Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I am proud to announce another 5 star recipe. The 5 star recipes have been few and far between with this series so needless to say I'm pretty excited about this one. I made this while my sister was in town and she seriously could not stop talking about it. They really were good and we had absolutely no leftovers after. I couldn't find a teriyaki-flavored rotisserie chicken (do they sell those in normal grocery stores?) so I bought a normal rotisserie chicken, took all the meat off the chicken, then made some teriyaki sauce and coated the chicken with it. It turned out pretty yummy and I had extra teriyaki sauce that I could put on the wraps if I wanted to. For those of you who have never tried it before, making teriyaki sauce is really easy. You just combine 

1 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 soy sauce

1 tbsp cornstarch. 

Bring it to a boil while stirring, then reduce heat and let simmer. It will eventually thicken up.

Or if you don't want to make it, buying a bottle of teriyaki sauce is an easy alternative. Any way you decide to make these lettuce wraps, they turn out great. This will definitely be making another appearance in our home again soon.

And just a little side note, I am skipping the Chicken and Pepper Egg Rolls. I made them while I was sick and didn't make them properly. They were a big flop and I don't feel like I can give them a proper review. Maybe I'll try making them again one day when the sting of failure has worn off a little bit!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Source: Disney Family

Ingredients:

1 teriyaki-flavored rotisserie chicken
1/4 cup red pepper, diced small
1/4 cup water chestnuts, diced small
1/4 cup bamboo shoots, diced small*
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic - minced
8-12 lettuce leaves, depending on size*

Directions:

Remove meat only from rotisserie chicken and dice small. This should give you about 2 cups of diced chicken.

Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and remaining ingredients. Cook until heated through -- about 5 minutes.

Serve with lettuce leaves for wrapping.

*Ingredient Tips
Tender bamboo shoots can be found canned in the Asian aisle of your grocery store. Soft, round-leafed lettuce like butter or bib works best, but will iceberg also do.

Easy Chicken Lo Mein

The 15 meals under $1.50 pin said that every newlywed and college student needed to know these recipes, and this one definitely reminded me of meals I would make when Brian and I were newlyweds. That time in my life when I was just figuring out the cooking routine and didn't have much time to put into it. This Chicken Lo Mein is quick and easy, living up to it's name, and uses ingredients that I usually have lying around the house. I always like finding recipes that use ingredients that I usually have in my pantry for the days that I just need to whip something up quick without going to the store. For those of you who have a bit more time, I would recommend using fresh vegetables instead of frozen. With fresh vegetables this meal would be a 4 star. It's pretty dang good with frozen vegetables, but I can't ever manage to get the crispness that I get with fresh veggies. In summary, this is a great meal for under $1.50.

Easy Chicken Lo Mein

Source: Disney Family

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil-sesame or peanut oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin slices
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce or teriyaki sauce
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger or 1 teaspoon powder
1 3-ounce package chicken flavor ramen noodle soup
1 1-lb bag frozen mixed oriental vegetables
1/4 cup water

Directions:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until no longer pink.

Add vegetables and lid. Cook until vegetables are cooked through, about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, cook the noodles (without the flavoring packet) according to package directions. Drain.

Add soy sauce, garlic, ginger and seasoning packet to water. Mix well. Pour over chicken and vegetables, add noodles and toss to mix.