Chicken Stir-Fry with Cauliflower Fried "Rice"

On Sunday, I informed my carb-loving husband that I was going to be incorporating low carb dinners into our diet. He just gave me "the look".

I told him I would be making stir-fry for dinner this evening and he asked if we could have fried rice. Rewind to the low carb discussion we had two days ago. So, I turned to Pinterest and found my solution: cauliflower fried rice.

Now, let me begin by telling you there are only two foods I absolutely CANNOT stand and try to avoid at all times: cauliflower and honeydew melon. In fact, this pretty much sums up my feelings toward cauliflower:

I may have been converted into a fan of cauliflower tonight. And the best thing? I let Nathan chow down on his bowl for a few minutes before I asked him how he liked the meal. Then I dropped the bomb that it was not rice he was devouring. He enjoyed it and the only noticeable difference to him was that the texture wasn't the same as rice. 

Chicken Stir-Fry with Cauliflower Fried "Rice"

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 large egg

8oz bag John Soules frozen grilled chicken strips

1 bag frozen veggies (I used Food Club Parisian Veggies)

1 packet Kikkoman Stir-Fry Seasoning

Directions:

For the rice- 

1. This is the recipe I used to prepare the cauliflower rice.

2. Heat a large saute pan or wok over medium heat and spray with oil. Add the sesame oil and saute onions and garlic about 3 to 4 minutes, or until soft. Add the egg and cook, turning a few times until set. 

3. Add the cauliflower "rice" to the saute pan along with soy sauce. Mix, cover and cook approximately 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cauliflower is slightly crispy on the outside but tender on the inside.

For the stir-fry-

1. Heat a large saute pan or wok over medium heat and spray with oil. 

2. Add the bag of chicken and the bag of frozen veggies. Add packet of seasoning. Cook approximately 10-12 minutes.

Serve stir-fry over cauliflower fried rice and add more soy sauce if needed!

  

Quick & Easy Cajun Chicken Pasta

We were finally kicked into the "real world" a few weeks ago when we realized we had spent the last of the money we had saved on rent and received notice that his student loans were no longer in the grace period. 

Needless to say, my accounting brain kicked in and we are now "budgeting". I might as well get some use out of that $60,000 education, right?

It honestly hasn't been that bad. We've managed to almost completely cut out fast food and going out to eat (I'm down 7 lbs as a result)!!  I've also been going through the weekly grocery store ads where I've found great deals at HEB and United over the last few weeks. 

I created a Cajun chicken pasta with some of the items I found on sale.

Quick & Easy Cajun Chicken Pasta



Ingredients:
8 oz John Soules grilled chicken strips ($2.50)
16 oz bow tie pasta ($0.88)
1/2 jar HEB Saucy Cajun Pasta Sauce ($1.12)

Directions:
1. Cook chicken and pasta according to package. 
2. Add sauce to a small pan and add chicken.
3. Pour sauce and chicken over pasta and enjoy!

I served the pasta with salad and garlic bread.

Serves: 2
Total per serving: $2.25