Asian Meatballs in Lettuce Wraps

Meatballs coated in a Thai sweet chili sauce are mixed with bell peppers, and snow peas. Fold this in to crisp lettuce leaves for a refreshing meal.  

Asian Meatballs in Lettuce Wraps

When you need a quick yet filling meal I turn to Asian food.  I love making stir fry and fried rice dishes because they are pulled together so quickly.  This variation on a lettuce wrap is just as quick and easy but has a wonderful spin by using meatballs as the protein.  I used beef but turkey or chicken or pork can be substituted with perfect results.  

Make these for an easy dinner or lunch.  Kids love the fork-free meal and adults will love the complexity of flavor involved.  Enjoy!

What Ingredients do I need?

• lettuce
• Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
• tamari
• panko
• egg
• canola oil
• sirloin
• green onions
• snow peas
• red bell pepper
• garlic cloves
• ginger

Substitutions and Variations

• Use ground turkey, chicken or even pork for the meatballs
• Add mushrooms or shredded carrots to the vegetables
• Add roasted peanuts or cashews on top

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• Tamari is a Japanese soy sauce that is wheat free so is actually Gluten free.  Use soy sauce if Tamari is not available.

• Prep all your vegetables first then work on the meatballs for quicker cooking.

• The meatballs are broiled instead of baked.  This allows a shorter cook time.

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Asian Meatballs in Lettuce Wraps

makes 6 lettuce wraps

1 head green leaf lettuce
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce

1 Tablespoon tamari

1/4 cup panko

1 egg

canola oil

1/2 - 3/4 lb ground sirloin

2 -3 green onions

1/2 cup chopped snow peas, thinly lengthwise

1 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise in thin strips

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic clove

1 1/2 Tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

kosher salt & pepper

Preheat broiler with a rack in the upper third. Cut peppers in half crosswise. Trim the scallions, then thinly slice.

Mix together chopped garlic and ginger.  Transfer ¾ of the ginger-garlic mixture to a medium bowl. Add beef, panko, egg, ¼ cup of the sliced scallions, and ¼ teaspoon salt to the bowl, stirring to combine. Form into 12 equal meatballs; transfer to a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet.

Broil meatballs on upper oven rack until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes (watch closely).

Meanwhile, in a measuring cup, stir to combine the tamari, Thai sweet chili sauce, and 2 tablespoons water.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Add peppers and cook, stirring, until tender and lightly browned in spots, 4–5 minutes. Add snow peas, remaining ginger-garlic mixture, and half of the remaining scallions; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add sauce to skillet and bring to a boil over high heat. Add meatballs, and simmer, turning to coat in sauce, until just heated through, about 1 minute. Separate lettuce leaves; wash and dry well. Serve meatballs and vegetables in lettuce wraps. Garnish with remaining scallions. Enjoy!

adapted from Marley Spoon

Fall/Winter Picnic: Wraps, Salad Two Ways, and Ginger Lemonade

A series of wonderful vegetarian dishes pair perfectly together for a Fall/Winter Picnic, indoors or out!

Yum

So all week long I've been bringing you recipes that are simple in nature, vegetarian, and oh so tasty! 

If you've missed my posts for Orzo Black Bean Salad, Feta Chopped Salad, or Pesto Cucumber Wraps take a moment to check them out.  They are all wonderfully light and delicious vegetarian dishes that I found in a new cookbook I got called,  "Forest Feast Gatherings: Simple Vegetarian Menus for Hosting Friends & Family", by Erin Gleeson.  What a fabulous book!

So let pull all these dishes together and go on a picnic.  I want to show you how easy it is to pull a picnic together if the weather is nice enough to go to a park and eat outdoors.  If it isn't cooperating this would be perfect as an indoor picnic in your living room on the floor with a blanket and a bunch of pillow.  

So grab your plaid throw and let's create a picnic.

The perfect thing about this is that both the salads can be made ahead of time and stored until time to serve.  The Pesto Cucumber Wraps are what I call the main entree, while the salads compliment them as side dishes.  

Don't be fooled by the fourth of July plates, this was held on a blustery day in the park.  I just happened to grab what paper plates we had on hand.  To pull this off I grabbed a navy blue plaid throw to use as the base for the food.  Put both the Feta Chopped Salad, and the Orzo Black Bean Salad in bowls that have lids and transfer well.

To round off the food I made a wonderful Ginger Lemonade (recipe is below) and packed it in a nice jar.  Some fruit such as pears and grapes along store bought cookies for dessert finish off this menu.  

Make sure to take along some entertainment.  MGG likes to fly his drone, while I like to read a good book on my kindle while we rest in the afternoon.

Having a picnic, inside or outside really allows you to do something a little different.  It breaks up the routine, makes the meal special, plus it's fun!

Enjoy some picnic time this season!




Ginger Lemonade

1 liter Store bought lemonade
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1/2 fresh mint leaves

Mix all ingredients in a blender, then strain into a jar.  Can be made the day before and kept in the refrigerator.  Serve chilled or over ice if possible. Shake or stir prior to serving.

This post contains affiliate links to items you can purchase, in which I get a small amount of compensation for at no cost to you. I bring you items that I actually use that are of great quality that I can pass along suggestions to you.

Pesto Cucumber Wraps

A flavorful vegetarian wrap that's simple to make and fun to eat!

Yum

Here's the 3rd item in the series of vegetarian dishes I've brought to you this week.

Please check out my previous 2 items, Orzo Black Bean Salad, and the Feta Chopped Salad.  Both are amazing and go together so well.  

The dishes are all vegetarian and they are all from a new book I got called, "Forest Feast Gatherings: Simple Vegetarian Menus for Hosting Friends & Family", by Erin Gleeson.  What a fabulous book!

She has colorful illustrations throughout the book accompanied by simple vegetarian recipes that anyone can make.  I truly love the layout of this book.  Her recipes are simple and easy to follow and the food is fabulous.  

You don't have to be a vegetarian to eat these dishes.  They are wonderful, filling, and will be enjoyed by all!

Today's dish ties the other two together.  It's a wonderful wrap!

PESTO CUCUMBER WRAPS

Crisp, cooling cucumber spears are wrapped in a pesto, cream cheese dressed spinach wrap.  Oh man is this good!  It's a veggie sandwich that's light, yet filling and it goes perfectly with the two salads.  

What fun is it to eat a wrap!  Kids love them, and you will too. They are the perfect lunch, dinner, or treat.  This can be made slightly ahead of time and wrapped up, kept in the refrigerator until served.  

These are super easy to pull together.  No special equipment is necessary.  Just make, grab and go!  Don't forget the two salads up above that go perfectly and make an entire meal.

I hope you enjoyed these vegetarian dishes, and decide to make them yourself.  

Enjoy!

Pesto Cucumber Wraps

6 spinach tortillas
8 oz cream cheese, (room temp)
2 cucumbers, cut into ling spears. no need to peel
3/4 c pesto

Spread cream cheese & pesto on each tortilla, then add 3 long cucumber spears and roll up like a burrito. Wrap a piece of parchment around the middle and tie with twine. Can be made several hours in advance.

This post contains affiliate links to items you can purchase, in which I get a small amount of compensation for at no cost to you. I bring you items that I actually use that are of great quality that I can pass along suggestions to you.

Quick and Easy Chinese Chicken Salad Wraps

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Want to minimize your lunch prep time?  You can have lunch for 3 in a snap (or 3 separate lunches) by making this Quick and Easy Chinese Chicken Salad Wrap.

Crazy good Chinese Chicken Salad is wrapped up in a soft flatbread to make one heck of a wrap that is the perfect solution to a workday or weekend lunch.

QUICK AND EASY CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD WRAPS

This wrap has it all.  It's is crunchy, wholesome, and zesty.  Plus it's portable, and damn tasty too!  Who doesn't love all the flavors of a good Chinese Chicken Salad, and now you can have a healthy, hearty meal in wrap form!  By using pre-cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken you can have this made in under 30 minutes.  And if you buy pre-chopped veggies you'll be done before you can blink!

Chinese Chicken Salad happens to be one of my favorites, so when I saw this recipe over on Carlsbad Cravings I knew I had to make my version of this dish.  

Lunch is an important meal in our household.  MGG takes a packed lunch to work everyday and on the weekend we like to go on picnics, or eat outside, alfresco!  This is the perfect little sandwich in a wrap that I can think of!  Of course, many different salad types will work in this recipe, however, why not try the pop of flavors, and textures in this one?

Enjoy!









Quick and Easy Chinese Chicken Salad Wraps
Adapted from Carlsbad Cravings

serves 3

3 Flatout Flatbreads 
1 1/4 cup shredded cooked chicken breasts
1 1/2 cup shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup Snow peas, julienned
1/2 cup red bell pepper, julienned

Dressing
1 1/2 Tbls.seasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbls. canola oil
1 1/2 Tbls. low sodium soy sauce
1/4 tsp sriracha
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Chili Mayo
1/4 cup lite mayonnaise
1 tsp Sriracha

Add all of the Dressing ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

Add chicken and all of the vegetables to the dressing and toss until evenly coated.

In a small bowl whisk the Chili Mayo ingredients together. Spread the entire surface of each Flatbread with approximately 1 tablespoon of spread.

Evenly divide the chicken and veggie filling and place down the middle of each flatbreads. Tightly roll up flatbreads and slice in half.

Cucumber and Cream Cheese Lavash Wraps

Yum

Sometimes you just need something really light to tide you over until you have a full meal.

Today's post is all about a simple snack or lunch you can make in a pinch!  MGG is Persian so we always have Lavash around the house.  Lavash is an unleavened flatbread that is thin and soft.  It's a staple in the Persian diet and has become a staple of mine as well.  We are using Lavash today to make quick Cucumber and Cream Cheese Lavash Wraps.

You can find Lavash in most grocery stores but if you can't,  then substitute with a tortilla or something like Flatout wraps,  but note the texture will be slightly different.

We tend to make wraps with Lavash as it is a good vessel because it is a large rectangular shaped bread that is thin and light.  Low in carbs,  they come in white or wheat varieties. 

These Cucumber and Cream Cheese Lavash Wraps morphed out of two favorite dishes.  An English cucumber sandwich, and a Middle Eastern snack of Lavash, tomato, cucumber, and feta.  Combined we have our light and tasty wraps!

This delicious little wrap is so easy to make it really isn't a recipe.  More like a preparation guide.  To make them stand out in flavor be sure to use quality ingredients. 3 ingredients (Lavash, cream cheese, and cucumbers) to heaven on a plate!  Get a good cream cheese.  If you like a flavored one pick one that will enhance the cucumbers such as chive and onion, or garden vegetable.  For the cucumbers make sure to get either Persian or English (hot house) cucumbers.  They are both crispy and taste fresh and light in this dish.   Then on to making the wraps.  All you have to do is a little slicing with the cucumbers and serve and eat!  Can't be more simple but is oh so satisfying.  Hope you try this soon!

Enjoy!




Cucumber and Cream Cheese Lavash Wraps

makes 1 wrap

1 piece of Lavash bread
cream cheese, spreadable consistency
1 large English cucumber, or 2-3 small Persian cucumbers, sliced thin

Place the Lavash on a work surface.  Spread with cream cheese almost to the edges.  Leave just a little room untouched.  Place cucumber slices side by side on the cream cheese.  Roll up the Lavash starting with the longest side.  Secure with a tooth pick if needed.  Cut into fourths, serve and eat!

Picnic in the Park: Mediterranean Chicken Wraps

I so glad that spring has been really good to us lately.  I love being outdoors!

Most weekends you can find us hiking, swimming, hanging at the beach or eating alfresco.  While the weather has been a little up and down lately we've had a perfect day for a picnic in the park!  So I seized the moment and packed us a scrumptious lunch, packed the blanket and headed to Griffith Park for an afternoon of leisurely fun and food.

I just love, love, love...all of our wonderful parks.  Griffith Park is a landmark in Los Angeles.  It's a huge 4300 acre area that houses the LA Zoo, the LA Observatory, the Greek Theatre among all the natural reserves that house a multitude of wildlife.  There are many trails for hiking and designated picnic areas.  It's a great place to spend the afternoon.

So we drove to a perfect picnic spot and started unwrapping out food goodies.  First up are these tasty Mediterranean Chicken Wraps.  Oh boy are these good!  Last night we grilled a Greek Lemon Chicken and I made sure we had leftovers for another use.  Perfect, as these were cut up and used in these wraps.  The rest of the ingredients are fresh veggies rolled up in a tortilla with the chicken and a sprinkling of cheese.  There you have it!  The perfect, portable, sandwich.  

A big bonus is you can eat them with your hands...less silverware.  Yea! The kids, heck, the whole family will love them.  They really are the perfect picnic dish.  They would be great to take to a concert in the park...hmmm I'm thinking Hollywood Bowl!  They have all the great flavors of the Mediterranean.  Simple, smart, tasty, and filling.  What better than that?

Enjoy!




Mediterranean Chicken Wraps

serves 2

Ingredients:
2 8-inch tortillas or wraps
1 grilled chicken breast, cut in slices1 cup of romaine, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 medium tomato, cubed
1/2 cucumber, seeded and julienned
2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
Directions:

Lay out two tortillas.  Divide the chicken, lettuce, bell pepper, cucumber and place them down the center.  Top with feta cheese.

Fold in two opposite sides of the tortilla toward the middle. Then roll the long side over, rolling tightly like a burrito to enclose all the ingredients.  Secure with a toothpick if needed.  To serve cut the wraps in half slicing on the diagonal.  

Serve and enjoy!

Note:  If you are taking these to another location, make sure to wrap them in parchment paper or aluminum foil to keep them fresh.

Thanksgiving Leftover Ideas - Let's Talk Turkey!

 

Happy Day after Thanksgiving!  I hope you all have a day filled with food, fun, family, friends...and a good movie!

Turkey leftovers?  I sure hope so!  Ending up with a bunch of Thanksgiving leftovers is the best!  You can do so much with them...even have another Thanksgiving plate. 

But the fun part is turning those ingredients into a different dish.  I have some delicious recipes that will fix you right up.  Today we'll concentrate on turkey since that is usually what we have most of!

Just click on the links below to take you to the detailed recipes.

Turkey Guacamole Wraps
These are a great way to use leftover turkey and serve a light lunch for the family or a crowd watching football games. 




Turkey Havarti Hot Sandwich
One of my favorite "hot" sandwiches.  The flavors are outstanding, and you'll just love it!




Turkey Salad Sandwich
Everyone just loves chicken salad.  Switch it up a bit and try it with turkey.  It really rocks!  And if you have home crescent rolls all the better.  A fresh croissant will do too!



Some other ideas:
Beth's Favorite Enchiladas - made with turkey

 

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup- yummy in your tummy!




Turkey Tetrazzini  -  a classic...



Enjoy Black Friday!