Lettuce Wraps

Those who know me well know my favorite place to be is in my kitchen, cooking or entertaining! It’s a place I can have fun, relieve stress, get creative and make memories with my family and friends. My kitchen is undoubtedly my happy place. This past weekend we had so much fun celebrating my birthday with family at our house. The menu was exactly what I wanted: pizza, wings, western salad, chocolate cake, my favorite pie (more to come on that), beer, wine, and cocktails. Did I mention wine? LOTS of wine. By Sunday our bodies were craving a healthy-ish meal to kick off our week on the right foot, which brings me to this recipe.

For the first recipe on the blog I’m so excited to share these Asian-inspired lettuce wraps! They’re one of my favorite things to make for weekend lunches or on weeknights when I want something quick and easy. These are simple and delicious, and you probably have most of the ingredients in your refrigerator and pantry. Winning.

I serve the lettuce wraps as an entree alongside this rice medley and some steamed edamame. Easy and impressive!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup crushed peanuts
1 can water chestnuts, chopped (optional)
1 1/2 cup chicken stock, divided
1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ginger, divided
pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb chicken
1/1/2 tsp teriyaki (optional)
1-2 heads lettuce (butter head, romaine or iceberg)

Garnish & Serve with:
shredded carrots
peanuts
low sodium soy sauce

Directions:
In a large Dutch oven, melt down coconut oil until it reaches a liquid consistency.
Add garlic and onion and sauté until cooked through.
Add carrots, peanuts, water chestnuts, 1 cup of the chicken stock, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, salt, 1/2 Tbsp of the ginger, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.
Heat until bubbling slightly then turn to low.
Simmer until the carrots are cooked through, stirring occasional. If the mixture becomes too dry, add chicken stock 1/4 cup at a time.
While the veggie mixture is cooking, season chicken with remaining ginger and salt and pepper to taste.
Once the carrots are cooked through, remove the veggie mixture and set aside.

Add olive oil to the same Dutch oven the veggies were cooked in.
Once the oil is heated, add the seasoned chicken.
Cook a few minutes on each side and remove once cooked through (internal temp. should be at least 165 degrees F).
Shred chicken. (Pro tip: I use my KitchenAid mixture for this step and let me tell you…it works like a charm! Put your cooked chicken in the bowl and start the mixer on the lowest speed. As the chicken begins to shred, increase the speed until you reach the desired consistency. If there are any large chunks left, shred them by hand.)

Add shredded chicken and veggie mixture to Dutch oven and stir together with heat on low.
Add teriyaki and remaining stock (use more or less stock depending on how juicy you prefer).
Simmer just a few minutes and you’re all set! I always do a quick taste test and add anything I think it needs (potentially ginger, salt/pepper, soy sauce, or red pepper flakes if you like it spicy like us).

Garnish with shredded carrots and peanuts.
Serve with a side of soy sauce.

I hope you enjoy this meal as much as we do. Oh! If you end up with leftovers the mixture is great, cold or hot, on top a bed of shredded lettuce. No dressing is needed but a little satay sauce would be a great addition, IMO!