Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Edited to add:

Okay, this recipe was so good. I did make several changes, though. Here's what I did.

Filling (these measurements are definitely not exact):
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli
1/2 cup finely chopped cauliflower
1/4 chopped red onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1 small can water chestnuts, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
4 chicken breast tenderloins (marinated and grilled), finely chopped

Chicken Marinade (basically the stir fry sauce)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar

I sauteed the veggies, oil and stir fry sauce (listed below) over medium heat. I stirred it occasionally and left it covered until the veggies were soft. I then added the chopped chicken and stirred it all together. I added some of the special sauce at the end and then served the lettuce wraps with the rest of the sauce on the side. I didn't have hot mustard, so I omitted that from the special sauce, but other than that I used the recipe below.

This recipe claims to be like PF Changs Lettuce Wraps--we'll see. I'll probably make a couple of substitutions since I am not going to the grocery store and I need to use what I have on hand. I'll use cucumber and carrots instead of mushrooms and water chestnuts, and I'll probably grill the chicken instead of sauteeing it. Maybe I'll marinate the chicken in some of the stir fry sauce.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons oil
2 chicken breasts
1 cup water chestnuts
2/3 cup mushrooms
3 tablespoons chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4-5 leaves iceburg lettuce

Special Sauce
1/4 cup 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
2 teaspoons water
1-2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions
Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil. Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve. Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well. Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan. Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done. Remove chicken from the pan and cool.

Keep oil in the pan, keep hot. As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas. Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl. When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are. With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil. Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan. Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"cups". Top with"Special Sauce".

Grilled chicken with Sage, Rosemary, and Garlic Dried Herb Rub

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 T dried sage
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1 tsp. dried garlic
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Marinade:

• 2 T white wine vinegar
• 5 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. minced garlic

Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts, then make tiny slits crosswise down the length of each chicken breast. (This helps the marinade to penetrate the meat better.)Combine the herbs and rub chicken on both sides with the herb mixture, rubbing it in until all the dried herbs are used.Put chicken in a Ziploc bag or flat plastic container. Whisk together marinade ingredients, then pour over chicken. Seal bag or container and marinate chicken in refrigerator all day. (If you're home, turn it a few times, but it's not essential.)

To cook, spray grill with nonstick spray or olive oil, then remove chicken from refrigerator and let it come to room temperature while gas or charcoal grill preheats to medium-high. (You can only hold your hand there for a few seconds at that temperture.) For grill marks, cook chicken 4-5 minutes on first side, then rotate and cook 4-5 minutes more before turning chicken over. Total cooking time will be 15-20 minutes, but chicken is done when it feels firm to the touch and is lightly browned on both sides. Serve hot.

Cheesy Zucchini with Garlic

2-3 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices (if zucchini are large, cut in half or fourths lengthwise, then slice)
1 T olive oil
4-6 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
pinch sea salt
2 T chopped flat parsley
2 T grated parmesan
1/4 cup grated mozarella

With stove set to medium, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan with a lid. Add sliced garlic and saute about 1 minute, until you start to smell garlic. Add squash and stir to coat with oil, then cover and cook 4 minutes, stirring once or twice. After 4 minutes, check to see if there is a lot of liquid and whether squash is tender. Cook 1-2 more minutes, uncovered until zucchini is tender-crisp and liquid is evaporated.

Sprinkle squash with salt and chopped parsley and stir to wilt parsley. Add parmesan and stir until it melts, about 1 minute. Sprinkle mozarella cheese over the squash, cover pan again and turn off the heat. Let sit 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted and serve hot.

Parmesean Encrusted Zucchini

4 medium zucchini
salt, for cooking zucchini
1 T butter, melted
2/3 cup coarsely grated parmesan cheese, more or less to taste

Fill a medium pot with water, add a generous amount of salt and bring to a boil.Wash zucchini skins and cut zucchini into strips about 3 inches long and 1/2 inches thick. You will probably need to cut away some of the white inside part of the zucchini to get strips this thin.Add zucchini to water and cook until barely tender, about 3-4 minutes. Drain well and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking, then drain in colander for 2-3 minutes. Remove from colander and place in single layer on cutting board and pat dry with paper towels.While zucchini cooks, preheat broiler and adjust the rack so it is six inches away from the heat. Spray a broiling pan with non-stick spray.Arrange zucchini on broiler pan in rows, close together, skin side down. (Try to leave just a crack between each piece so the cheese can run down a tiny bit.) Brush zucchini with melted butter if using. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over zucchini, trying to get most of the zucchini covered.Put zucchini under broiler and cook until cheese is completely melted and well-browned, about 15 minutes, or perhaps a little more, depending on how hot your broiler is and how close the pan is to the heat source. Serve hot or warm. There will not be any leftovers, so you don't need to worry about whether this will keep in the refrigerator.

Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients

1 lb of zucchini (about 2 medium sized), coarsely grated
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
1 large egg
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup grape seed oil or olive oil
Sour cream or plain yoghurt

Method

1 Salt the zucchini with about 1 teaspoon of salt. Try to remove the excess moisture from the zucchini by either squeezing the liquid out with a potato ricer, or by squeezing with paper towels. (The original recipe calls for putting the zucchini in a colander set in the sink to let it drain for 10 minutes after salting it. I think it works much better to use a potato ricer.)
2 Whisk egg in a large bowl; add the zucchini, flour, scallions, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Mix to combine well.
3 Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook fritters in two batches. Drop six mounds of batter (2 Tbsp each) into the skillet. Flatten slightly. Cook, turning once, until browned, 4-6 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining batter.
Serve immediately, with sour cream or plain yoghurt on the side.

Menu 7/10

Using up all the things in my refrigerator and pantry this week...

Burgers with Red Onion Topping / Cheesy Zucchini with Garlic/ Sweet Potato Fries with Blue Cheese Dip
Burgers again / Cucumber and Tomato Salad / Sweet Potato Fries
Marinated Grilled Chicken / Zucchini and Spinach Fritters / Sauteed Spinach with Garlic
Chicken Lettuce Wraps / Rice

Red Onion Burger Topping

1 teaspoon olive oil
4 cups vertically sliced red onion
4 teaspoons sugar
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

To prepare jam, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in sugar, vinegar, and thyme. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until onion is very tender. Remove from heat.

Blue Cheese Dip

Also can add some salt, pepper and garlic if you'd like.

Combine:

1/2 cup (2 ounces) low-fat crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar in a bowl.

Mash with a fork.