Fast and Delicious Broccoli Stir-Fry

Dinner is a never-ending conundrum in my house; I'm not gonna lie.

Despite the fact that I have a well-stocked pantry, and regularly cook meal after meal for my family, sometimes I just come up short with new ideas.  Couple that with the fatigue, extreme nausea, and all-day-sickness I had for the first five and a half months of this pregnancy and, well, let's just say my family hasn't eaten all that well for a while now.

Not that it hasn't been homemade....it's just been a lot of sandwiches on homemade bread and pizza on homemade dough.  Maybe some chili or soup thrown into the mix.  Maybe a roast thrown in the crockpot every other month.  And a LOOOOOT of requests from me to the Hubster for Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, and french fries from Whataburger.  Because when I couldn't keep a potato down any other way, I somehow miraculously could if it was a french fry.  Go figure.

But I digress.  Now that the pleasantries of pregnancy are random and not daily, I find myself with more energy and actually eager to eat lots of green veggies.  So the pendulum can swing both ways!

I found this recipe in the January issue of Southern Living and my whole family absolutely adored it.  So last night, when I came up short on ideas for dinner for me and the Kiddo, I decided to make an even faster variation on this theme....up-ing the ginger quotient and minus the heat to please my preggo palette.

Fast & Delicious Broccoli Stir-Fry {with Basmati Rice & Lentils}
Serves 4. 

2 Tbsp. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 16 oz. bag of Organic Frozen Broccoli
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup low-sodium organic beef broth
1 Tbsp. organic light brown sugar
2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. lemon juice (or lime, I used what I had on hand)
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
Mix of 1/2 cup organic Basmati rice and 1/2 cup lentils, cooked

Rice and lentils are my friend because you don't have to pre-soak either the way you do beans!  For this meal I added 1/2 cup Basmati rice and 1/2 cup dried lentils to my trusty rice cooker, along with 2 cups of water, a splash of extra-virgin olive oil, and about 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt.

Once I got the rice/lentils going, I pre-heated my cast-iron skillet on high heat.  Once it was hot and smoking I added 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and let the oil heat for about a minute or two, then I added the bag of frozen broccoli.  (Warning!  Since it's frozen broccoli and you're adding it to hot oil, the oil will have the tendency to splatter a bit.  This shouldn't be a problem if you use fresh.)  I tossed the broccoli a bit with tongs to make sure it was evenly coated and allowed it to cook for about 5 minutes.

While the broccoli was cooking, I mixed the salt, pepper, broth, lemon juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a small bowl and whisked to combine.  Once the broccoli was nice and browned, I added the broth mixture to the skillet and let cook for another 2 minutes while I grated the fresh ginger and sliced the garlic.  Then I added these last two ingredients to the skillet and stir-fried with the tongs for about 5 more minutes.

It smelled amazing and I was so tempted to eat all the broccoli straight out of the pan!  Since my stir-fry was finished before my rice and lentils, I lowered the heat to simmer and covered with aluminum foil to keep it warm.  Once the rice and lentils were done, I served the stir-fry over the rice and lentils and added a tiny drizzle of extra soy sauce to each plate.

This was such a fast and easy way to make sure the Kiddo and I both got our protein and green veggies...and we both cleaned our plates!  That child hasn't eaten broccoli in FOREVER, so I'm calling this one a success.

The fabulous thing about this recipe is you can absolutely modify it with what you have on hand.  After I cooked up the stir-fry it occurred to me that I should have also tossed in some carrots and turnips which are looking a little wilty in my refrigerator crisper drawer.  No worries...if I don't add them to a soup soon, I'm sure I'll be craving this dish again within the next couple of days.  :)

For Your Weekend Reading Pleasure

This week was a bit overwhelming for me.  I spent my days trying to tackle as many projects as possible, and I'm really feeling it.  It's time to slow down, take a deep breath, let go of all that didn't get accomplished, and embrace what did.

So grab a cup of coffee {or decaf tea if you're trying to cut back like me}, turn on your favorite Pandora mix, put your feet up and spend some time in the moment.

Some of my favorites from this week:

Adapt, Quit or Evolve @ A Beautiful Mess

Bringing Back Sunday Dinner @ Simple Bites

What's Your 20 Mile March? @ The Art of Manliness

Making Billy Bookshelves Look Like Built-Ins @ Little Green Notebook
***Her fun-but-functional way of organizing her library inspired my own book-organizing-spree this week!***

Enjoy! :)

Introducing Tids & Bits Vintage!

I did it!

It's been a long time coming...at first it was just an idea which I hesitantly shared only with the Hubster.  And then, a little more bravely with my brother.  And then...slowly I began sharing with friends.

I love all things vintage.  I love finding an item that has history.  An item which might have been once mass-produced, but has been discarded for decades, and now seems fresh and new and exciting.  I love the process of hunting down exactly the item that I want to bring into my home and my daily life.  It might be pretty, and I might value it solely for looks, but chances are that if it's in my home it's functional and meant to be used.

And, more and more I've come to see that I'm not the only one who values vintage goods in this way.  But, many people don't have the time to hunt down fun treasures for their home and office.  And many people like the idea of buying vintage, but don't have a clear vision of how to integrate it into their lives and homes.

And so, I very enthusiastically announce that I have opened...

...my very own Etsy shop!

Yes, I do realize that I only have four items listed.  :)

Rome wasn't built in a day, and I want to do this right.  Which means taking good photos that showcase the beauty of these vintage treasures.  So, slowly but surely, this shop will be growing and expanding until it is bursting at the seams with all kinds of wonderful, vintage, mid-century goodness.  I am only selling items which I truly love...things that I would want in my home...and often times things that I am drooling over.  Let me tell you, this is the hardest part!  I am constantly finding things I want to keep for myself instead of list in the shop.  But I spent last summer building inventory, and I cannot possibly bring all these fun things into my home permanently. 

So please feel free to browse and enjoy the fruits of my labor!  This shop is my baby and I'm so excited to share her with you.  :)

New Year...Exciting Things To Come!

I'm just going to come out with it...

We're expecting another little one!

If you follow me on Facebook, then you already know all too well how much this pregnancy has kicked my butt.  I won't go into too much detail here, because I'm really not looking to have a pity party, but suffice it to say, I was surprised with how difficult this pregnancy has been compared to my first.

Regardless...I feel immeasurably blessed.

Another little one...in 12 weeks and 2 days!

And have I mentioned that this little one is a GIRL?  I really could care less if I had a boy or a girl.  My son has taught me that little boys are sweet and charming and such a joy to raise {yes, I'm saying that even though he is so in a temperamental two year old phase at the moment}.  But, among the Hubster, the Pupster, and the Kiddo, I am the only female!  It will be nice to have another dose of girly-ness to balance out all the testosterone. 

So, with the new addition to our family comes a menagerie of changes.  I have spent countless hours thinking through how to shift our house around to make it the most functional for our family.  After much deliberation I have decided that there is no perfect answer for how to move everything around.

Just when I think I've let go of my perfectionist ways, my Type-A inner self surfaces and leaves me indecisive in moments when I truly need to make a decision.  Like yesternow.  I kicked around the possibility of having the kids share a room.  I'm not at all opposed to this solution, however, I don't think it's the best fit for our family until our sweet little "Poppy" is closer to a year old and her schedule is closer to that of her big brother.

Since we live in a three bedroom house, this means something has to give.  And in this case the something is our office/guest room.  It kills me to give up this space.  We so enjoy having friends and family stay overnight throughout the year and I am determined to continue that tradition.  But, I have accepted that what that tradition looks like is going to have to change.  Let's face it, I don't have Edie's guest room to entertain with, and Edie doesn't have a toddler and a newborn.

The best thing I can do for my family and for myself is to work with what I have to make our home the most functional, efficient, and beautiful place it can possibly be; preferably with things we already own.

Here is the solution I have decided on:

The breakfast nook will now house my grandmother's dining table, and become our official eating space.  It's always been our day-to-day eating space...now it is no longer redundant with a full dining room sitting adjacent and unused.

The dining room will become our office.  I have been so hesitant to go this route.  I know many people have converted their dining rooms into offices successfully, but usually their dining room is set apart from the remaining living spaces.  Our dining room is very high traffic...it is the room that connects our kitchen/breakfast nook to our two main hallways, which lead to the bedrooms and the living room.  Very high traffic.  So I'm skeptical at how practical this solution will be since 1) it will no longer be a place to retreat to in order to get things done and 2) I won't be able to shut a door to keep little hands from messing with buttons and computer cords.  Still, I have decided we're going to give it a shot.  If it's awful and completely non-functional for us, then I reserve the right to change it.  Nothing is set in stone here.

 

Our office/guest room will become the Kiddo's new big boy room.  He is so excited about this.  And I was worried he was going to feel booted from his cozy nursery.  Apparently, he isn't as attached to his nursery as I am.  ;)

 

And, last but by no means least, the nursery will be tweaked so that the space has a decidedly feminine edge.  I will keep the blue walls, and the tree and flowers we so painstakingly painted, but I will add in coral flowers and leaves to the murals and bring in lots of coral, white, gold, citrine, and turquoise to make the space feel girly.  Think Susan's room from the Parent Trap meets a nursery. 

We've already begun the process of shifting the rooms around...

...but in this quiet moment before the hectic day begins, I'm ignoring the messy confusion and enjoying this one clean spot amongst the mayhem...

  

Y'all don't worry - I have a fabulous plan for those chairs.  ;)