Easy Stir-Fry Chicken

(*updated photo as of 11/11/11. The old one was pretty ugly.)

This has always been a kid-favorite. They call it "chicken and rice and broccoli and carrots". It's kinda cute. For some reason, whenever I said "stir-fry" they didn't comprehend what that all entailed, so I think I must have explained it that way, and it stuck. So, even now when they ask what's for dinner and I say stir fry, they go, "Ohhhh...chicken and rice and broccoli and carrots". Even though it is a few more veggies than that, I don't elaborate. They are content not knowing about the other stuff hiding in there. And really, when it comes to the veggie ingredient list here, it's really whatever you have lying around in the fridge that you might need to use up. I have a rule, though, that is MUST have green onion in it. It just doesn't have the same yumminess without it, in my opinion. And the rest is the preferred flavor combos I happen to like.

What you need:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in strips or chunks/cubes
1.5 tsp. cornstarch
2 T. soy sauce (again, La Choy brand is gluten-free)
2 T. lemon juice
2-3 T. canola oil
3 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 green pepper, cut in strips or diced
2 green onions, diced
broccoli, fresh or frozen, cut up
carrots, sliced thin
garlic salt
cooked rice, (I mentioned how to cook perfect rice without a rice cooker in the Crockpot Salmon Fillet post's comment section. But I will copy it again at the end of this)

How you make it:

Cut chicken into 1/2 inch strips or chunks/cubes.
Combine cornstarch, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Mix well. Pour over chicken. (May be marinated several hours, but not necessary, and to tell you the truth, I don't think I've ever bothered. I just let it sit there while I cut up the vegetables.)
Wash and cut up veggies.
Heat frying pan over almost high heat and add oil. Add chicken to pan when oil is hot, but before it's begun to smoke. Stir fry for 2 minutes (or until meat turns white) and remove from pan into a dish and cover to keep warm.

If necessary, add another tablespoon of oil to pan. Start stir frying the veggies and sprinkle with garlic salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes and then add the chicken and juices/marinade back in to the pan. Cover and simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes, until veggies are to your desired tenderness and chicken is cooked through.

If you like a lot of sauce, double the marinade mixture and/or add 1/4 water, chicken or vegetable broth.

Serve over warm rice.
Speaking of rice, I'll put the cooking tip here:

How to cook some pretty darn perfect rice without a rice cooker: (I've never had a rice cooker, myself)
1 part rice or quinoa to 2 parts water.
Add pinch of salt. Sometimes a little pat of butter too! ;)
Bring to boil.
Cover and simmer on very low heat for 14 minutes.
Remove from heat, keeping covered for 11 minutes.
Remove lid and fluff with a fork.
It may seem weird that it's 14 and 11 minutes and not 15 and 10. But that's just how I've always done it. And my mom's old-school cookbook said so when I was little and learned it that way. :)