52 New Recipes | Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
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So, yesterday was another one mostly spent painting.
And I didn't really think about dinner until a half hour prior to dinnertime.
Different day, same story!
The complicating factor this go-round is that I hadn't tried a new recipe yet.
And it's not like the earth would swallow me whole if I skipped a week, but you know, I like to stick with my self-imposed projects.
I mean, the whole point of this is to make myself try new recipes when I ordinarily wouldn't.
So, I flipped back and forth thru my ATK Quick Family cookbook, waffled a bit, and decided on these chicken lettuce wraps.
I sent Joshua to the store with a small list (ground chicken, ginger, lettuce, water chestnuts), so he shopped while I did another coat of paint. 😉
I'm pleased to say that everyone liked these. Woohoo!
Sometimes, chicken recipes can be bland, but these are seasoned with hoisin sauce, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and plenty of fresh ginger and garlic.
They were quick and easy, and the only thing I'd change is that I'd look for a head of Bibb lettuce with slightly larger leaves, as this head made for rather bite size wraps.
And I'll definitely double this next time because lettuce wraps just aren't that filling, and we had no leftovers for Mr. FG's lunch.
So! I'm happy I persevered and picked a new recipe to try because now I have a new one to add to my regular rotation.
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I'm home by myself (well, as much as I can be, with 2 dogs and 4 cats) this week, so I haven't been cooking much. I did pull out a zucchini and some cooked & frozen burger. I used a pint of my home-canned pasta sauce and a can of stewed tomatoes, mixed all of that together (with some spices) & let it simmer for awhile, until the zucchini was cooked. I did up some curly pasta, mixed it all together, and added cheese (because everything's better with cheese). It's pretty good - I'll try it out on my husband, one of these days!
Those look perfect for summer! I made some last summer that called for shrimp. Made the filling in advance then pulled it out at dinnertime. Let's see...this week I made a BLT basalmic chicken avocado salad. Sounds fussier than it is. The chicken was pretty bland, even after marinating in a dressing that had fresh garlic, honey, and basalmic vinegar. The avocado and crumbled cheese in the salad was nice. But it was all very so-so. We've been doing salads for dinner one night a week to avoid using the oven and so far it's been very nice!
I made pulled pork in the slow cooker for the first time! (I know, what took me so long?) It was super easy and has been delicious as wraps and nachos throughout the week.
That looks beautiful! I'm Asian, and I LOVE Asian food. This dish reminds me of Korean BBQ where you can wrap meat, veggies, and some sauce in a lettuce leaf and eat it with your hand. It's super delish!
Oooh, these look pretty good! We do a version of these with ground beef, but now I'm thinking chicken would be pretty tasty (and lighter). Yum!
My recipe for this week was Leek and Potato soup, one of my wife's favorites. As I am now the Chief Cook and Bottle washer I get to do whatever I want to do - as long as it meets Julia's wants!!
I do lettuce wrap sometimes, and it does always feel like you need a little something more to make it a full meal. I've thought about using tortillas instead and adding lettuce on top to beef it up a little.
I know, I'm weird, but I find amusement in that Kristen "waffled" on a recipe choice while Susan "beefs" up a lettuce wrap. Food is everywhere in our language.
Sorry, I grew up with a dad who loved word play and puns.
I haven't tried a new recipe this week yet. I hadn't even thought about it, because I still am having trouble getting my days straight, having missed Monday at work.
Those chicken lettuce wraps look really good, so I might go for something like that. I'll see what works out.
Hahaha! That's punny!
This looks delicious!
I tried my hand at a pork and veggie curry over quinoa this week and it actually turned out tasting good! It made for great leftovers too, I think we just polished it off today.
So, this isn't a new meal comment, but I just had to share a frugal triumph this week!
My son graduated high school this year. I had bought him a high-quality, large-capacity, L L Bean backpack when he started middle school. It lasted incredibly well, but the zipper broke this year. After graduation, I sent the backpack to LL Bean under their lifetime guarantee. He's getting a brand new backpack for free. Great to start college with.
It really does pay to invest in high quality items which get used heavily. Hurray!
Good to know, I am taking my "Bean bag" to college this year too.
I'm going to make this this weekend! I think I'll add rice to beef it up.
I yet again continued my quest to create a chicken curry dish I'm crazy about...had it one time in a restaurant and fell in love...trying to replicate. Just CANNOT get there. I wont go into how many times I've attempted. This go round was ok. I WILL succeed...I hope..
As soon as I accomplish this frustrating feat my next project is a certain chocolate cake we had on our honey moon....it was like a piece of fudge it was so rich..
Hoping all of everyone's kitchen endeavors are a success and if not...take heart and remember what's life without a goal or two, or three.... 😉
Ah! So asian lettuce wraps are one of my absolute favorite meals to make! Seriously, I love those things. One meal that we're trying out tonight actually, is a twist on a typical meal for us. We like to pan fry kielbasa and potatoes as a meal. So good. BUT, our son has recently decided to refuse to eat potatoes. Luckily, our kids are obsessed with rice. So tonight's change up is, kielbasa, rice, and beans! I think this one will be a total hit!
I tried making fruit leather this week since I went a little crazy with the fresh produce at Costco. The fruit leather is very tasty, but I had a lot of trouble getting half of it to dehydrate properly and I have no idea why.
Iceburg lettuce works quite well for lettuce wraps. It's not quite as render as bibb, but the larger size makes the chicken wrangling a lot easier!
I mean, tender. Darn typo!
I actually made a recipe tonight - hash browns from CI a couple of months ago. You shred the taters, squeeze them, nuke half for a bit, add the rest and nuke till about done, chill in a cake pan, then fry to make crisp. It was only OK - didn't really stick together and I thought the ratio between crisp outside and soft inside was off - but had enough potential to work on. Ideas for the future:
- add an egg to help it adhere
- fewer taters or larger pan, to increase proportion of outside to inside
- spice more thoroughly, perhaps with a grated onion
"Make the Bread, Buy the Butter" by JenniferReese has a great recipe for hasbrowns. I've been making it for years and love it. It's a lot less fuss. Good luck in finding the right recipe. A good hashbrown is worth the wait.
My new recipe was a "bitter" chocolate brownie recipe to use some eggs that were gifted to me. It was just a standard brownies recipe, but I left out the vanilla, because I'm out, added instant coffee and cinnamon and cut down the sugar pretty significantly. My husband loves them because they aren't too sweet, but the kids like them because they are quite chocolatey. I am going to get some whipping cream tomorrow to make to top the rest of them.
Marinated 2 pieces of London Broil over the weekend, too much for 4 adults/2 kids. But leftovers went in to quick stir fry last night with frozen stir fry veggies, and some fresh ones languishing in the fridge. Added some Mae Ploy sauce, soy, fresh ginger/garlic and a little Duck sauce. Tossed with cooked whole wheat soba noodles. Best one ever!!! No measuring means my stir fry is never the same twice 🙁 Gotta find a source for my soba noodles now. Had them awhile and not sure where they were bought.
1 piece of meat (24 oz.-3 lb.), one pk. Good Seasons Zesty Ital. salad seasoning, teriyaki sauce, & Grey Poupon mustard(ground). Slather meat w/mustard, sprinkle 1/2 pk. seasoning, place in marinader or glass dish; repeat w/other side. Pour teriyaki sauce over till the bottom is immersed. Flip once to marinade other side. I do this early, then flip it at bedtime to cook the next day. Grilled about 6-8 min. per side for 2-3 lb. piece. Rest 15 min., then slide thin across grain. Side note: buy fresh ginger, peel & cut into chunks. Keep in glass jar in fridge covered w/clear (dry?) sherry. Keeps forever, and way easier to use than frozen chunks.
Oooh, good ginger tip!