Asian Chicken Stir Fry

Stir fry makes me happy.

It plays to my artistic side.  It's colorful, it involves experimentation, and I honestly don't think I've ever made the same one twice.
It's also really easy to throw together as long as you have soy sauce in your fridge and a little time to chop up chicken and veggies.  I'll take easy any day, considering how long my days usually are.

It's the little things in life.

My family whipped this together when my mom got back from a business trip.  After eating out for days on end, all she wanted was a healthy home-cooked meal.  We didn't add a whole lot of oil, and we actually baked the breaded chicken pieces and added them to the skillet near the end of the process, which took a bit longer but tasted great.

I can't tell you exactly what was in this, but here's what I've got:

Asian Chicken Stir Fry
Source: chicken slightly adapted from Secrets of a Skinny Chef by Jennifer Iserloh, the rest created by my personal tastes and experimentation

For the chicken:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cubed
Salt and black pepper
1/2 cup flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)
2 tbsp fine cornmeal
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 egg whites, lightly beaten

For the stir fry:
1 tbsp olive oil, more as needed
Red, orange, or yellow pepper slices
Broccoli florets
Sliced mushrooms (I used white button but I bet wild mushrooms would be great)
Sugar snap peas
Additional veggies, as desired

For the sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce (I recommend low-sodium)
1-2 tbsp honey, to taste
Garlic or garlic powder, to taste
Fresh or ground ginger, to taste
1/4 tsp (approximately) red pepper flakes

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450˚F.  Coat a metal cookie sheet with cooking spray.  Mix the flour, cornmeal, and cornstarch on a sheet of waxed paper.  Beat the egg whites in a shallow dish and place on the counter next to the breading mixture.  Dredge the chicken pieces in the egg whites, then coat in the breading and place on the baking sheet.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through.
Whisk the soy sauce, honey, and spices together in a measuring cup with a spout.
While the chicken bakes, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the vegetables and saute until browned and softening.  Add the chicken pieces and allow them to brown and crisp up.  Pour in the sauce and mix until the chicken and vegetables are fully coated.  Serve immediately atop brown rice.  Enjoy!

Next project: dessert for my family's Fourth of July gathering!  I'm torn between a few options, but I'm excited to have another excuse to bake :)
Oh, right.  And getting through my first week of work.  I love four-year-olds, I really do...but trying to teach them to dance is reminiscent of herding cats...