Pasta Chicken Stir Fry

Have you ever just walked into the grocery store with absolutely no clue what you were going to buy?  That's what I did yesterday after I got off work.  I wandered around and tried to figure out what I was in the mood to make for dinner.  I started in the produce section (a really great idea if you're trying to create something healthy!) and built the meal from there.  Here's what we ended up having for dinner ...

Pasta Chicken Stir Fry

You'll need:
1 box Penne pasta
1-2 Chicken Breasts
2-3 cups Snow Peas
1 Yellow Onion
4-5 stalks Celery
1 Cucumber
2-3 Tomatoes
Mozzarella Cheese
Vegetable Oil

I started by boiling my chicken (I feel like all of my recipes have been starting off that way lately!).

I turned my cast iron skillet on medium-low and heated up some oil.

I have had some stir fry disasters and I came to the realization last night that it was because I always try to rush the process and turn the stove on high.  The key to good stir fry is slow, low heat cooking.

Rinse your snow peas and chop off the ends ... 

... and then throw them in first.

Dice your onions next ... 

Keep your heat at medium!  I had mine at medium-low because I was using cast iron, but if you're using another material, medium will probably work.

Next up - celery!  It adds kind of a tart flavor.

I used 4-5 stalks.  You could probably get away with less if you're not a big celery fan.

The cucumbers were next - I added the vegetables into the stir fry in the order that they would need the time to cook.  The snow peas and celery needed more time than the cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.

Lots and lots of green.

At this point in the process, you're going to want to get some water boiling to cook the pasta.

Back to the stir fry ... 

The chicken should be cooked by now so take it out of the water ... 

And chop it into bite-sized pieces.

Throw the chicken in the stir fry and start to wonder if everything is going to fit in your skillet.

Time for something other than green - tomatoes!  The tomatoes go in last, because if they spend too much time on the heat they'll get mushy.

The tomatoes give the stir fry a fabulous sweet contrast.  Yum.

Once the pasta is ready ... 

... throw it in with the stir fry.

Um, carefully.

Stir everything together ... 

... and then try not to eat it right off the stove.

Top with mozzarella cheese.

Devour.