Grilled Chicken Lettuce Wraps

 

Grilled chicken lettuce wraps

I don’t know about you guys, but this summer has gone by in a flash for me. We’ve been keeping pretty busy and have had a bit more time away than usual, which was wonderful, but I always find that, no matter how fun a vacation is, it’s always really great to be back home. With school starting in just less than two short weeks, it’s great to be able to settle back in and start getting prepared for the chaos that comes with getting two little kids ready for school each day. After being away in Portland last week and eating out for every (delicious) meal, it’s also great to get back in my kitchen.

The recipe I’m sharing today was well received by everyone in my house, including my 4 year old. When she’s the first one done dinner, you know it’s gotta be great. It’s not that she’s picky exactly, she just doesn’t do dinner. At least not while sitting still, nor in a reasonable amount of time. She’s more of grazer and could happily snack all day long. I can’t really complain though, she gladly eats almost any fruit or vegetable I give her, which makes my world a little easier than most parents. Setting the meal up as I’ve pictured above allowed the kids to choose which vegetables they wanted to include and, for my daughter, made her feel like she was at a snack buffet. Maybe that’s why she ate so well.

I hope you enjoy these grilled chicken lettuce wraps as much as we all did 🙂

 

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2″ piece of ginger, minced

1/4 Cup rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 Cup tamari (or other soy sauce)

1/4 Cup brown sugar, plus 1 tbsp reserved

2 tsp fish sauce

1/4 – 1/2 tsp chili flakes

1 lbs chicken breast

1/2 Cup carrots, julienned

1/2 Cup red peppers, julienned

1/2 Cup cucumbers, julienned

1 head of butter lettuce, cleaned and separated

Whisk together the first 8 ingredients. Set aside.

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and place in a shallow bowl or casserole dish. Pour the soy sauce mixture over the chicken and toss, ensuring that the chicken is evenly coated. Set in the refrigerator to marinate for 2-4 hours.

After the chicken has been allowed to marinate remove it from the fridge and begin preheating the bbq. Thread the chicken onto skewers, reserving the marinade, and place it on the grill for 15 – 20 minutes until it’s been cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, pour the remaining marinade into a small sauce pan. Whisk in the reserved 1 tbsp of brown sugar and bring to a simmer over low-medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened.

Serve the chicken alongside the julienned vegetables, lettuce and sauce.

 

Rainbow Rolls

Last week my family went on vacation. It was our first real family vacation, complete with hotel stays and airplane rides. It was great. However, between the free buffet breakfast at the hotel every morning and the restaurant meals for lunch and dinner, my husband and I came home feeling pretty sluggish and really quite gross. We were eager to get home and get back to our morning smoothies and fridge full of fruits and vegetable. This week needed to be somewhat of a detox week. While my husband would happily go on a juice cleanse for a few days or try to fast for a day, that doesn’t work for me. I need to eat. And people in my life need me to eat. It makes our home a happier place if I’m not “hangry”. As far as detoxing goes, the best I can commit to is eating as clean and healthy as possible for a few days. Here is one of the recipes I made for dinner this week in an effort to do just that. Enjoy!

Rainbow rolls

 

2 tsp Ginger, minced

2 Tbsp Rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp Sesame oil

3 Carrots, juilienned

1 red pepper, julienned

1 Cup raddichio, shredded

1/2 Cup Cucumbers, julienned

1 Avocado, removed from peel and sliced thin

1 Cup lettuce, shredded

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter

2 Limes, juice only

2 tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tsp honey

1 pkg Rice paper wrappers

 

Whisk together the ginger, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. Add in the carrots, raddichio and red peppers. Lightly stir, then let sit for 30 to 45 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix together the peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce and honey. Set aside

To prepare the rice paper, half fill a shallow dish with water. Gently place one wrapper in the water. After a few seconds gently flip it over. Once the wrapper has become pliable, place it on a flat surface. On the left side of the wrapper (leaving about 1 inch to the edge) add a small amount of each vegetable, top with about one teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture. Fold the top and bottom of the wrapper over the ends of the vegetables, then roll from left to right.