Tasty Tuesday!

This has got to be one ironic post title for me!  My goal in the kitchen is to get out of the kitchen!  When I has 8 years old I had a horrible "accident" in the kitchen and although I know it's past and not going to happen again, I have never liked being in the kitchen much....

I have gone through many different seasons with cooking.  I have studied through an authentic Mexican food cookbook, learned how to roast peppers and made one of the most fabulous tortilla soups you can imagine!  Another time I tried cooking through a Moosewood cookbook.  I tried the cooking once a month program.  Then there was the time I enjoyed recipes online.  Once in a while (as in about once or twice a year!) I might watch a portion of a cooking show on tv.

The fact is, we have to eat.  Food has never been a big attraction to me... just a necessary part of life... I have made monthly menu charts, weekly shopping lists and still the day comes when I stop and wonder, "What are we going to eat tonight?" I'll be walking in a grocery store in a bit of a daze, uninspired, not knowing what to buy.  Now, if I got as excited about meals as I did creative crafts....

So, I recently decided that I want to try something new once a week... or even recall a meal that turned out great in the past and make it again... I watched Julie and Julia and was quite entertained.  Much more by Julie's emotional ups and downs and blog than by the cooking!  I don't want to try cooking through a book.  Nope.  I don't want to try something new every day.  So, I hope to have a wonderful meal experience once a week... and I hope that means it tastes good, too!

This week, I present to you.... stir fry!

This was something I enjoyed doing years ago... as in about 17 years ago!  I like the veggies cooked more rather than crispier.  I start with the carrot and broccoli and get those cooking in real butter or olive oil on a medium-high heat (I was out of oil).  Then add in onion and baby bella mushrooms, then some snap peas and bean sprouts.  I sprinkle garlic salt and lemon pepper and turn up the heat, stir away and drizzle in about a tablespoon of Italian dressing.  One night I served this over rice as a side dish.  Last night I served it with strips of steak that had been marinated and stir fried prior to the veggies, then added back at the end.

So, tell me, how would you stir fry?  What do you do differently?  If this is a side dish for you, what would your main dish be?