Healthy Asian Lettuce Wraps

Hey guys!! I've been trying to eat healthier recently so I've been trying a bunch of different recipes. I came up with this recipe which combines my love for asian inspired food but with a healthy twist!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb ground turkey (you can use any ground beef you like)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup onion, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

About a 1-inch piece of ginger, diced

5 tablespoons of hoisin sauce (found in the asian isle in the grocery store, it is like an asian BBQ sauce)

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

Bibb Lettuce (Boston Lettuce also works wonderfully)

Toppings:

(feel free to use whatever you like)

Shredded carrots

Roughly chopped peanuts

Toasted sesame seeds

Chopped green onions

Directions:

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium pan. Add the ground turkey (or whatever meat you are using) and cook until no longer pink, breaking apart with the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Scoop out and set aside on a separate plate. 

In the same pan, cook the onions, garlic and ginger for 3-4 minutes. Add the meat back into the pan with the onions, garlic and ginger.

Stir in the hoisin sauce and soy sauce and cook everything together for a few minutes

To serve, place the meat mixture in a lettuce cup and top with your favorite toppings.

Makes 10 lettuce wraps!

Chinese Chicken Salad with Crispy Wonton Strips

So, I recently bought Chrissy Teigen's cookbook (I love her) and was casually flipping through it when I found a recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad. To be honest I only stopped on this recipe because the picture caught my eye. The thing is I am not a fan of cabbage so I'm not really sure why I decided to try this recipe, but I gave it a shot and I absolutely loved it. I ate it for 3 days straight. I've made it several times since and made some of my own tweaks to make it slightly easier to make. So here it is!

For the dressing:

1/3 cup peanut or vegetable oil

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Chinese hot mustard (I used spicy brown mustard, it was easier to find)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sriracha

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon honey

3 cloves garlic (peeled)

½ teaspoon kosher salt.

Add all dressing ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth. 

For the wonton skins: 

(this step is completely optional, in most grocery stores you can find the crispy wonton's already made for you. In my grocery store they are in a bag in the produce section)

3 (8-inch) square wonton wrappers or 6 (4-inch) square wrappers (I used the small ones)

Vegetable or canola oil for frying

Kosher salt

Stack the wonton wrappers on top of each other. Cut the wrappers into ½ inch wide strips. (if you get the large wrappers cut the wrappers in half vertically first). In a medium sauce pan heat about 3-inches of oil over medium high heat. Working in batches drop a handful of the wonton strips in the oil and fry until puffed and golden about 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried strips to paper towels and sprinkle generously with salt. Repeat until done.

 For the salad:

½ rotisserie chicken

½ medium head Napa cabbage, cut into ½-inch slices

1 cup shredded red cabbage

1 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

1 small carrot shredded

½ cup thinly sliced red onion

4 scallions, thinly sliced

Remove skin from chicken and discard. Shred the chicken into thin pieces (around 3 cups of the chicken when shredded). Place chicken, cabbages, carrot, red onion, cilantro and scallions in a medium sized bowl. Pour ½ cup of dressing over salad and toss to coat. Top with the wonton strips and serve remaining dressing on side.

Crispy Bean and Cheese Burritos

Here is a quick and easy meatless Monday dish you can make in about 15 minutes. You can always add some ground beef, chorizo or ground turkey if you want! :)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for brushing)
1 small red onion (diced small)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 cup corn (frozen and thawed, off the cob or canned)
2 teaspoons cumin
1 pinch cayenne
1 can black beans (15oz, drained and rinsed)
3 cups cooked rice (white or brown, whatever you like)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
1 lime (juiced)
1-2 cups Monterey Jack cheese (depending on how cheesy you want them)
4 large flour tortillas (10-inch burrito size)
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Optional:
Hot sauce
Sour cream
Salsa
Whatever else you like to put on your burrito!

Instructions:
In a large sauté pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, corn cumin and cayenne and cook until onion is tender about 5 minutes. Add black beans and rice and cook until warmed through, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in cilantro, lime juice and season with kosher salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Let the filling mixture sit until cooled down (if it is too hot the tortillas will break, let it get to room temperature about 5-10 minutes). While the filling is cooling down, preheat greased skillet (I just sprayed with cooking spray) over medium-high heat (you can also use a pan on the stove if you do not have a skillet).

Divide mixture between four burrito-sized flour tortillas and place the mixture on the bottom half of the tortilla. Top with even amounts of cheese. Roll the burritos by folding the two short sides inwards and hold in place. Roll the filled half of the burrito upwards to form a seam. Brush the outside of the burrito with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Place on griddle seam side down. Place a foil wrapped brick (or any heavy object, such as another pan) on top of the burrito to press down and repeat with remaining burrito. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from griddle cut in half and serve with your favorite toppings.

Veggie Lasagna With Homemade Sauce

Hey All,
I have a love / hate relationship with lasagna. I love all the gooey cheese and the layers of flavor, but I hate the thick tomato sauce that is commonly found in lasagna. So with the guide of a recipe from Marcela Valladolid from my favorite Food network show "The Kitchen" this is my take on vegetable lasagna!!!

First, start with making the homemade cherry tomato sauce. I made this the night before so all the flavors would have a chance to meld in the fridge overnight. You can make this sauce up to a week ahead of time. Just keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. (P.S. Keep any leftover sauce in the fridge for up to a week, it is delicious on plain ol' pasta also!!)

2 pounds cherry tomatoes
1 medium onion roughly chopped
10 cloves of garlic, unpeeled (about one small head of garlic)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place all the tomatoes on the baking sheet (leave them whole). Then add the roughly chopped onion, the minced herbs and the unpeeled garlic cloves to the baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over everything and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and the skin is blistering and the onions are tender.

Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Once the garlic is cool enough to touch gently squeeze one end to pop the garlic out of the skin. Then add all of the roasted ingredients to a food processor or a blender. Blend until smooth. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Now, let's get to the good stuff, the lasagna!!

9 cooked lasagna noddles
15 oz container of ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
3 medium or 2 large zucchini
3 medium or 2 large yellow squash
8oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
1/2 cup - 1 cup spinach (depending on how much spinach you want)
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
1 cup mozzarella cheese

If you made the sauce ahead of time and it is in the fridge remove it and let it sit at room temperature for at least an hour before using it!

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Cut the zucchini and yellow squash into 1/2 inch thick discs. (If you have a food processor with a slicing attachment use it to make life easier!!)

Cook 9 lasagna noodles according to package directions, then drain and set aside (It may be a good idea to make 1 or 2 extra noodles in case one breaks during cooking or draining). While the lasagna is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a medium sized skillet. Once melted, add zucchini and yellow squash and cook until tender about 4 minutes. Then add in mushrooms and cook for 3 more minutes. Turn off heat and add spinach (Tip: one handful is approximately 1/2 cup and two handfuls is approximately one cup) and fold in until wilted, add salt and pepper. Set aside until ready for use.

If lasagna noodles are still hot or stuck together rinse under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Layer 3 lasagna noodles in the prepared pan (they may overlap, that's ok!), spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese evenly over all the noodles, then top evenly with 1/3 of the the veggie mixture, evenly spread 1/3 of the sauce on top and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the chopped basil evenly over sauce. Repeat 2 more times (3 layers total, use all 9 noodles). After all the layers are done top with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and turn broiler on high. Remove foil and place under broiler until cheese is brown and crisp about 4 minutes (make sure to it watch closely, it only takes a second to go from lightly brown to burnt!!!).

ENJOY!!!