sheet pan stir-fry

frozen vegetables FTW!!

Hey there! On Tuesdays I share easy lunch recipes for paid subscribers. To me, lunch recipes are especially simple to make and simple to clean-up.

Of course you can make the recipe for any mealtime that you’d like! I always include a number of helpful notes for paid subscribers (i.e. ways to make vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free versions of the recipe and other fun notes/ideas).

Want today’s recipe + thorough list of variations/notes?? Become a paid subscriber today!

Today’s recipe is a real I-just-need-to-get-something-cooked-right-now kind-of meal.

It’s chicken and a bunch of frozen vegetables cooked together on a sheet pan in a hot oven, drizzled with a simple sauce (basically equal parts soy sauce and something sweet like honey, a little fish sauce, and a little cornstarch), and then finished for a little extra time in the oven so the sauce thickens a bit. Serve it over rice and call it a day. It’s got the vibe of a stir-fry but is just easier all around.

Now for the honest part. Is it the best thing you’ll ever cook or eat? Probably not. But it’s good and incredibly easy, filling, affordable, and nutritious. It just hits the spot, especially on days when you don’t want to spend money going out or getting takeout, but don’t want to spend a ton of energy cooking. I get it. I have those days all of the time. And I write cookbooks and this newsletter for a living so if I feel this way often, I can only imagine how folks who haven’t devoted their life to this kind-of work feel!

The real MVP here are frozen vegetables. Do I love fresh vegetables? Absolutely. Do I use them most of the time? Yes! Did I spend a whole season working full-time at my favorite vegetable farm and now I never stop talking about it? For sure. But sometimes does cleaning, peeling, trimming, dicing, etc. vegetables just feel like too much? Yes! That’s when frozen vegetables come to the rescue.

The full recipe is below for paid subscribers (including as an easy-to-save/ easy-to-print PDF), plus notes if you are:

• gluten-free

• pescetarian

• vegetarian or vegan

• seeking more spice

• looking for ideas for fun toppings

Step-by-step!

Sheet Pan Stir-Fry with Chicken + Vegetables

Serves about 4

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (you can also do chicken thighs if you prefer)