WSC Week 2, Mike's Favorite Lettuce Wraps

This recipe has 3 different parts; the main filling portion and two different sauces that can be made ahead of time if you wish:

Sauce 1

1/4 c sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon hot mustard powder
2 tablespoons water
1-2 teaspoons garlic and red chili paste

Stir Fry Sauce

4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
Mix together and set aside


Lettuce Wrap Ingredients
3 tablespoons oil (I used canola)
about 1 pound ground chicken breasts
1 cup water chestnuts (1 can seems to be just right)
2/3 cup mushrooms
3 tablespoons chopped sweet onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4-5 leaves lettuce, iceberg, romain, butter..whichever kind works for you

Directions:

1. Make the Sauce 1 by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl
2. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.
3. Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.  I placed mine in a plastic container with a lid so that I could shake it.
4. Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well, add more or less water/mustard powder until it has the consistence of regular yellow mustard
5.You will later add your desired measurement of this mustard and the garlic chili sauce to the Sauce 1 mixture to pour over the wraps...kinda like salsa on a taco. 
6. Cut/mince mushrooms and water chestnuts to about the size of small peas.
7. Bring oil to med heat in a large frying pan
8. Begin cooking ground chicken and cook until almost done and then add the onion, mushrooms, water chestnuts...you may have to add a little more oil for stir-frying this but do not over-cook the added veggies, you want them crisp-tender.
9. Add in the prepared stir-fry sauce and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce wraps.
10.  Use Sauce1 as your main sauce adding the chili garlic past and hot mustard to taste, be careful here and start out sparingly, they are both pretty hot but super flavorful.  Add this to your lettuce wrap after filled with meat mixture.
11.  I used rice crispy noodles for topping the wraps, (Liz's recomendation) and it really made it nice and crunchy.
12. We usually have plain white rice with the wraps, Mike adds the sauce to his rice.

All of the pictures I took of Mike and I making this dish disappeared off my camera...ugh!  I will try and recover them somehow and add them later.  I hope you like these, it is a favorite at the Adkins House.  Enjoy.

Cindy's Lettuce Wraps

David Eating Carla's Lettuce Wraps

Weekend Supper Club Week 1: Liz Moreland
Liz's Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti

2 tbs olive oil

1 medium sweet onion chopped

2-3 cups chopped white mushrooms

1 package fresh Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage links (approx 1.25 lb)

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

2 14.5oz can diced tomatoes (Italian seasoned is good)

1 1lb8oz jar spaghetti sauce (any brand)

½ cup red wine

1tbs balsamic vinegar

1 clove minced garlic

2 sprigs fresh rosemary (5in each)

1 lb dried penne pasta

½ cup parmesan cheese

3 cups mozzarella

¾ cup Italian seasoned panko breadcrumbs

Salt

Tin foil

Non-stick cooking spray

In the first large pot, fill with water. Add 1 tbs olive oil and salt the water. Bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add your penne and cook until al dente. When ready, drain the pasta and set aside.

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Turn range to medium heat. In a large sauce pan or dutch oven sweat the chopped onion in 1 tbs of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 4-5 minutes. During that time, remove the turkey sausage from its casings and smush or smash the sausage so it will crumble when cooked. Add the raw sausage to the onion and mushroom mixture and brown the sausage.  Chop the rosemary leaves. Add the rosemary and minced garlic to the sausage mixture and sauté for about a minute. Be sure not to burn the garlic, just soften it up. Have your wine ready because it’s time to deglaze the sausage mixture with the wine. At this point, you will have to guard the sausage mixture from your husband. He will come into the kitchen and try to steal a little taste of dinner. There is not enough for him to keep coming back so tell him he will just have to wait. Ok, turn down the heat to medium low on the sausage mixture. Open and add the canned tomatoes, juice and all to the sausage mixture. Next, add the jar of spaghetti sauce and the balsamic vinegar. Mix all of these ingredients together. Bring it to a simmer. Now it’s time. Fold the cooked penne into the sauce/sausage mixture. Stir in 2 cups of mozzarella cheese and ½ of the parmesan cheese. Pour pasta into the sprayed casserole dish. Top the pasta with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Sprinkle the Italian Panko on top of the cheese. Spray one side of the tin foil with non-stick cooking spray. Cover the casserole with the sprayed side of the foil.  Bake covered for 30 minutes and then uncovered for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

                                                    Sausage, Onion and Mushroom Mixture

                                                            Sauce and Sausage Mixture

                                                                  Fold in Penne

                                                                 Out of the oven

                                                            Husband Stealing Dinner

                                                                            Enjoy

                                                       Rosemary From My Garden