For Christmas I make one big dinner on Christmas Eve for my mother and our family and then another big dinner on Christmas day for my dad and our family – yes, my parents are divorced, so multiple big dinners are a must. Like many of you, there are many different “family” dinners that take place over the season. Thankfully, (at least for this time of year) my in-laws don’t live in town (Illinois) so we don’t have to go from one house to another for all that family time! All those big dinners produce a lot of leftovers. On one of those nights, I generally serve a crown pork roast, which leaves plenty of leftovers. But if you serve, turkey, beef, or ham, whatever; use that cooked leftover meat for this dish! After all the traditional Christmas recipes, Asian stir-fry is a perfect change of pace for any palate!

Here it is December 15th and my garden is still producing herbs and cherry tomatoes. We’ve had a couple of nights of freeze, but the garden is still holding on, gotta love Arizona!

I also love using broccoli in stir-fry, but not only the florets. The stems are wonderful too, don’t discard them! Cut off the florets, then peel the stems and cut them into matchsticks. The stems are crispy and delicious!

When stir-frying, be sure to prep all the various components and set them right next to the stove. Stir-frying happens quickly and having everything ready and at hand is more than important, it is a necessity!

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