Lettuce wraps

without the lettuce :)

we are in Ghana

I found this recipe on Pinterest and tried it the other night. It's a delicious way to eat chicken and rice (or quinoa).

I modified by cutting the chicken in strips, using rice instead of quinoa, and ate it salad style, rather than wrapped in lettuce.

Recipe from Natasha's Kitchen

Chicken Quinoa Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce

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Prep time

50 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

1 hour

These are a meal in themselves. They are quick to make and easy to assemble. They’re really self serve and definitely encourage fun conversation at the dinner table. I love the addition of quinoa; making it a well-rounded meal and the quinoa keeps you full longer. About the sauce: we've tested other recipes for peanut dipping sauce and nothing compares to this one. This sauce is BOSS. It's creamy, easy, and has just two ingredients. It definitely induces serious cravings! P.S. the kiddos love these best with ranch.

Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com

Skill Level: Easy/Medium

Cost To Make: $20-$23

Serving: 6-8

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled or sautéed and thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated, or ¼ tsp dried ginger powder
• ½ Tbsp sesame oil

For the Wraps:

• 2 heads of Boston, Bib or Butter Lettuce
• 2½ cups cooked Quinoa (*see notes below on how I made it)
• 1 medium or 3 small cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1 large or 2 medium Carrots, sliced into matchsticks
• ¼ bunch of fresh Cilantro

For the Easy Peanut Dipping Sauce:

(I put the recipe I used below - in case you can't find bottled dressing)

• ¾ cup Newman’s Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger dressing (P.S. this dressing contains wheat so if you’re gluten free, try: Braggs ginger sesame)
• 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter (microwave 30 sec if peanut butter refrigerated)
• ⅓ cup chopped peanuts, optional topping

Instructions

How to Prepare the Teriyaki Chicken:

1. In a small bowl, stir together all the ingredients of your marinade: 2 Tbsp olive oil, 3 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 pressed garlic cloves, 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated ( or ¼ tsp dried ginger powder) and
2. /2 Tbsp sesame oil
3. Place chicken breast in a medium bowl, add marinade and stir to coat the chicken evenly. Refrigerate for 20 minutes (prep your veggies in the mean time).
4. Once chicken is marinated, heat a large skillet over medium heat, add the chicken along with some of the oil in the marinade and sauté until caramelized and browned on both sides and fully cooked. If chicken breasts are very large, you might cover with the lid when sautéing the second side for the chicken to cook through.
5. Remove from heat and let chicken breasts rest on a cutting board 5 minutes before cutting into it, then slice into thin strips on the diagonal.

*How I Cooked Quinoa:

1. Rinse quinoa in a fine colander until water runs clear to get rid of any natural bitterness. Quinoa is cooked similar to rice. The ratio is ¾ cup dry quinoa to 1½ cups filtered water. I cooked mine in the rice maker on the white rice setting without adding any salt or butter and it was done after about 20 minutes. Transfer quinoa to a bowl to cool. You want it to be room temp or cooler before using in lettuce wraps.

How to make the best peanut dipping sauce

1. Combine ¾ cup sesame ginger dressing with 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter and whisk together or shake together in a tupperware with a tight fitting lid. Transfer to a small bowl and top with chopped peanuts if using.

How to Serve:

1. Place all prepared vegetables on a platter: lettuce, sliced cucumbers, sliced carrots and sprigs of cilantro. Add your bowls of chicken, quinoa, and peanut sauce to the serving platter.
2. You can either pre-assemble the lettuce wraps or let your hungry folks assemble their own (my favorite method!). Start with the lettuce leaf, add a heaping Tbsp of cooked quinoa, a strip or two of chicken breast, sliced cucumber and carrots along with a couple sprigs of cilantro. Drizzle with prepared creamy peanut sauce and be prepared to love this.

Recipe from Allrecipes

Asian Ginger Dressing

Rated:  Submitted By: DIETER_WEBER Photo By: LynnInHK Prep Time: 9 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Minute Ready In: 10 Minutes Servings: 20

"Terrific salad dressing for all salads - especially great for use on cabbage salads. Everyone who has had the dressing wants the recipe."

INGREDIENTS:

3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root 3/4 cup olive oil 1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce 3 tablespoons honey 1/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

1.

In a 1 pint glass jar or larger, combine the garlic, ginger, olive oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and water. Cover the jar with a tight fitting lid, and shake well. Remove lid, and heat jar in the microwave for 1 minute just to dissolve the honey. Let cool, and shake well before serving. Store covered in the refrigerator.

crockpot beef & broccoli

I'm always looking for new slow cooker recipes.  We have some crazy weeknight schedules and it's always nice to get the cooking done in the morning when I have time and be able to come home to a warm home cooked meal.

I doubled this recipe and it fed our family nicely with leftovers.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. boneless, beef chuck roast, sliced into thin strips

1 cup beef consumme or beef broth

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 tbsp. sesame oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp. cornstarch

4 tbsp. sauce (from the crockpot after dish is cooked)

Frozen broccoli florets (as many as desired, I believe I used almost 2 cups)

White rice, cooked

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In the insert of the crockpot, whisk together beef consume, soy sauce, dark brown sugar, sesame oil, and garlic.
2. Gently place your slices of beef in the liquid and toss to coat.
3. Turn crockpot on low and cook for 6 hours.
4. When done, in a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and cooking liquid to create a slurry, pour into crockpot, stir to mix well. Cook on low for an additional 30 minutes to thicken up the sauce.
5. Toss in your broccoli florets then serve hot over white rice.

*Note about cooking time: Your crockpot may differ in temperature than mine, I suggest cooking this for 4 hours on your first go-round of this dish. 6 hours in the crockpot seems to be giving a lot of people "shredded" beef instead of slices, so decrease cooking time by 2 hours and go from there. Mine turned out fine with 6 hours.

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

This has a really yummy sweet and spicy sauce.  I made it tonight and served it over brown rice.  I think it's a keeper for sure.  I would suggest organizing and cutting the vegetables before you start because this cooks quickly.  I was chopping and stirring and finding ingredients all with a screaming Jack at my feet and it was no fun!

A delicious and colorful Chinese dish. Serve over rice on a large platter.

SAUCE:

1/2 c. ketchup
4 tsp. soya sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 c. chicken broth

THE REST:

2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 whole boneless chicken breasts, skinned & cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/4 c. oil
2 to 3 tbsp. minced fresh ginger root
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 sm. onion, chopped
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1 inch triangles
2 carrots, sliced diagonally & thinly
2 c. snow peas
1 1/2 c. cashews

Combine sauce ingredients and set aside. In a bowl, combine cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add chicken and toss. Heat wok or frying pan to highest heat. Add oil. Heat to hot, not smoking. Add chicken, ginger, garlic and onion. Stir until chicken is opaque. Add peppers and carrots. Stir 2 to 3 minutes. Add peas and sauce. Cook until it comes to a boil. Add cashews and serve immediately. Serves 6.