Pretty Darn Close: Asian Ginger Wagyu Beef Lettuce Wraps

I'm a big fan of recipes that try to replicate restaurant classics, especially when they come out close to or better than the real thing. Last night, I decided to try and recreate the lettuce cups from P.F. Chang's. I had these for the first time with my aunt when they first came out years ago and have loved them ever since! This recipe is a VERY close second, and knowing I made it at home (and knowing exactly what went into it and that fresh, quality ingredients were used) helped me feel better about keeping healthy. Plus, low carb at night helps my stomach look a teeeeeeeensy bit flatter in the morning. ;)

The trick to this recipe is the vinegar/soy cocktail poured over the meat at the end. It gives it complex flavor while adding the perfect amount of tang.

Ingredients

1 pound Wagyu beef (or any lean ground beef)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves fresh garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus one tablespoon reserved
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons minced pickled ginger
1 and 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar (I used rice vinegar, but you can use rice wine vinegar too. What's the difference?), plus 2 tablespoons reserved
2 teaspoons Asian chili pepper sauce
2 (8 ounce) cans water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 bunch scallions, chopped
2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil
Peanuts, chopped
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
1 head iceberg lettuce

Directions

In a nonstick skillet, brown the beef (Wagyu beef cooks quickly!). Transfer the beef to a bowl and keep warm while you make the sauce.

In the same pan, add the olive oil and saute the onion until slight;y translucent. When the onions are limp and nearly cooked through, add the garlic and sautee for about 2 minutes, until fragrant.

To the onion and garlic, add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, rice vinegar, and chili pepper sauce to the onions, and stir to combine. (You can add water here if you want your sauce a bit thinner.)

Stir in water chestnuts, scallions and sesame oil and allow to come to a slow simmer.

Once slightly bubbling, add the browned ground beef and stir to coat. While this is heating through, mix your reserved rice vinegar and soy sauce in a small bowl.

**Most important part!** When everything is combined and heated through, pour the soy/rice vinegar mixture over the meat.

Wash and pat the lettuce dry and then peel the lettuce to reveal little lettuce "cups." Arrange the lettuce cups on the plate, with matchstick carrots and other veggie toppings of your choice on the side. Put the meat in the center of your plate and garnish with chopped peanuts. I serve this dish with additional soy and rice vinegar in a cup on the side, but you can also serve with asian chili sauce, soy sauce, spicy mustard sauce or hoisin sauce. Spoon the meat mixture into a lettuce cup, add your toppings and enjoy!



Adapted from: http://dinnersforayear.blogspot.com/2010/09/crispy-beef-lettuce-wraps.html

My First Lasagna

More new recipe posts coming soon after a weekend full of cooking. (What else is a girl to do when she's stuck inside during a hurricane?) Thankfully, we had power the entire time!

Best Ever Lunch

 

God I love not working! (I have a week of in between jobs and plan to spend most of it cooking.) 

Seared filet mignon with melted gorgonzola cheese, bacon and gorgonzola mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans. A-mazing (and another 10/10 for the potatoes on the Guinea Pig scale!) 

Not a dieter's delight, but oh so worth it!  

Super Easy Dinner Alert: Chicken Christmas

Chicken Noel, or Chicken Christmas as my Guinea Pig likes to call it, is a comfort food dinner (unless you lighten it up like I do) that is quick, easy and tastes like you've spent more than just 25 minutes preparing it. I have this on fall and winter weeknights (yes, it is midsummer, but hey!) when I know I really should cook something for myself instead of calling the local pizza place or settling on a "wine dinner" - haha. Five pantry staples and a few minutes later and you're in action.

I use this as my jumping off point and then add whatever I have on hand that night/week to spice it up- vegetables, cheese, spices. Fresh mushrooms are excellent in this! Get creative and tell me what worked for you.

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cubed or shredded, however you like)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup (go ahead and get the light/98% fat free if you want to be good!)
1 cup sour cream or plain nonfat yogurt (I use whichever I have on hand; again use fat free if you want)
1/2 cup of cooking sherry
Paprika

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the soup, sour cream/yogurt and sherry. Whisk.

Season the chicken breasts to your liking (I actually made this one time with Montreal Chicken Seasoning and it was great!) and place in a lightly sprayed 9x13 pan.

Coat the chicken with the liquid mixture and sprinkle with paprika.

[Add in any "extras" after the chicken is coated.]

Bake at 350 for an hour and serve over rice.



Recipe adapted and photo borrowed from http://www.bluefeathermedia.com/table-talk-chicken-noel.

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

I've been combing thorough my favorite recipe books and websites in search of some new recipes that incorporate more proteins than I'm used to cooking. I've been trying to run more and want to build muscle in my legs faster so I'm trying to up my intake. (And having three brothers that are all super into lifting, strength training and protein shakes is a good motivator!)
This dish was simple to prepare and really unexpected! The garlic panko crumbs make this dish and I will use the panko "soaking" method whenever a recipe calls for bread crumbs or panko again. The feta was just strong enough to make the dish savory and decadent, but was not overpowering.

I would absolutely make this again and think I'll play around with this as an appetizer for dinner parties! Look at that perfectly golden crust!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for baking dish
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup panko
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, 21 - 25 per pound, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a small saucepan over medium heat add butter and olive oil.  When butter begins to just bubble, remove the pan from the heat and add the garlic.  Let sit for 3 - 5 minutes.  Add the panko and stir to combine.  Set aside.

Brush a 9-inch baking dish with a little olive oil.  Add the shrimp and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Top with the tomatoes, then the garlic panko and sprinkle the feta.  Bake for 12 minutes or until the shrimp are just cooked through.  Remove from oven and top with the basil.

I sincerely wish I could take ANY credit at all for this recipe, but it's yet another from my favorite blog.

Peanut Butter Hummus

Before hummus became an "in" snack, we had already been eating it for years! My dad likes more interesting foods and we grew up with delicious, but not yet "in" things like homemade hummus, fresh gazpacho (I still need to get his recipe for this) and liverwurst. (I think I liked that until I knew what it was.)

I had a container of plain yogurt in the fridge from the Oriental Chicken Salad I made last week and always have cans of chick peas and fresh lemons on hand, so I thought I'd try hummus. When I made this "lightened up" dish, it tasted exactly like the one we had growing up. The peanut butter is a really great substitue for tahini (sesame paste). I'd take this over the Sabra brand anyday.

Ingredients:

1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tsp. creamy peanut butter
2 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp Kosher salt
Juice of one lemon
1/8 tsp allspice

Directions:

Put everything into a food processor or Magic Bullet and blend until creamy and thick. Adjust spices accordingly.

Oriental Chicken Salad

I was looking for a fresh and healthy lunch that would keep me full for hours. I dug out one of my mom's old Weight Watchers cookbooks (disclaimer: Mom has never been on Weight Watchers! She loved the fresh salsa recipe and my brother gave her the cookbook for Christmas years ago.) and started tagging pages left and right.There are so many fast, healthy and different recipes in this cookbook!(Be prepared for multiple Weight Watchers recipe postings!)

I found an Oriental Chicken salad with red bell peppers and a peanut butter "dressing" that I thought would be good, and I was right. I served this over romaine lettuce, but next time I think I'd try this over a Napa cabbage instead.

It was colorful, refreshing, different, but still felt sort of like a guilty pleasure. This is a good summer picnic food if you can keep it cold long enough. See what you think!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 T creamy peanut butter (use full fat for the most flavor)
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 t Asian sesame oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
6 scallions
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 8 oz. can water chestnuts (don't skip this- it really added texture)
handful of Chinese noodles
Salt and pepper to taste
Lettuce (or cabbage)

Directions:

Combine the yogurt, peanut butter, oil, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, salt and pepper with a food processor or Magic Bullet.

In a separate bowl, combine the red bell pepper, chicken, lettuce (or cabbage- whatever you are using), water chestnuts. When the "dressing" is blended, pour over the veggie mixture and separate into portions.

Dress each portion with scallion and Chinese noodles.