My 2015 New Year’s Resolution of developing a new recipe every month is batting 100 right now. Sure, month 3 has only just begun, but you can’t get a perfect score if you don’t get the first two. (Or as my Grandpa Ray would say whenever we played cards, “You can’t win ’em all if you don’t win the first two.”)

In February my hand was forced. It was Ash Wednesday and there was a lot of snow on the ground preventing trips to the grocery store earlier in the week. I took stock of what I had in my freezer and pantry and decided to work on my original recipe! I did manage to get to both Ash Wednesday Mass and the grocery store so I could pick up some chow mein noodles to give my original stir fry a little somethin’-somethin’.

My mother-in-law was visiting over the long weekend and thanks to the snow storm (I think it was Octavia?) Tilly got an extra 5 days with her grandson. Because of a bitterly windchill of -25 degrees F I took advantage of the situation and left the little man at home where it was warm. I have to say, as crazy as it sounds, I missed him terribly during Mass.

For Valentine’s Day we had Chocolate Kahlua Fondue for dessert and one of the dippers was pineapple (perfect combination). I used the leftover pineapple in my stir fry. I had cooked frozen shrimp in the freezer – I’ll have shrimp cocktail for lunch – which were also used. I would suggest using raw shrimp in stir fries so the shrimp doesn’t get too rubbery but in a pinch, it’s perfect! I wanted to go for the sweet and spicy combination that makes stir fries so popular so I added some Sriracha. To date I’ve always thought that there’s never enough Sriracha in recipes, so I used a full tablespoon. Being heavy-handed with the popular chili paste provided a great warmth to the dish, the perfect amount to slowly build with each bite. The acidity and sweetness from the pineapple combatted the spiciness quite beautifully.

Pineapple Shrimp Stir Fry

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2″ piece of ginger root, grated
• 3/4 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• 6 oz chow mein noodles, cooked and rinsed according to package directions
• 1 tbsp Sriracha
• 1 scallion, sliced

Steps:

1. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. When hot saute the onions and carrots. When the onions soften add in the garlic and ginger and stir fry for 60 seconds.
2. Add the shrimp and saute until they turn pink and are completely cooked. Add in the pineapple and cook until warmed through.
3. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, and Sriracha. Bring to a bubble and toss in the cooked chow mein noodles. Coat noodles in the sauce. Garnish with scallion.