Sometimes you have time to cook from scratch, sometimes you don't, but there are other times where I find a balance between the two to come up with dinner that is quick and easy- but also healthy. Did you make it through that incredibly long sentence?
Tonight we had fried rice with tri-tip and potstickers. The fried "rice" is actually cauliflower rice with some seasoning and veggies in it. So the fried rice is all vegetables, and I added the tri-tip from leftovers we had the other day. That was the only homemade part of the meal today. Again, sometimes you have time for "from scratch" cooking and some days you need easy.
The cauliflower stir-fry is as easy as putting some olive oil in the pan and sauteing the stir fry for about 10 minutes.
After the rice has cooked, I take the lid off the skillet so that any moisture can cook off. I took my tri-tip leftovers, cubed them, and added them to the rice.
It looked like this when it was finished.
For the potstickers, you add water to cover the bottom of the skillet and a few tablespoons of oil. Lay down a layer of potstickers, cover with a lid, and simmer for 8 minutes. Uncover the potstickers, flip them, and cook for about 2 more minutes to cook off any leftover water.
We use 1/2 to 2/3 of a bag of potstickers for my family of 8. Everyone loves this meal. It is done in 30 minutes or less, packed with good protein and veggies too! It comes with a yummy dipping sauce, and the kids gobble it up. Also, I don't want to raise picky eaters, so we often give them a variety of food. This cost less than $20 for us tonight. I bought the frozen stuff from Costco, and used about half of each bag. This means I could get an entire other meal from this, just need to grab some more meat to add to the "rice."
Tip: nonstick pans are a must for the potstickers. I used a 14" tonight.
Enjoy!