My Paleo Pen Pal for June was Michigan-native Jennifer from the site Wine to Weightlifting. She is this witty, beautiful, free-spirited crossfit super-woman who can do it all. She follows the 80/20 rule when it comes to Paleo lifestyle. She lifts heavy things. She runs (even though she doesn't always like it). She exercises in these stylish and fun outfits! She cares for her big dog Ripley who happens to loves carrots and peanut butter treats. She is really cool, from what I can tell. I had a lot of fun getting to know her and bugging her with lots of questions. Go check out her site.
Jennifer sent me a whole box full of goodies. See below.
Woo-hoo, I'm special! I sure racked up for my first time with Paleo Pen Pals! :-)
She even thought to include something for my kids too. Vivian had fun unwrapping the goodies and enjoyed eating the portable applesauce "Fruity U" that you can drink.
Jennifer even got a little something for our dog too! Bono loved the all natural peanut butter flavored treats. Here he is waiting patiently for me to give him some:
The main goodies that I received and use in this recipe are the Coconut Aminos bottle and the pink sea salt crystals. I love, LOVE, L-O-V-E Coconut Aminos. It's a soy sauce replacement genius. I've been cooking with it for awhile now but I can only purchase it at one specialty foods store here in Pensacola (Ever'man's Grocery, a co-op). It's a great place but located about 25 minutes from my home; therefore I just don't get over there very often. So it was nice to receive a bottle of this stuff from my pen pal. I use this Coconut Aminos in everything - burgers, eggs, marinades for shrimp and more!
Jennifer told me she makes a lot of stir fry meals because she wants something fast and easy after a long day at work and coming home from the gym where she finished an intense crossfit workout. So in her honor, I wanted to make a new and delicious stir-fry meal for my family. I think she would approve of this one. I know my family and I did....
Sweet and Savory Stir-fry
(Serves 4)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pound (16 oz) bag of mixed vegetables - I chose California blend: broccoli, cauliflower and carrots
4 to 5 links (12 oz) of sausage (or chicken or other meat of choice) - Love this Al fresco brand!
1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced into small pieces
1/4 cup of Coconut Aminos
1/4 cup of my mango salad dressing (Or try substituting a combo of orange juice and applesauce)
two dashes of sea salt
optional - 1 tsp of bacon grease (I always have some on hand and love to add it to dishes for flavor!)
optional - 1 bag of frozen cauliflower if you wish to serve your stir-fry over "rice"
Coat a large skillet or sauce pan (or Wok if you have one) with the 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Place on medium-low heat. Place all your ingredients out on the counter for easy access.
Slice up your sausage (or other meat you are using). My family's favorite is the sweet apple chicken flavor by Al Fresco. Toss it into the heated olive oil. Let that cook for about 3-4 minutes, just until the sausage becomes a little brown. Open up your bag of frozen vegetables and pour them into the pot with the meat. Cook for about five to seven minutes. Stir your meat and veggie mixture once or twice during that time.
Note: You could easily prepare your cauliflower rice to serve this on while the meat and veggies are cooking! Follow this easy recipe!
If you like your veggies real crunchy you can lower the heat then add in your sauces here. If you like your veggies a bit more soft, continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes or until desired consistency.
Add in the 1/4 cup of coconut aminos. Add in the pre-made mango salad dressing. (If you don't have this on hand or can't get your hands on a mango, you could substitute part orange juice and part applesauce). Put two dashes of sea salt in the pan.
Don't be like me and dump more than a tablespoon of rock hard sea salt crystals into your pan! Yes I suppose I need a dummy-proof cap on those grinders because when I opened the one Jennifer sent me, I managed to knock 1/3 of the bottle into my stir fry! YIKES! WHAT A MISHAP! Biting into a sea salt rock would NOT be a good thing!
After I cursed a little bit, I decided to laugh about it. Then I used a collander to help "drain" the crystals from my stir fry meal. Like this:
Yikes, who wants rocks in their food!?
After I fished out all the sea salts, I put the rest of my stir-fry back in the pan. I continued to cook the mixture for another few minutes. Mix and stir. Mix and stir. Mix and stir. Let the sauce simmer with the veggies for about another five minutes.
Remove from heat. Serve this over my easy, primal rice. Sweet and savory. A winning combination!
This recipe was kid and husband-tested and approved. Enjoy!
I can't wait to meet another Paleo Pen Pal next month and beyond. It's nice getting to know someone new and hearing about how this eating lifestyle works. Although for next month, I think I will just suggest that my pen pal and I only swap recipes and not send any products. This will help me stay within our family's tight summer budget!
Great recipe! I'm really impressed with this very mouth watering recipe because it's very easy to cook! I can't wait to try this at my home. I'm sure my family will like this a lot because they love eating stir fry.
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