Hello!
Did you make it to Starbucks? What’d ya’ get? I got a slice of Pumpkin Bread and it was everything I could have wished for. Moist, spicy, amazing. AMAZING, I tell you! Makes me want to start every morning with a delicious, free pastry! 
In other news – you would’ve thought I paid a visit to the local Farmer’s Market to make tonight’s dinner, as it utilized some gorgeous, fresh-from-the-patch veggies. Spring Stir Fry!
Spring Stir Fry
Ingredients:
2 servings pasta, cooked & drained
1 yellow squash, chopped
2 heads of broccoli, chopped
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and chopped
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups shredded chicken
4 sun dried tomato halves, chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Seasoning (could be salt & pepper, veggie seasoning, or whatever you like.)
Directions:
1. Heat a large wok or skillet on medium high heat. Meanwhile cook and drain 2 servings pasta of your choice.
2. Stir fry the squash in 1 teaspoon of olive oil and seasonings until cooked, then remove to a bowl.
2. Heat another teaspoon of olive oil in the wok, then add asparagus, broccoli and more seasoning. Stir fry for about a minute, add water and put a lid on the wok. Allow vegetables to steam for 2 minutes, then remove to a bowl.
3. Heat another teaspoon of olive oil in the wok and sauté onions for 2 minutes with more seasoning. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for another 30 seconds. Be careful not to let the garlic burn.
4. Add cooked pasta, chicken, sundried tomatoes and veggies, plus 1 Tablespoon olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Stir until everything is heated through. Season liberally, or to taste.
Enjoy!
Wohoo this was good and fresh! Loving all the different textures, too.
The colors, flavors and lightness of this plate made me totally think Spring!
I really like including pasta as an ingredient to a dish, rather than it being the main feature. Know what I mean? That way I still get the satisfying chew, but am not eating a heaping pile of it.
And my number one tip for stir frying is have all your ingredients ready before you start stir frying! It will make your life so much easier! Promsies. :D
With that, I am bouncing out the door for a run! It it a spectacular day out and I need to immerse myself in the fresh air. Oh and if you live in the area, run by a random girl and are temporarily blinded – don’t worry, it’s just me and my pale legs. They’re a sight to see!!!!!
Goodnight!
~~~~~
Do you tan or use self-tanner?
I tanned as recently as last year, but started to see the evidence of sun damage on my face and neck so I quit cold turkey. All self tanners look completely fake on me so I rock the natural look all winter long. It’s…frightening at times… 
What can you do though?!
I love all the different veggies! It makes me feel like Summer’s here.
And LOL not even going to touch the tanner Q, but I will say orange or overly bronzed women are not a turn on
I self tan, but you have to use moisturizer because I’m peeling now and it’s obvious! And you feet will be lighter because running shoes wear it down so quikly!
I used to tan a ton – but I havent in years. As for the farmers market Im jealous! Ill have to investigate when they open in the Iowa City area!
I vowed to give up tanning in a bed because of how bad it is. I used to go before events…proms, wedding, etc. I made myself quit…not worth the risks!! I’m a dark haired gal with a lot of moles, which I like to call “beauty marks” or “birth marks” haha…so I have to be extra careful.
BTW: dinner looks awesome. You go girl!
I’m loving this recipe, especially since it’s stir fry! I’m a stir fry junkie!
Enjoy your run, the weather is awesome here as well!!
The stir fry looks so incredibly fresh and tasty! Gets me in the mood for some light but delicious summer meals!
Hope you enjoy a nice run tonight.
Oh girl, you are NOT alone on the Casper legs! Me too, me too! I wish I could use self tanner, but it seems that any lotion with a Self Tanner component in it only makes me break out in a rash.
Guess I’ll just have to wait until shorts weather for some color.
I’m fair skinned and have already had six pre-cancerous moles removed. So glad you gave up tanning! I’m scared for anyone who still uses the tanning bed/booth and I tell everyone I know to stay away!
I love Starby’s punkin’ bread. I am glad they sill have it even though it isn’t fall or winter. I am glad to hear you no longer fake ‘n’ bake. I, too, rock the pale look : )
Oh, J’ADORE stir fries!! The best way to cook
And I agree – pasta as part of a dish is so much better, it doesn’t feel as stodgy 
I never self tan or real tan..I just embrace the paleness
Nope, don’t tan (on purpose anyway). I get a litttttle tan in the summer…that’s bad enough.
You should try the lotions that gradually tan, they look way less fake and streak less, plus moisturizing. The lazy version! hhahaha.
God, I am a little terrified to try running outside. I need to start.
I should probably start a food blog too, just to keep me accountable. Maybe that’s a bad idea.
Hope you had a good run!
The stir fry with pasta is brilliant, absolutely brilliant!!!!
And no comment on the tanning…
I used to love going to the beach and getting super tan. But then I noticed all the extra freckles I was getting! I don’t want to look like a suitcase later in life, so I’m staying out of the sun for now
I used to go tanning because it was relaxing, but I just realized how much money I could be saving and buying things like running gear with it. Plus I get tan out when I run. I’d rather be healthy then battling skin cancer!
I don’t tan. I work outside so I always have an aweful farmer’s tan. I’m only 29 but I can see the wrinkles from spending almost every summer (and two years living on the equator) forming around my eyes and mouth. My wish I could have just loved the skin I was born with and worn sunscreen and a hat.
I used to be a HUGE tanner too, but lost a college friend about a year and a half ago to melanoma. She was only 26 and it really hit home. Please don’t tan!!
You can read more about Glenna and her amazing fight here: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/tips/skin-cancer-death-1009?click=main_sr
omg that looks sooo delish!
I rock the natural look, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll always be pale…I laid out Saturday for the first time this season and I am still burnt! I need to remember that sunscreen is my friend.
That stir-fry looks awesome!
I never could find/get a good tan either for my skin and hated tanning beds. I actually ended up opening my own spray tanning business because the spray tan solution I found is so natural looking and I could stand behind it. I would check to see if anyone in your area uses Infinity Sun products… you should really give it a shot!
I don’t tan either! I’m fair skinned and always just end up burning in the tanning bed. And self tanners always look orange on me. So I just settle for pale in the winter time. I do have a wonderful sports bra tan from running outside all the time that I have got to get rid of before my wedding! Sports bra + backless dress = no good! Not sure what I’m gonna do about it though!
I did “free pastry day” too! My reduced fat banana chocolate chip coffee cake wasn’t all that good (tasted like “diet food,” I couldn’t finish it) but the price was exciting! And great idea with your semi-homemade latte…..you should e-mail Sandra Lee!
Let me just say that you inspire me. I have a lot of weight to lose and I have been struggling with the best way to get it off. I have been reading your blog and I see that you eat healthy but still leave room for an occasional treat. That’s exactly what I want. Thank you for publishing your fantastic information and THANK YOU for inspiring me to lose the 200+ pounds I need to shed.
I airbrush tan for special events like weddings and vacations. Nothing like standing completely naked in front of a stranger while she squats to get your inner thighs. Gawd. Almost as awkward as a bikini wax, but not as bad.
I absolutely hate tanning beds and sun without SPF protection. I apply and reapply sunscreen every. single. day. Especially on my hands and neck – the two places that show the earliest signs of aging!
Love the dish! I like your idea of using pasta as an ingredient rather than the main attraction. As a carb-lover, that will be something I need to practice more often!
As for tanning. . . I’ll ‘fess up–totally guilty.
I joined your Facebook page. . . glad you got on!
Try using a slough or loofa and get all the dry skin off, then the next morning apply the self tanners. I like the towelettes. You can find some great ones out there.
Love the idea of a stirfry, but I will mix it up. Thanks for the idea, I have a couple servings of pasta and some asparagus as well, so I might just go a little simpler!
Wow, that is one gorgeous plate of stir fry! …I might just have to give that a try.
I just got a spray tan. I LOVE them! Check out my difference in color with just one tan
http://jqlee.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/busy-busy-girl/cimg0008-23/
I’ve always loved when I have a little “glow” about me but have never been into tanning beds. As a science nerd in college, I just knew too much about them. Now that I work with melanoma patients (and other cancer patietns) there is NO way I’d go back to them. Now I just have to find a self tanner that doesn’t make me as orange as a sweet potato.
I used to tan religiously in tanning beds about twice a week in the winter, but with all the news reports out about how bad it really is, I decided to quit this winter. Instead I use either Nuetrogena Micro Mist tanner or Bannana Boat Summer color Spray self tanners (whichever is in stock at the store). The lotions (IMO) look way streaky but anything that is a mist spray goes on with out rubbing it in and looks SO MUCH MORE EVEN! Thats my recommendation! hope it helps!!
I tanned up to a year ago and can really see the damage. The girls at the Salon at Younkers keep trying to convince me to do air brush tanning. It looks incredibly natural even on pale, pale people.
I have one of “those” t-shirts that state, “Pale is the New Tan”!
I’m pasty and proud. I got burnt a lot as a kid wanting the perfect tan like my italian and dark skinned friends. But I also had precancerous cells removed when I was 25 and have to have my skin checked every 6 months to a year. I’m just pasty for the rest of my life.
Eek, uh oh, I do tan. About once a week. During the winter. It keeps me sane. I hate staying cooped up in the freezing cold snowhole we find ourselves in every winter and it just makes me feel sooooo much better!
No, no tans for me. As I as naturally “tanned”. I have vast amounts of melanin : )
[...] original recipe: Iowa Girl Eats [...]
The photos look amazing, so is the stirfry! thanks for sharing this, i wanna share this to my friends in Foodista as well. This can be done by just adding the foodista widget for tomato at the end of this post just if you wouldn’t mind. And that should do it! Thanks and keep on posting, i love your site!