A Happy to Be Gluten Free Recipe {Semi-Homemade Chicken Stir-Fry}

One of my New Year's resolutions this year is to have dinner on the table every night for my family. I whined about it a few weeks ago. Since I got that off my chest I've been trying to be a little less whiny and a little more proactive. Because let's be honest, whining only gets you so far, right?

Up to this point I have been sticking with a lot of things we typically have for dinner, only adapting it as needed. I imagine I'll grow more adventurous as the year goes on. As I wander through this little learning curve I thought I might post some of the things I'm making for dinner. I am cooking for myself (a mom who is on a weight loss journey), a baby, a "normal" daughter (take that "normal" with a grain of salt, would you?), a daughter who has Celiac, and a son who is very allergic to dairy and just recently discovered might also be sensitive to wheat. He's not growing so we are experimenting with a gluten free diet for awhile to see if it will help him. Wish us luck!

The first meal plan in this series of "Happy to Be Gluten Free" (there's gotta be a silver lining here somewhere; maybe in the very back of the pantry...) is Semi-Homemade Chicken Stir-Fry.

This is one of the meals we have when Daddy's out of town. He's not the biggest fan of this dish. Something about all those green veggies and lean protein. But everyone else in the family LOVES this meal. Whenever I pull that stir-fry package out of the freezer the kids begin jumping up and down squealing with joy. Who knew veggies were something to get excited about? My kids are actually really good about eating their vegetables, but I think it's the prospect of soy sauce that makes this dinner so appealing to them. They LOVE their soy sauce.

Unfortunately soy sauce is rather infamous for not being gluten free. I'm still researching this one out and I haven't found a black and white answer yet. For now I am using this brand of soy sauce that I found at my local Winco. I have searched and searched over the ingredients list and cannot see anything on there about wheat or gluten. So I use it. So far, so good.

I'm just waiting for someone to leave me a comment saying it is NOT gluten free, but if that's the case, please, dear reader, direct me to a brand that is. And thanks ahead of time!

Semi-Homemade Chicken Stir-Fry

1 package of Broccoli Stir-Fry (find at your local friendly Walmart in the freezer section. Cost is less than $2 a package and they usually carry several varieties.)

1.5 cups uncooked rice
1 lb chicken breast, chopped into chunks (You could easily use beef or shrimp too.)
vegetable oil
soy sauce (gluten free!)

First things first, I start my rice cooking. It takes about 20 minutes to cook rice. The rest of dinner can be prepared in that time.

Heat a little oil in a skillet and cook the chicken. Pour a little soy sauce over the chicken as it's cooking.

Remove chicken from skillet. Add a little more oil if pan is dry. Turn up heat to medium high, make sure oil is hot, and stir-fry your veggies. Make sure to read the package directions, but this takes about 7 to 10 minutes.

Combine chicken and veggies in skillet and serve over rice.

Simple, easy, inexpensive, fast, healthy (around 350 calories per serving), gluten free, dairy free, and delicious. What's not to love? I realize I'm no Giada or Julia Childs, but this meal works for our family. Let me know if it works for your family too, won't you?