Citrus Pork Stir Fry

It's happening.

In the past week I have:

- Honked at "irresponsible kids" skateboarding in the middle of the road
- Pulled silver hairs from my head
- Slathered my face in expensive moisturizer before bed
- Thought to myself that my new comforter was the best Christmas gift I've gotten in a while
- Realized that Josh Duhamel looks even better with salt & pepper hair
- Admitted {out loud} that my favorite radio station is Legends 100.3 {think Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennet... etc.}
- Fallen asleep before 9:30pm

I also saw a photo of myself from just 5 years ago and thought, "Gah, I look so... rested."

I'm a mom. In my mid-thirties. And there are times I see young girls and think that their shorts are inappropriately short.

::: Buries head in laundry pile composed entirely of yoga pants :::  

Getting to this part of life has made me realize the importance of quick dinners. Mostly because by the time my husband gets home, I cook, we eat, clean up and go through the playtime-bath time-bedtime routine for our kiddo, we have about 45 seconds left before both of us "shut down" for the night. {Meaning, we pass out on the couch while attempting to watch something.} I'm all for anything that will shorten the evening "to do's" and lengthen our downtime together.

Whether or not you're facing the realities of aging, this Citrus Pork Stir Fry will be a welcome addition to your weekday cooking repertoire.

I never used to know what to do with thin-cut boneless pork chops because they're so easy to overcook if you're pan searing or baking them, but I love how they work with this stir fry. They're the perfect thickness for cutting into thin strips like you'd get in a takeout meal. If you're not into pork, you can sub it out for chicken or even portobello mushrooms for a veggie version. You can also use any vegetables you have on hand to toss into this dish: peppers, zucchini, snow peas, you name it!

I used orange juice and zest here, but I've also made it with lime juice and it turned out just as good {though a little more on the tart side}.

The citrusy sauce brings it all together for a fast, filling meal that will leave you with plenty of time for doing whatever it is you'd rather be doing after dinner... or let's face it, for getting some extra shut eye.

Maybe that'll get back that "rested" look I haven't seen in a while.

Citrus Pork Stir Fry
Adapted from Martha Stewart 

1 pound thin-cut boneless pork chops, sliced into strips
1 small onion, sliced
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup carrots, sliced into strips {I used halved baby carrots}
4 scallions, chopped {plus extra for garnish}

For sauce:
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 teaspoons sriracha
1 garlic clove, grated or minced
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar {or white balsamic}
1 tablespoon cornstarch

1. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a wok or a large pan over high heat. Add pork to hot oil and cook until lightly browned {it doesn't have to be all the way cooked through at this point}. Remove pork from pan with a slotted spoon and place on a plate. Set aside.

2. Add onion, broccoli and scallions to the hot oil and cook until the vegetables are beginning to become tender.*

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine all sauce ingredients. Whisk until smooth, making sure you don't have any lumps of cornstarch.

4. Add pork {and juices that have accumulated on the plate} back into the pan with the vegetables. Pour in sauce and toss together to coat. Cook until the sauce thickens a bit, about 1 to 2 minutes. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to low to allow the pork to cook through, about 3-5 more minutes.

Before serving, add the remaining scallions for a fresh crunch.

Serve hot with a side of rice or quinoa.

*If the pan is too dry or beginning to burn, add about 1/4 cup water to the pan and scrape up the brown bits.

Asian-Inspired Stuffed Peppers

I've been somewhat of an innkeeper lately with a friend of ours staying over at our house a few days a week as he completes a work project up our way. It has been no trouble at all having him as a house guest; in fact, it's brought back some fun memories since he was my husband's college roommate and my neighbor during my first year at the University of Florida.

We often give him credit for bringing us together since he knew before we did that we were meant for each other. So I figure least I can do is give the guy a hot meal and a place to stay since his foresight is part of the reason for my happy marriage.

But there is nothing that makes you think about your eating habits like having a house guest. I've found that the days that he stays with us, I try to offer variety and creativity in my cooking rather than just tossing together whatever is easiest as I would do if it were just the two of us. {Because it's completely fine to serve "chicken. again." to your husband on a regular basis.} You'd think that with all the time I spend in the kitchen, this wouldn't prove to be a difficult task... but you'd be surprised how often you fall back on boring "reliable" when no one else is looking.

In a way, having someone else to feed has been a creative cooking exercise of sorts, which I greatly appreciate because I've been in a bit of a rut.

After returning from a weekend of indulgence at the Food & Wine Conference, I've been trying to get as many vegetables and healthy things as possible into my meals. But feeding two guys is no time to serve "light & fit" dishes, unless you want rustling in the pantry as they look for something to snack on immediately after dinner. That's how these Asian-Inspired Stuffed Peppers happened.

Hearty enough to satisfy the guys, but healthy enough to fit into my allowances for the week, they proved to be a crowd-pleaser. I bulked up just a pound of ground turkey meat with a variety of veggies and added quinoa for extra protein and fiber, which stretched the filling enough to fill 6 large pepper halves {and feed two hungry men}. The simple sauce bumps up the flavor factor and makes you want one forkful after another.

These peppers were thumbs up all around and still simple to make, which made for a happy visitor and pleased regulars, too. Don't wait for a house guest to try these out with your family!

Asian-Inspired Stuffed Peppers
Makes 6 stuffed pepper halves

3 large green bell peppers, seeded & sliced in half lengthwise
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 pound ground turkey meat
1/2 cup carrot, diced or chopped
1/2 cup broccoli florets, chopped
1 small zucchini, diced
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sriracha {or more if you like heat}
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced or grated
1 tablespoon cornstarch


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. Place halved bell peppers on pan and set aside until ready to fill.

2. In a large, deep skillet, heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and saute until softened and fragrant, about 4-5 minutes. Add turkey meat to skillet and saute until no longer pink.

3. Toss in carrots, broccoli and zucchini and cook for about 4-5 minutes until just starting to soften. Add quinoa and stir to combine.

4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together soy sauce, water, sesame oil, sriracha, ground ginger, garlic and cornstarch {try to make sure there are no cornstarch lumps if possible}. Add to meat and vegetable mixture and stir until everything is well-coated and sauce is slightly thickened.

5. Spoon filling evenly among bell pepper halves. Bake for about 5-20 minutes or until the peppers become slightly tender.

Serve hot or warm.