I Love Anything Wrapped

I don't know why, but I do, lol. I've recently discovered a few recipes that are pretty healthy and have great flavor. They are both fillings for wraps. Yum.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

16 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons minced pickled ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Asian chile pepper sauce (optional)
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil

Directions:
Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions, and sesame oil, and continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito, and enjoy!

*I didn't have any onions when I made this and so I substituted asparagus (sounds weird, but I had a lot of it that needed to be used). I'm sure that the onions will be better next time I make this, but I was really good even with the asparagus.

Click here to find the printable version

Salsa Chicken Burrito Filling

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (4 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup salsa
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
hot sauce to taste
Directions

Place chicken breasts and tomato sauce in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, then add the salsa, seasoning, cumin, garlic and chili powder. Let simmer for 15 minutes.
With a fork, start pulling the chicken meat apart into thin strings. Keep cooking pulled chicken meat and sauce, covered, for another 5 to 10 minutes. Add hot sauce to taste and stir together (Note: You may need to add a bit of water if the mixture is cooked too high and gets too thick.)

*I accidently added double the tomato sauce on this and it still turned out great! I was nervous adding all of the spices because I thought it might be to strong for the kids. I knew it was a winner when Grace loved it. She's the picky kid these days and she asked for seconds. She's even asked when I'm going to make it again.

Click here to find the printable version