Cheat Meal: Stir-fry Turkey with Green Beans & Rice Noodles

Stir-fry turkey with green beans and rice noodles is a nice change of pace from chicken and beef. Add zip by using Pad Thai sauce and make it quickly using pre-prepped “steam in bag” green beans. If you can’t find rice noodles, it is still good over rice!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
  • 1 Package of ground turkey (in my local market you can buy white meat-only, or a mixed pack with white and dark meat; I prefer the white meat variety for health reasons, but it is by preference)
  • 1 Package of “steam in bag” green beans
  • 2 tbs peanut oil
  • 4 oz of Pad Thai sauce
  • 1/2 pkg of wide rice noodles
  • 2 tbs fish sauce
  • 2 tbs soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tsp garlic paste
  • 1 1/2 tsp ginger paste
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 dried thai chili (optional; skip if do not like spice)
  • 2 tbs dry roasted peanuts, chopped
Cooking instructions
  • Heat oil in a large wok (high heat)
  • Stir in ginger, garlic, the thai chili; stir so that ingredients don’t burn
  • Add turkey and stir until cooked; this is quick, so don’t leave the wok unattended!
  • Bring 4 qts of water and the salt to a rolling boil
  • Combine the soy and fish sauces, vinegar and pepper to the turkey until the meat is coated
  • Toss in the green beans and continue stirring until the beans begin to soften (~5 minutes)
  • Add 3 tbs water to the wok, cover and turn down the heat to medium
  • Drop the rice noodles into the boiling water; be sure to stir the noodles so that they don’t stick together; cooking should take 4-4 1/2 minutes — they should be al dente
  • Drain the noodles, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process; set aside
  • After the turkey and beans have steamed for about 10 minutes and the beans are crunchy, but cooked through, add the Pad Thai sauce and noodles
  • Mix thoroughly and serve with chopped peanuts for garnish

Note: If your local market doesn’t carry some of the ingredients used in the recipes on this blog, Amazon is a great resource.

Cheat Meal: Rotisserie Chicken Stir Fry with Green Beans

stir fry green beans

Pressed for time? This rotisserie chicken and green bean “cheat meal” can be made in minutes with just a few ingredients.

Rotisserie chicken and green bean stir fry also makes for a nutritious meal: the beans are a good source of vitamin C, dietary fiber, folate, vitamin K and silicon (needed for healthy bones, skin, and hair).

Stir fry green beans
If you prefer, use snap peas in lieu of green beans.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 rotisserie chicken
1 medium yellow onion, diced
Cook in Bag” green beans (which should be available in the produce section; use fresh green beans if the bagged variety isn’t available, just be aware that you need to top and tail fresh beans, which adds to prep time)
1 tsp ginger paste (or 1 tsp grated fresh ginger)
1 tsp garlic paste (or 1 tsp minced fresh garlic)
1 tsp each, salt & pepper
2 tbs hoisin sauce
2 tbs low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbs peanut, or vegetable oil
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

  • Pick and shred the meat from the chicken
  • Heat oil, garlic and ginger in wok for 1-2 minutes
  • Add green beans, salt, pepper; stir for 5-7 minutes, until beans begin to soften
  • Once beans have started to soften up, add 2 tbs water and cover wok; reduce heat to medium and let steam for about 4 minutes (check halfway to ensure that they don’t overcook)
  • As soon as the beans are tender enough, add chicken hoisin, soy and vinegar. Stir to ensure that sauce coats chicken and green beans evenly.
  • If desired, add peanuts just before serving for added crunch. Serve over rice.