LETTUCE WRAPS

This recipe is from the website: recipezaar.com

Chicken Lettuce Wraps Like Pf Changs - Copycat Recipe #178146

I LOVE PF Changs Lettuce Wraps, but we live a long distance from the nearest of their restaurants. When I start craving their lettuce wraps, I make this copycat recipe, and my husband says they are even better than Changs. You be the judge. They are a little work, but well worth the effort.

by BamaKathy

45 min | 30 min prep

SERVES 6

• 8 dried shiitake mushrooms or fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons dry sherry
• 2 teaspoons water
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs ground chicken
• 5 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 green onions, minced
• 2 small dried chilies (optional)
• 1 (8 ounce) can bamboo shoots, minced
• 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, minced
• 1 (2 ounce) package cellophane noodles, prepared according to package

Cooking Sauce

• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 12 leaves iceberg lettuce, cups

1. (If you used dried mushrooms, cover mushrooms with boiling water, let stand 30 minutes then drain.) Cut and discard woody stems from mushrooms. Mince mushrooms. Set aside.
2. Mix all ingredients for cooking sauce in bowl, and set aside.
3. In medium bowl, combine cornstarch, sherry water, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and chicken. Stir to coat chicken thoroughly. Stir in 1 teaspoons oil and let sit 15 minutes to marinate.
4. Heat wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add 3 TBSP oil, then add chicken and stir fry for about 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. Add 2 TBSP oil to pan. Add ginger, garlic, chilies(if desired. I leave these out), and onion; stir fry about a minute or so.
6. Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts; stir fry an additional 2 minutes.
7. Return chicken to pan. Add mixed cooking sauce to pan. Cook until thickened and hot. Break cooked cellophane noodles into small pieces, and cover bottom of serving dish with them. Then pour chicken mixture on top of noodles. Spoon into lettuce leaf and roll.

My personal "Healthier Version"

• The first thing I do is get the core out of the head of lettuce by grabbing with both hands, with the core side down. Bring it down hard against something like the counter or a solid table. The core should lift right out for you.
• Next, put into a deep bowl, run cool water into the head itself until the bowl is full and water covers the whole head. I throw in some ice cubes to make it nice and cold to crisp the lettuce better. Set that aside and start chopping!
• I started making these when I was losing weight and realized that veggies are really good in them. Today I used: red peppers, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, celery, onion, zucchini, minced garlic, water chestnuts, a small amount of cooked rice and chicken.
• Dice all of it very small, 1/4 inch at the largest. Use the food processor if needed.
• **Stir fry all of the ingredients starting with the meat. As soon as it is cooking, start adding the veggies starting with the veggies that take longer to cook. I do this when stir frying anything so that it can all come out with some crunch left in the veggies.
• This will not take long so have your soy sauce ready to sprinkle in just before you take it off the heat. I use low salt soy sauce so that I can have more of the flavor without so much salt. There are also teriyaki sauces that would be good if you like that flavor combination. Some times when it is just me home, I have been known to add a little sweet & sour sauce to make it zingggg!

When the filling is ready, pull the head of lettuce in half starting at the hole where the core used to be.

• Scoop some filling up in a spoon and spread on your leaf ( I often double the leaves for more crunch)
• Roll it up and enjoy!!

Other Ideas:

• I use many different ingredients:
• Just about any vegetable can go into it.
• Besides chicken, I have also used beef, pork, chopped and ground.
• Instead of rice, I have used different Asian noodles, chopped up into small pieces.
• Try nuts chopped up in your food processor! If you like cashew chicken try that in the wrap form, peanuts and almonds are also yummy.

STIR FRYING:

If you have never stir fried, don't be afraid to try it! It isn't that hard and you will be surprised at how much you love it. I even do an Italian type stir fry that we put over the pasta with a light sauce drizzled over the top!

• A wok is nice, but the most important thing is that it is a heavier weight. I use my cast iron skillet quite often.
• The next thing is that, if you use an oil that has a higher smoking point, it will be a lot easier. I use peanut oil a lot. A little sesame oil added to the oil will give it a wonderful nutty flavor. When I am not going so Asian, like when I do the Italian stir fry, I use vergin olive oil. If you want heart healthy, use olive oil all the time. You do need to use high temperature to get the stir fry "yumminess" .
• Chop all of your ingredients
• Heat pan, add oil.
• When a piece of meat sizzles when it is put into the pan, go ahead nad add the rest of the meat. Stir constantly using a large shallow spoon, scoop or spatula. This is called stir fry and the difference is that the food is on the move in your pan all the time.
• When the meat looks about half done, start piling the vegetables in, starting with the ones that take longer to cook, such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower.

I hope this make sense. If it doesn't, feel free to ask questions, I won't be offended and my "editor" (daughter) is kind of busy these days.

This post is very long, so I will post the one using dehydrated foods in a couple of days! Guess the chille rellenos will have to wait until tomorrow, life still goes on!

LETTUCE WRAPS COMING UP LATER TODAY

A three year old munchkin is "helping" Nanny this morning . . I will get this (Lettuce Wraps) on later today after dropping him off . . . with pictures even. I'll even through in Chile Rellenos while I'm at it . . . I'm in the mood and have some pictures!

WONDER BOX BBQ PORK

My serger just gave me fits, again, so I am taking a short break and will get this one real quick. If it keeps this up, I may have to take it in for another tune up . . . it's only been . . . say 5 or 6 years . . what's the deal . . anyway?

I thawed some of the thick pork chops from Costco.

• Split them to about 3/4 inch thick.
• Browned them, put them into a roasting bag.
• Poured in the BBQ sauce (about 1 1/2 cups).
• Shake it all up, turn yourself around . . oh wait, that's a song.
• Roll it around to coat the chops, add more sauce if you like it that way.
• Squeeze the air out. Place the bag into the pot, filled pot with water to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch from top.
• Hang the bag top out of the top of the pot, put on the lid.
• Bring to a boil for about 12-15 minutes.
• While it is boiling, get the wonder box ready. I line it with a towel since the very full pots tend to get dribbles, etc.
• Use a similar sized pan to make the hole in the middle.
• When the food had been boiling for time needed, put it into the wonder box quickly. Have the WB lid ready and cover immediately!

I left it for 7 hours. When I checked the temperature, it was at 143 degrees. Here's the results! Oh, the other results is . . . NO hot

kitchen! Gotta love it . . and I do!

The pork was well done and fairly tender, not to the point that it would have been falling off bones, if there had been any, but OK for shredding up for sandwiches.

Everyone that tried it seemed to enjoy it. . . . well, everyone except Garrett. Mariah said the she saw him working his mouth and then suddenly out came his tongue and the meat, while keeping the bread in his mouth. He has never liked meat, since he started eating solids. Mariah has her challenges between that and her "can't have soy" kiddo!

And now back the evil serger . . . wish me luck.

I would like a great BBQ Sauce recipe . . anyone have one they would be willing to share? So far, I have been disappointed in the ones that I have tried.

Wonder box . . . Changed my mind . . . Pork

I changed my mind (it's OK, I am a woman after all!) when I was digging in my freezer last night and thawed out thick pork chops . . Pretty good . . . pics and results coming later tonight!

Wonder Box . . . The Secret!

I reread all the articles that I could find about the Wonder Box. I realized what I was doing wrong!

The pot that is holding the food needs to be FULL! I had been leaving head space so they were losing heat too fast.

Yesterday, I made a stew using a small pouch of pretty gristled beef chunks. I used fresh potatoes, frozen corn (thawed), dehydrated diced carrots (rehydrated), and dried mushrooms (broken up), beef broth powder.

I boiled it for about 12 minutes with the lid on. I took and put into the wonder box very quickly, and covered it for 7 hours.

The potatoes were cooked soft, not mushy, and the meat was actually tenderized. When I took the lid off and it was still at 169 degrees.

Tomorrow I will make BBQ chicken in a roasting bag to try the same technique . . . make sure the pot is full of water around the bag! I will try to take pictures as well.

7 Mistakes of Food Storage ---Vicki Tate

1. Variety

Most people don’t have enough variety in their storage. 95% of the people I’ve worked with have only stored four basic items: wheat, milk, honey, and salt. Statistics show most of us won’t survive on such a diet for several reasons.

a) Many people are allergic to wheat and may not be aware of it until they are eating it meal after meal.

b) Wheat is too harsh for young children. They can tolerate it in small amounts but not as their main staple.

c) We get tired of eating the same foods over and over and many times prefer to not eat, then to sample that particular food again.

This is called appetite fatigue. Young children and older people are particularly susceptible to it. Store less wheat than is generally suggested and put the difference into a variety of other grains, particularly ones your family likes to eat. Also store a variety of beans, as this will add color, texture, and flavor. Variety is the key to a successful storage program. It is essential that you store flavorings such as tomato, bouillon, cheese, and onion.

Also, include a good supply of the spices you like to cook with. These flavorings and spices allow you to do many creative things with your grains and beans. Without them you are severely limited. One of the best suggestions I can give you is buy a good food storage cookbook, go through it, and see what your family would really eat. Notice the ingredients as you do it. This will help you more than anything else to know what items to store.

2. Extended staples

Never put all your eggs in one basket. Store dehydrated and/or freeze dried foods as well as home canned and “store bought” canned goods. Make sure you add cooking oil, shortening, baking powder, soda, yeast, and powdered eggs. You can’t cook even the most basic recipes without these items.

3. Vitamins

Vitamins are important, especially if you have children, since children do not store body reserves of nutrients as adults do. A good quality multi-vitamin and vitamin C are the most vital. Others might be added as your budget permits.

4. Quick and easy and “psychological foods”

Quick and easy foods help you through times when you are psychologically or physically unable to prepare your basic storage items. “No cook” foods such as freeze-dried are wonderful since they require little preparation, MREs (Meal Ready to Eat), such as many preparedness outlets carry, canned goods, etc. are also very good. “Psychological foods” are the goodies—Jello, pudding, candy, etc.—you should add to your storage. These may sound frivolous, but through the years I've talked with many people who have lived entirely on their storage for extended periods of time. Nearly all of them say these were the most helpful items in their storage to “normalize” their situations and make it more bearable. These are especially important if you have children.

5. Balance

Time and time again I’ve seen families buy all of their wheat, then buy all of another item and so on. Don’t do that. It’s important to keep well-balanced as you build your storage. Buy several items, rather than a large quantity of one item. If something happens and you have to live on your present storage, you’ll fare much better having a one month supply of a variety of items than a year’s supply of two or three items.

6. Containers

Always store your bulk foods in food storage containers. I have seen literally tons and tons of food thrown away because they were left in sacks, where they became highly susceptible to moisture, insects, and rodents. If you are using plastic buckets make sure they are lined with a food grade plastic liner available from companies that carry packaging supplies. Never use trash can liners as these are treated with pesticides. Don’t stack them too high. In an earthquake they may topple, the lids pop open, or they may crack. A better container is the #10 tin can which most preparedness companies use when they package their foods.

7. Use Your Storage

In all the years I’ve worked with preparedness one of the biggest problems I’ve seen is people storing food and not knowing what to do with it. It’s vital that you and your family become familiar with the things you are storing. You need to know how to prepare these foods. This is not something you want to have to learn under stress. Your family needs to be used to eating thesefoods. A stressful period is not a good time to totally change your diet. Get a good food storage cookbook and learn to use these foods! It’s better to find out the mistakes you’ll make now while there’s still time to make corrections.

It’s easy to take basic food storage and add the essentials that make it tasty, and it needs to be done. As I did the research for my cookbook, Cooking with Home Storage, I wanted to include recipes that gave help to families no matter what they had stored. As I put the material together it was fascinating to discover what the pioneers ate compared to the types of things we store. If you have stored only the basics, there’s very little you can do with it. By adding even just a few things, it greatly increases your options, and the prospect of your family surviving on it. As I studied how the pioneers lived and ate, my whole feeling for food storage changed. I realized our storage is what most of the world has always lived on. If it’s put together the right way we are returning to good basic food with a few goodies thrown in.

USING POWDERED MILK . . . . MAGIC MIX . . . . and . . . WHAT TO DO WITH IT

USING DRY MILK TO INCREASE NUTRITION IN YOUR OWN RECIPES

Adding additional milk to the recipe will enhance the nutritive value of the recipe. In any recipe calling for milk, simply add the dry milk to the other ingredients. Sift to blend, then add water for the milk, called for in the recipe.

• For use in meat loaf, hamburgers, etc., use ¼ - ½ c. per pound of meat.
• In mashed potatoes- add ¼ c. per cup of potatoes. To bring the potatoes to the correct consistency, use water, water the potatoes were cooked in or broth.
• Cooked cereals- add ¼ - ½ c. to each cup of cereal before cooking. I usually add additional water when I cook mine, then mix milk powder to sugar, sprinkle on top, and mix.
• Any time a recipe calls for milk, I figure how much powder to make the milk. Add up to 50% and add that to increase the nutrition.

MAGIC MIX

• 4 cups instant (2 1/3 c. non-instant) dry milk

• 1 cup flour or 1/2 cup cornstarch

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of margarine

Combine dry milk, flour, and margarine into large bowl and mix until it looks like cornmeal. Keep covered in the refrigerator. (Makes 5 cups Magic Mix)

image from: everydayfoodstorage.net

**Magic Mix can be used to make many recipes quickly and economically

WHITE SAUCE -- makes 1 cup

• 2/3 CUP Magic Mix
• 1 cup cool water

In sauce pan combine Magic Mix and cool water.Stir rapidly over medium heat until it starts to bubble

MACARONI & CHEESE -- makes 4 servings

• 1 cup White Sauce made from Magic Mix
• 1 cup uncooked macaroni
• 4-5 oz. grated cheese (about 1 cup)
• 1/2- - 1 tsp. salt or garlic salt (optional)

Cook macaroni in boiling water until tender, drain. Combine macaroni, white sauce, cheese, and seasoning.

CREAM SOUP -- Serves 4

• 4 cups water
• 1 cube or 1 tsp. bouillon granules
• 2 cups Magic Mix

Add one or more of the following:

• 3 cooked carrots, mashed
• 3 potatoes, cooked, chopped & 1 Tbs. cooked, chopped onion
• 1 can chopped clams
• 1 package chopped spinach, cooked
• 1 can cream style corn & 1 Tbs. onion, cooked, chopped

Combine water, magic mix and bouillon in sauce pan. Stir over medium heat until slightly thick. Add desired ingredients. Heat thoroughly.