Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Cilantro Lime Rice

At the first sign of warm weather I started thinking about quick dinners perfect for warm nights during the week. The first dish I made was one I've made several times, but never shared here on the blog. It was inspired by one of my favorite restraints, Red Ginger. I rarely get to enjoy the perfect mood lighting, fine decor and amazing food of Red Ginger as its located 6 hours away in Traverse City, Michigan. After my first visit there I knew I had to find a way to recreate an appetizer I thoroughly enjoyed at the restaurant.


Asian Chicken Wraps. Delicious! I googled like a mad man to find something close to the magnificent and fresh flavors I had experienced. After a few tests I came up with something very close to the original. I couldn't have been happier!

I serve these wraps alongside Cilantro Lime Rice. It's add a perfect side dish and slight pop of flavor to go with the main dish. While I had these as an appetizer, I serve them as a meal. I make a large amount of the filling and buy a three pack of Romaine Lettuce. Trust me, you'll want to make the recipe in the quantity below if you're feeding a few people. It will be eaten!

I have posted a recipe that is along the same lines as this, but I used shredded chicken instead. (You can find that recipe here.) Either way, it's a perfectly delicious meal guaranteed to please the hungry stomach any night of the week.

Enjoy!

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

2-4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3 pounds ground chicken

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger

2 Tablespoons fresh Cilantro, chopped

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

3 Tablespoons rice vinegar

3-4 Tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 heads Romain Lettuce, minimum

Direction:

1. Prepare Romain Lettuce by cutting off the ends and cleaning thoroughly. Set aside.

2. Whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and hoisin sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

3. Cook chicken, in oil, until done. Add onion and cook until onions are tender.

3. Add garlic, ginger, and cilantro and cook until heated thoroughly.

5. Mix in sauce mixture and heat though. Serve along side Cilantro Lime Rice and Romain Lettuce.

6. Enjoy!

Cilantro Lime Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice
2 cups water
Juice of one lime
1-2 Tablespoon fresh Cilantro, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Cook rice as directed.
2. Halfway through cooking add the lime and cilantro.
3. Finish cooking and serve warm.

Gma D's Meatloaf w/ Creamy Lemon Pepper Quinoa and Aspargus

I've been putting a little (really not NEAR enough) work into putting together a family cookbook. I posted about this a while back and shared a family cookie recipe. You can find that post here. However, Life has certainly been busy my way and I've failed to do enough work on getting this cookbook together. It's time to change that! 

I'm starting the change right here and right now! Well, really it was a few nights ago that I started, but today is the day I share it. I hope to be working on the recipes, stories, photos, and the book overall in the coming months. I will share a few recipes here simply because I love this food and I want to spread the joy. I have such great memories to go along with the family recipes too. I grew up eating this food, what seemed to be, every Sunday at family lunch. I still love it to this day. 

One version of the book cover.

I've restarted my quest of the family cookbook with a hearty and delicious comfort food meal. I followed the recipe completely, but I added a little topping and delicious sides. Gma D's simple meatloaf was the perfect cold weather fixer comfort meal. It was so delicious I ate ALL of the plate I have photographed below. If you know me, that's out of the norm. It must have been good and I hungry. 

I have a few memories with this meatloaf but I have to say the first one that pops into my mind is not some great story. I can remember being very picky about meat growing up, I used to hate hamburger. One meat I could never fathom eating was deer. Not Bambi! I can't do it! Those were my thoughts and Im not ashamed to share them. (Side note: Curse you Disney for making me cry when I watched your movies! Pure torture. Haha) I just could never imagine eating deer meat. I vividly remember finishing an, as always, delicious Sunday dinner and being asked about the meal. I was asked how much I liked the meatloaf and if I noticed a difference...I was smart kid and knew where this was going after the difference question...then the bomb was dropped...I had eaten DEER MEAT! I completely blacked out and I don't remember a thing! I threw a terrible tantrum and cried for hours. Not Bambi!!

Okay, not really but that sounded like a good ending to the story. I do believe I made comment about Bambi, but it really wasn't all that dramatic. In the end, I enjoyed that meatloaf and that's what mattered. Sorry, Bambi. I have since learned to love some deer meat, but only in summer sausage form. Trust me, I can devour some deer summer sausage with cheddar and jalapeños. Yum! 

I think THIS is the face they got for making me eat deer meat. haha!

On to the recipes now that I've made you laugh, I hope at least a smile. A simple recipe and simple preparation. This isn't the best meatloaf on the planet but I thoroughly enjoyed it as a kid and I still love it to this day. You can't go wrong with a Grandma's cooking! The aroma of it baking brings back many memories of those Sunday lunches with the family. I hope you enjoy the recipe and create some everlasting memories of your own.

An added recipe for you to try is the Creamy Lemon Pepper Quinoa. DElicious! The Asparagus recipe can be found here.

Enjoy! 

Gma D's Meatloaf       [Printable Recipe]

Yields: 1 meatloaf or 3 mini loaves

Meatloaf Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/3 cup quick oats
1/3 cup saltine crackers, crushed (I used Ritz)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup sliced green onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup milk

Optional Parmesan Topping:

1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
1/3 cup Panko Bread Crumbs

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Form into a loaf or loaves and place into pan(s).
3. For the last 10 minutes of baking add the topping (simply mix both ingredients in a bowl) and finish cooking until crust is slightly browned.
4. Bake at 350º for 35-40 minutes.

Creamy Lemon Pepper Quinoa        [Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

1 cup dry Quinoa, tricolor or regular
2 cups water
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
Pepper, fresh cracked is best
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Prepare Quinoa as directed on the package except add the lemon juice with the water.
2. Once the quinoa starts to cook add pepper, to taste, and finish cooking.
3. When the quinoa is done, add the lemon zest and cream. Cook until slightly thickened.
4. Serve warm. This also reheats well and is even better tossed with some sautéed veggies.

Honey Dijon Salmon and Lemon Zested Quinoa

A fast and healthy meal…Really?! 

Photos by PB

Yes! Really. Look at that beauty above. I promise it's delicious and it will take just over 30 minutes. No joke.

I came across a recipe that inspired this dish in a daily email I receive. It's been lying in the back files of my mind for a few weeks now. I had some company coming that motivated me to try out this recipe I had in mind. Said company is also the photographer so I had to feed him. ;-) 

Here are a few photos taken during the cooking process. 

That's me! Showing that lemon who's boss. - Photo by PB

Yum! - Photo by PB

Photo by PB

This dish is incredibly; simple, cost effective, delicious and healthy (if you substitute the Olive Oil for butter). From the photo above you can see how few ingredients and dishes there are. The process is simple as well. Coat the Salmon and sprinkle with bread crumb/pecan mixture. Pop it in the oven and you're good to go. While the Salmon cooks the Quinoa will cook in the same amount of time. All done at once and ready to enjoy!

Apply the breadcrumbs and press them in just a bit. Photo by PB

All ready to hit the oven rack and bake! Photo by PB

Now onto the Lemon Zested Quinoa. First, fresh lemon juice is one of my favorite scents and fresh lemon zest is one of my favorite flavors to finish a dish. There's nothing like smelling the fresh squeezed lemon or tasting that little pop of flavor from the finishing touch of zest. Second, Quinoa...What in the heck is Quinoa?!

That was my first reaction when I saw it start popping up on Food Network and in magazines. It always looked delicious, but I never knew what it was or how it tasted. A recent trip (my first time) to a Trader Joes gave me a chance to discover what it was. The most important thing to know about it is this...it's unique texture and light flavor are perfect. While its unique flavor is good, it's even better with a hint of lemon. I highly recommend giving it a try. It's a little pricy when you look at the amount you get, but trust me 1 cup cooked up makes a few healthy servings! 

A little more in depth: Quinoa (which is actually a seed, not a grain) is quite nutritional. It has a healthy serving of protein, essential amino-acids and is gluten/cholesterol-free. A healthier substitute for rice, be sure to check it out. 

Quinoa cooking. Photo by PB

Time to get cooking...Enjoy!

Honey Dijon Salmon and Lemon Zested Quinoa         

Honey Dijon Salmon

Ingredients:

4 Salmon fillets

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled (or olive oil)

3 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

2 Tablespoons Honey

1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs

1/4 cup chopped Pecans

Olive Oil

Pepper

Directions:

1. Use Olive Oil to grease a 9x13 pan and preheat oven to 400º.

2. In a small bowl mix Butter, Dijon Mustard, and Honey.

3. In another small bowl mix the Pankp Bread Crumbs, Pecans and Pepper (to taste).

4. With a brush apply honey/mustard mix to the bottom of the salmon and place in the pan. Brush the top of the salmon with the honey/mustard mix. 

5. Sprinkle, generously, the bread crumb mix over the salmon and lightly press onto salmon.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until an internal temperature of 140º.

Lemon Zested Quinoa

Ingredients:

1 cup Tricolor or Regular Quinoa

2 cups water

juice of 1 Lemon

3 Green Onions (just the green)

Zest of one Lemon

Directions:

1. Be sure to wash the Quinoa before you use it. 

2. Mix the water and Quinoa in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.

3. Once boiling, reduce heat and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

4. After it's cooked add the lemon juice and onion. Remove from heat.

5. When ready to serve, top with Lemon Zest. Enjoy!

[Printable Recipe]

A sneak peek at the next post...

Coming Monday...Another quick and simple dinner. This one is healthy too!

Photo by PB

Honey Dijon Crusted Salmon and Lemony Quinoa

Simple Homemade Pasta Sauce - A quick dinner idea.

Life continues to be busy around my little world. While I am a big cook and I love it, there are nights I just don't have the time or energy. With simple and quick recipes like the one I share now, it makes it much easier to cook on those extra busy days. I am aiming at making more simple and quick meals for myself. No more of that fast food or pre-made meals. I figured with the busy schedule being a common thing, I might as well share my adventure and the recipes. 

Asparagus Mushroom Browned Butter Alfredo

Pasta, Vegetables, Heavy Cream and Cheese…sounds like a great dinner to me.

As you can see, a great dinner it was. 

At first bite, I decided this was a recipe that I just had to share. While I've tried to start gearing the blog back to the sugary treats, I can't help but share some of my savory dishes. In fact, I may start doing it more. After all, this IS a food blog about MY culinary journey.

Anywho, back to this deeeelicious dish. I had a craving for some fresh vegetables and pasta which led to this recipe. As I was thinking of what to make I figured why not throw them in some alfredo sauce. I've made an Alfredo sauce before, but I thought it was a bit heavy and missing something. I searched around the net at various recipes. I found it hard to settle on just one or find any real inspiration from what I did find. So, that made me get off my toosh and get in the kitchen and create my own. 

While I was in the midst of creating this recipe there was a slight, or so I thought, mishap with my favorite ingredient...Butter. I LOVE butter. When you sauté with butter, you must watch it…I didn't. When I turned back to the stove (I was chopping veggies. Be sure to do this step before you start cooking. haha) the butter had brown, verging on quickly becoming burnt butter. Thank goodness I had ninja reflexes and saved the butter. It had browned just enough to add that extra layer of flavor to the final sauce. Lessons learned and a better dish from a little scare. 

This recipe is very simple and quick. I urge you to give it a try and leave comment on your own cooking experience. Here's the recipe...

Asparagus Mushroom Browned Butter Alfredo

makes 3 servings

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 cup fresh asparagus, cut

1/4 cup butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups Parmesan, shredded

1/4 cup Applewood Smoke Gruyere cheese, shredded

2-3 teaspoons dry parsley (1/4 cup fresh)

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz dry pasta (I used Fiori)

Directions:

1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Salt and add pasta. Cook until al dente. 

2. Heat oil and add onions. Cook until almost translucent, then add mushrooms and garlic. Cook until liquid from mushrooms is reduced. Add Asparagus and cook until asparagus is just tender.

3. In a medium saucepan cook butter until browned, then add cream. Bring to a simmer then add Parmesan. Cook until melted. Add the Gruyere and cook until melted. Add parsley, salt and pepper. 

4. Assemble; place pasta in a bowl, add a layer of vegetable, and top with sauce. Enjoy!

OH AND Breadsticks! I didn't alter the ingredients in the recipe I found here from Over The Big Moon. I did, however prepare mine in two different ways. I made one large loaf after a little kneading and cut it into strips. I then twisted each strip a little and placed them, spaced apart, in a pan. To add some flavor I melted butter with garlic and parsley. I then brush the mixture on the dough just before placing in the oven. With 10 minutes left to bake I sprinkled the breadsticks with shredded Parmesan.