Shrimp and Broccoli Stir-fry

I love quick food. I especially love quick, healthy, delicious food! Stir-fry is quick. Stir-fry is also quick, healthy, and delicious! If we were doing one of those "process of elimination" or "deduction" exercises, one might ultimately deduce from my statement that I love stir-fry...and one would be correct!

If you have leftover rice or quick-cooking minute rice, you can have this entire meal ready in less than 30 minutes. QUICK! Stir-fry is a wonderful way to get lots of veggies, fiber, flavor, and healthy protein into your diet. To this stir-fry, I added shrimp, broccoli, bell pepper, and carrots, and served it over some unsalted brown rice (the stir-fry had plenty of flavor on its own!)

The lengthiest part of this process is prepping your add-ins (chopping the broccoli into florets, slicing the bell pepper, etc.), which usually shouldn't take long anyway--isn't that great? Get excited, folks. One of my favorite parts of tonight's recipe was using sweet chili sauce. I love that stuff! Sweet, tangy, a little spicy...mmm.

I adapted the recipe from here--and as usual, adjusted for one person (though I had a little leftover to use for lunch tomorrow! Hooray!) Know that as with all of my recipes, this one is extremely versatile. You can throw in some sugar-snap peas or baby corn--you can use steak or chicken instead of shrimp; noodles in place of rice--the possibilities are endless! Get creative. Get quick. Get to stir-frying : )

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice (or use leftovers if you've got them!)
• 1 pound extra-large shrimp, thawed, peeled and deveined
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
• 1/2 bell pepper, sliced
• 1/2-1 cup baby carrots, halved
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup sweet chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions. Dry shrimp with paper towel; set aside.

Heat a skillet or wok over high heat for a few minutes. Remove pan from heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil and broccoli, carrots, and bell pepper very, very carefully (oil may spatter). Return pan to heat and cook undisturbed for 1 minute. Toss vegetables and cook for one additional minute. Veggies should be crisp-tender.

Add remaining two tablespoons of oil and shrimp, stirring frequently until shrimp are opaque throughout, about two minutes; within the last 30 seconds of cooking, add in garlic. Remove pan from heat. Stir in sweet chili sauce and soy sauce, and toss to coat. Serve with prepared rice.