Current Addiction: Vegetable Bird's Nests

Oh. My. Goodness.

Any of y'all out there big Trader Joe's fans?!  I don't shop there all the time, but when I do, I always pick up a bottle or two (...or five) of Two Buck Chuck and these to-die-for vegetable nests. 

They are a mix of julienned carrots, onions and kale, dipped in a tempura batter.  You can find them in the frozen section, and all you have to do is pop them in the oven.  They bake up deliciously crispy, and the box also contains two packets of soy for your dipping pleasure.

Whenever I make these, I always make some teriyaki chicken to go along with them.  Here's my recipe!

• 1 pound chicken, cut into bite size pieces
• 3 tbls. corn starch
• 2 tbls. soy sauce
• 1 tbls. sesame oil
• ginger, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste
• 2 tbls. vegetable oil
• 2 c. broccoli
• 1/2 c. sliced carrots

1. Place chicken pieces in sealable container or bag.  Add cornstarch and toss to coat.  Add soy sauce, garlic powder, and ginger.  Toss to coat.
2. In a large skillet or wok, heat vegetable oil and sesame oil.  Add chicken and cook approx. 4 minutes.
3. Once chicken is almost done (very little pink throughout), add broccoli and carrots.  Stir-fry for about 5 minutes or until tender.

The cornstarch is the trick--it helps keep all those fabulous flavors on the chicken as you stir-fry.  Once I learned this trick, I started using it all.the.time.  Add some hot sauce instead of soy sauce...amazing.

If we're lucky enought to have some bird's nests on hand, we just eat the chicken and veggies with those.  If we're fresh out of the nests, we'll make some rice to serve with our stir-fry.

Stir-fry is quickly creeping up the what-to-make-for-dinner-tonight list. 

:)