Orange Shrimp & Bell Pepper Stir Fry

This blogging thing is fun, I have to admit. Not only does it give me something to do but it motivates me to actually cook a healthy dinner instead of throwing some chicken nuggets in the oven. Not that there's anything wrong with chicken nuggets, but that probably shouldn't happen every night.

Anyway, tonight's recipe is actually a semi-original one. I'll emphasize the "semi" part because I still got the inspiration and many of the ingredients from other recipes I already have. But if you want to believe I'm the next Top Chef, I'm not about to stop you. ;)

The nice thing about this recipe is that while its list of ingredients is a little daunting, it's super easy to make and a lot of the ingredients (or ingredients that are close enough to substitute for what's listed) are in your kitchen already. I like my food spicy so I sprinkled on extra red pepper flakes but if you're not a fan of spicy food then you can skip the red pepper flakes or modify it to your preferred level of spiciness. :) I'll also add that the sauce came out pretty thin even after bubbling for a few minutes so if you're not worried about carbs feel free to add cornstarch to thicken it. Or if you're into low carb food so much that you have a low carb thickener (such as guar or xanthan gum) then use that. I'm just not quite that fancy yet.

Orange Shrimp & Bell Pepper Stir Fry

Ingredients:

• 1 lb frozen cooked shrimp, thawed, deveined & tail removed
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
• 1/3 onion, sliced 
• 2 Tbsp canola/vegetable oil
• Juice from 2 oranges (should yield ~1/3 cup)
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp Splenda
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Make sure everything is chopped, measured, and ready to go
2. To make the sauce, mix together everything from the orange juice to the red pepper flakes
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and saute bell peppers and onions for 4-5 minutes or until onions begin to lose opacity
4. Turn burner down to medium heat, add shrimp and pour in sauce
5. Let sauce and shrimp heat for 2-3 minutes, add cornstarch or thickener to sauce if desired
6. Remove from burner and serve (feel free to add more red pepper flakes here)

There ya go. Enjoy!