asian lettuce wraps

Stu loves the movie Ratatouille. He likes to to pretend he is Remi and sit on my shoulders and pull my hair like Remi does to help Linguini cook. Well, this is getting harder since I am pregnant and Stu is getting heavier. I suggested he actually help make the dinner and he was so excited. He loved chopping the water chestnuts with his little dull kid knife, he loved throwing the ingredients in, and the best part is that he loved the finished product. He gobbled these right up. I think normally there would have been resistance, but since he helped make it I think he was happy to eat it! Mike and I both loved these and they came together really fast, a great week night meal!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Yield: Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients

Lettuce Wrap Filling:
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 lb ground turkey (or chicken, I used turkey)
• 1 cup minced mushrooms (I omitted these because I don't like mushrooms)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, minced
• 1/2 cup minced green onions
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 lemon, zested and then juiced.
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 head iceberg lettuce

Directions

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot add minced garlic and ginger. Saute for a minute just until fragrant and then add in the ground turkey (or chicken), minced mushrooms, and salt. Cook until turkey or chicken is cooked through.
2. Add in the water chestnuts and green onions. Cook for a few minutes. Add in the soy sauce, sesame oil, juice and zest from the lemon, and hot sauce. When everything is cooked through, remove from heat and stir in the cilantro.
3. To serve, carefully separate the whole leaves from the lettuce. Wash the lettuce leaves and wrap them in paper towels and put them in the refrigerator so they are cold and crisp when serving. Spoon turkey (or chicken) filling onto the lettuce leaf and then roll it up.

*The original recipe gives a dipping sauce, but Mike and I did not like it and thought these were delicious without any sauce!

Recipe Source: adapted from http://www.melskitchencafe.com