterday in line at Whole Foods; a delicious chicken and vegetable dish on the magazine cover of “Skinny One Pan Recipes.” Recently getting into food photography myself, the first thing I marveled at was the talent, resolution, and angle of this picture! Look at it ^ it is glorious. After that wave of amazement, the food itself just looked mouthwateringly delicious. To top it off, the idea of a “one pan” dish just sounded so easy to do! How complicated could it be if it is just ONE pan?

And just like that, I was sold into buying my first ever magazine. About food. Haha! Now that is my kind of cosmo 😉 After flipping through and marking all the recipes I endeavoured to make, my first success was the One Pan Stir Fry. I tailored the recipe a bit to make it gluten and lactose free, and it turned out to be top shelf. Let’s get started:

Ingredients

• 1 cup of brown rice
• olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
• 8 oz. boneless beef sirloin steak, trimmed and thinly sliced into bite-size strips
• 3 cups broccoli, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped into strips
• 1 cup frozen shelled edamame
• 2 tbsp gluten free Tamari sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsps red chili paste
• 1 tsp of a good quality cornstarch

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, (I use Cooks Standard Multi-Ply Stainless Steel) add the rice with 2 cups of water. Set on medium high heat, cover, and wait for water to boil. Once it boils, cover again and set to simmer for 45 minutes without removing the lid.
2. In a nonstick wok or large skillet (I used Cuisinart 722-36H Chef’s Classic Stainless Open Skillet), heat some olive oil and add the chopped ginger. Let it sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add chopped broccoli and bell pepper and sprinkle black pepper, garlic powder, and salt to taste. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Remove the veggies and set aside.
4. Add more olive oil to the pan, then add the beef and edamame. Cook until the beef is no longer pink.
5. In a small bowl, combine the Tamari sauce, rice vinegar, chili paste, and cornstarch. Stir until desired thickness. Add more cornstarch if you want it to be thicker. Add vegetables back into the skillet along with the sauce. Add more chili paste if you want it to be spicier. Let the veggies, beef, and sauce sit together for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, allowing the spices to come together.
6. When the rice is done, give it a stir to make sure all the liquid is gone. Chop up some cilantro and mix. Serve rice under the stir fry and you are done!

The edamame gives it a nice crunch! There are at least 5 servings and below you have some nice little info about the nutritional facts:

-Per serving 340 calories, has 22 g of protein, 38 g of carbs, 6 g fiber, 11 g fat, 24 mg chol., (2 g sat. fat), 262 mg sodium.  

Eating this with a nice big cashew ice cream chocolate chip cookie*** for dessert (will post tomorrow) was truly delightful! Can’t wait to make more Skinny One Pan Recipes!

Enjoy! ❤

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