First of all, if you are accustomed to using fresh herbs and spices, you will need ginger and garlic for these dishes.  When I am making them from scratch and for a special dinner, I do use fresh.  However, when I am stretching a chicken for my own  consumption, and have other priorities, I happily use garlic powder and ground ginger. Sesame oil or peanut oil are terrific in these dishes, but plain vegetable oil is fine.  I usually use light olive oil, which doesn’t add flavor and is somewhat healthier for you.

 As always, I check the fridge for my “oh-oh, better use soon”  veggies and incorporate them into these dishes.  So let’s do things a bit differently than usual, and I will simply give you a list of the various vegetables I have used and let you pick what you have in stock or the ones you and your family prefer. Fresh veggies that need to be sautéed first:

• green, red, white or yellow onions, leeks.
• red or green cabbage, Chinese cabbage, savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, bok choy.
• bean sprouts, pea pods, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery.
• Mushrooms, zucchini, yellow summer squash.

 Veggies that are canned can be added at the end, such as mixed Chinese vegetables, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, mushrooms, water chestnuts.

 This kind of cooking requires hot oil and fast sautéing.  Heat your oil, add your garlic and ginger, pepper, crushed red pepper (if desired) and whatever raw veggies you chose. You want them to have some crunch, so put in things like carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower first.  Then add the other ingredients.  Once they are beginning to soften, add your  pre-cooked chicken and a little soy sauce.

 You need some extra moisture, so use some of that chicken soup you made instead of water.  If you prefer a thicker gravy, rather than a thin sauce, add some corn starch to your broth, shake it up, and then add, remembering to stir continuously. 

 For stir fry keep everything crispy and serve with rice,  For lo mein, use rice noodles or fine spaghetti, stirred into your pan with the veggies.  Chow mein is served over rice with brown , crispy noodles.   For fried rice you will need cold, cooked rice, so it should be made early in the day.  All you do is heat your oil, add your rice, ginger, pepper, salt, a little bit of soy sauce, and start stirring it.  Add some frozen peas and carrots, or perhaps some water chestnuts, and then shove it all to the side of the pan.  Scramble a couple eggs, add to the pan, avoiding the rice, and do not stir until it has set.  Then mix the whole thing together and add more soy if needed for flavoring.  Don’t let it get too wet!

 Have fun with it…and remember, it all came from stretching a chicken!

Today I found half a head of cauliflower just beginning to show tinges of brown, two limp carrots, a still perky celery stalk, a couple of budding potatoes and a leek. Not one to ever toss out leftovers or foods that are borderline, I decided to create one of my dollar stretching and wildly creative soups.

I had some chicken bouillon cubes, about two cups of milk that was getting iffy, and a package of powdered Knorr leek soup that I got on sale for a dollar and figured I’d find a use for some day. The point is… I made enough soup for two full dinners for four people for under two dollars (considering that most of the ingredients would have been thrown away if I didn’t make the soup!).

The best part about this whole thing is that I could interchange or do without any one of the ingredients, or substitute another thing for it easily.  For example, instead of raw cauliflower- try frozen, leftover from a previous dinner, or even substitute broccoli. Or:

• carrots and celery-totally optional
• leek- substitute onions, green onions, shallots, or chives
• potatoes- I add them for natural thickening, instead of using flour…but you can make a roux by frying equal parts of butter and flour, and use that instead
• bouillon cubes-you can use canned or cartoned chicken broth, homemade chicken broth, powdered bouillon, or vegetable broth/ bouillon if you are vegetarian
• dried leek soup mix-you can use any creamed soup or none.  I used it because it helped to thicken the soup without having to add flour of my own, and it also seasons the soup nicely.
• Milk- you can use water or more chicken broth instead, soy milk, or rice milk

To make the soup, chop everything raw up small and just barely cover with water.  Add salt and pepper to taste, a pat of butter and your bouillon cubes or substitute.  If you are using chicken broth do not use the water at all.  Cook covered until veggies are tender, then scoop out half (or all if you don’t like chunks in your soups), and blend in the blender.  Add it back to the pot, add your leek soup mix and stir until it comes to a boil.  Turn it off and let it sit for a while.  If it is too thick, add a bit of milk or water and stir well.

With this simple soup, you have saved money for other necessities or toward a goal (like redecorating), given your family a healthful, easy to prepare meal (especially good if you are a working mom), and have also done something “green” by not wasting a resource.  Let me know how you like it!