One Recipe, Three Flavors

I was hoping to share my annual birthday planning post for the little guy, but we've all come down with what seems to be a summer cold. Wop, wop. So, I figure if I share the plans, that'll pretty much guarantee that we'll have to postpone the thing (which may happen, anyway). So, instead, I'm sharing a recipe we used last night that really worked for us. Hopefully we'll all be felling super great by the weekend and you can hear our theme/plans after the big hurrah next week.
 
We've been up to our ears in lettuces thanks to the CSA, so I've wanted to try something, ANYTHING besides salad (which I currently have zero appetite for; maybe if I could make a dressing that appeals to my pregnant whims). Since I'm not brave enough to cook the stuff, I decided to try lettuce wraps.

I had doubts if they'd meet the "needs" of all three of our taste buds. The little guy likes salad but not chicken (weird, I know), so it would need a heavier sauce to mask the chicken - enter honey mustard. Mine was going to have an Asian style dressing. Because Dave's not a fan of those flavors, I decided to treat him to a little buffalo sauce (made all the healthier by the fact that it was just a drizzle and the rest of the ingredients were super healthy).

And, against the usual odds, we all liked it. The most skeptical of all (Dave) loved it and requested it again...soon. When I do make it, I think I'll do a peanut-based Asian sauce for mine, just for something a little different.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Three Ways

(or as Hadley calls them, "Lettuce Tacos")

serves 3, but can be adjusted easily

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Romaine lettuce leaves, washed & dried (12+ leaves)

Two carrots, julienned

A few inches of cucumber, julienned

Mushrooms, chopped (I didn't have any, but would improve it)

Various grape tomatoes, sliced

S&P

* Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Grill on grill pan for 8-10 minutes (until cooked through) and shred/chop. Use dry lettuce leaves as a base and fill with ingredients. Drizzle with sauce of your choice. (Our lettuce was smaller than usual Romaine, so you could cut larger pieces in half to make easier to eat.)

Dressings (enough for one serving of 4 wraps):

Honey Mustard

- Equal parts local honey & yellow mustard

*Mix ingredients together. Bam.

Asian Drizzle
- 4-5 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
- ~ 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
- dash sesame oil
- drizzle honey or sprinkle of brown sugar
- dash red pepper flakes
- splash of water (optional; was too wet this way)
*Mix all ingredients together. To create thicker sauce, cook down in saucepan for 5+ minutes.

Buffalo Sauce- 2-3 Tbsp. butter
- about 3-4 Tbsp. hot sauce
- dash cayenne pepper
- sprinkle of white vinegar
* Microwave butter until melted, then add the rest of ingredients. Mix.

See? Even fit for a toddler. Honey mustard is a savior around these parts.

BTW, everything except the chicken was organic (and that was natural and humanely raised, so whatchya gonna do?). I threw some berries (strawberries & two types of raspberries from the farmers' market) on the side to round it out; I also grabbed some cottage cheese when I was done just to fill up a little more, but the boys were fine without. Pregnancy will do that to ya.

Now, if anyone has ideas for fennel (I am NOT a fan, but am willing to try new things...gulp), chard, salad turnips, and a ton more lettuce, I'm up for suggestions.

Just know that I've got some pickiness going on in the house. ;-)