Lettuce Wraps

I had to make a new tag for this recipe...it's not vegetarian, it's not super easy, it's not Mexican... but it is DELICIOUS. I was beaming with pride the first time I made these and continue to love making them because they are so yummy, pretty darn healthy, and I don't know, there's something to be said for not having to go to PF Changs to satisfy your craving for delicious lettuce wraps :)

Lettuce Wraps

by: April Orgill

3 Tbs Canola Oil
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger root
1 1/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces
1 can water chestnuts, diced
3/4 cup chopped mushrooms
4 Tbs rice vinegar
4 Tbs teriyaki sauce
1/2 t garlic powder
red pepper flakes to taste
1 1/2 C shredded carrots
1/2 C chopped green onion
1/3 C toasted and sliced almonds
12 leaves of iceberg lettuce.

Heat 1 Tbs oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ginger, water chestnuts, mushrooms and chicken and saute until cooked through, about 7-10 minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together remaining 2 Tbs oil, vinegar, teriyaki sauce, garlic and red pepper flakes.. Add chicken mixture, carrot, green onion and almonds to the sauce, toss together.

To serve spoon 1/12 of the mixture on to the center of each lettuce leaf, roll up leaf around filling and serve.

* In the interest of full disclosure - I used leftover chicken from a rotisserie chicken so I still sauteed it all in the oil, but only for like...three minutes
** also, I loved using my Bosch/food processor and used it to process the mushrooms and carrots on the smallest slicing option.

Rumbi Rice Bowl

I am having a love affair with Rumbi. What I miss the most about Texas (besides fall, winter, and spring) are all of the awesome local restaurants. The good news is that Utah has some great chain restaurants that aren't in Texas, so it's almost as good. Almost. Rumbi not only has the best fries (sweet potato/regular mix) but the kids meal is enough to feed me, and that's kind of how I roll. But really, this post isn't meant to be an ode to Rumbi, it's an ode to rice bowls that taste better than the ones you can get at Rumbi. These bowls are easy to make and taste delicious!

Rumbi Rice Bowls

by: favfamilyrecipes.com

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 carrots, peeled and grated
3 celery stalks, washed and sliced
1 zucchini, chopped into small cubes
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli florets
2 cups chicken, grilled and cut in to small cubes
Spicy Hawaiian teriyaki Sauce (see below)

Heat vegetable oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery, zucchini, and broccoli (pretty much equal parts of all vegetables, add more or less depending on your personal preference. I doubled the vegetables (besides celery, the scourge of the earth according to my husband) and because I had so many vegetables I doubled the oil as well. Saute ONLY until vegetables are crisp tender. The recipe says 1-2 minute tops, I sauteed mine for 10 minutes and they were still crisp tender, if I would have only gone two minutes I would have chipped a tooth on my carrots. Serve over rice with chicken and a healthy smattering of Spicy Hawaiian Teriyaki Sauce.

Spicy Hawaiian Teriyaki Sauce

3/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (in the Asian section of the grocery store, we used the one in the clear plastic jar with the green lid. You can add more if you like it spicy or reduce if you can't take the heat. I think our sauce is super spicy, so I reduced it to 1 1/2 teaspoons).
1 teaspoon fresh ginger
pinch of salt
pinch of brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water

Combine teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, garlic sauce, ginger, salt and brown sugar in small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Combine cornstarch and water and SLOWLY add to sauce for thickening. You want it to be slightly thicker than the teriyaki sauce was. Allow to simmer for about a minute. Serve over your rice bowls.

PS Buying broccoli from Costco in the big bag (the fresh kind), is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. It's like a vegetable bomb, we have to eat an absurd amount of broccoli around here to beat the expiration date, but it's really good. Because broccoli is awesome. Lookin' at you Janssen.

PPS It was so hard to find an angle to take this picture where there was not a crazy mess in the background. My whole house was clean then I decided to make dinner thirty minutes before we were supposed to leave to my daughters kindergarten graduation. That was really not smart. And, because I know you care, we were in the very back row for the program and she was sitting in the front for of kindergartners. I could not see her AT ALL during the program. I was so very, very sad.