Thai Lettuce Wraps

Look at the sodium label-- 100%  

I was going to use a copy cat recipe from P.F. Chang's, but when I looked at the nutritional information I was astonished. That recipe had 2418mg of Sodium (which is MORE than your daily requirements of sodium in 1 meal! NOT OKAY) People tend to over look the sodium labels on nutritional panels, but it is very important to stay under 2 grams or 2000mg of sodium a day. Here is a great link about reducing the amount of hidden sodium you eat during the day.

BUT, I still wanted to make lettuce wraps because I had almost an entire head of lettuce un-used. Luckily, I found a lower sodium & vegan friendly recipe online! 

Prep Time: 20 minutes 
Cook Time: 5 minutes 
Total Time: 25 minutes 
Yield: SERVES 4(starter)/2-3(main)

Ingredients:

•               1 head fresh iceberg lettuce OR prepackaged lettuce for wraps

•               3 cloves garlic, minced

•               1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, grated

•               1 red chili, minced, OR 1/4 to 1/3 tsp. chili flakes

•               2 shallots, sliced finely

•               1/2 cup firm tofu, cut into "matchsticks"; OR 1/2 cup cooked chicken or pork, shredded, OR 1/2 cup cooked baby shrimp

•               1 carrot, grated or cut into thin strips

•               5-6 mushrooms, thinly sliced

•               1 egg (omit if vegan)

•               1/2 cup shredded cabbage (any type will work)

•               3 spring onions, sliced (aka scallions/green onions)

•               approx. 2 cups bean sprouts

•               2 Tbsp. lime juice

•              4 Tbsp. soy sauce (use low sodium)

•               1 Tbsp. oyster sauce; (Vegetarians: use vegetarian oyster sauce)

•               1/4 tsp. sugar

•               TOPPINGS:

•               1/3 cup fresh basil OR mint, chopped if leaves are large

•               1/3 cup fresh dry roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

•               fresh bean sprouts

•               OTHER: 2 Tbsp. oil for stir-frying

Preparation:

1.             Drizzle oil into a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, galangal (or ginger), chili, and shallots. Stir-fry one minute, or until fragrant. **Stir-frying tip (from the pros): add a little water or white wine if the wok/pan gets too dry instead of more oil.

2.             Add tofu (OR shrimp/chicken/pork), carrot, shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, and spring onions. As you stir-fry, add the lime juice, soy sauce, oyster sauce (or vegetarian substitutes) and sprinkle over the sugar. Stir-fry about 1 minute.

3.             Push ingredients to the side of the wok or pan, and crack in the egg. Stir-fry quickly to break the yolk. Mix in with the other ingredients.

4.             Add the bean sprouts and stir-fry briefly to mix (avoid over-looking or it will go limp). Remove from heat and do a taste test for salt, adding more fish sauce if not salty enough.

5.             Cut off the stem part of the iceburg lettuce so it's easier to separate the leaves. Now place the lettuce, sir-fried filling, and the toppings on your table in separate bowls/plates, allowing family or guests to make their own wraps.

To assemble, take a whole lettuce leaf and place 1-2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the center. Top with a sprinkling of fresh basil and peanuts plus fresh bean sprouts if desired. Then wrap up and eat! (For those who like it extra spicy, fresh-cut chili can be added as another topping.) ENJOY!

They look & taste so delicious! :)

Toll House® White Chip Chocolate Cookies

I love fresh cookies! I always have chocolate chips (white chocolate & milk chocolate) on hand just in case I get a craving for cookies. 

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (12 ounce) package NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Premier White Morsels

Directions

1. PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F.
2. COMBINE flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Cookies & milk

Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Recipe

INGREDIENTs

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 teaspoon of dry dill (or a teaspoon chopped fresh)

METHOD

1 In a medium bowl, stir together the buttermilk and mayonnaise until fully mixed. Add in the other ingredients, adjusting for taste.

Keeps for a week, covered in the fridge.

Yield: Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 boneless- skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp sea salt (divided)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp onion powder
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Oil for deep-frying

Directions

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces.
2. In a large bowl combine the buttermilk, 1 teaspoon salt; then add the chicken. Refrigerate and marinate 1 hour or longer. (I was pressed for time and one hour worked out fine)
3. Meanwhile in a plastic food bag combine the flour, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, baking powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, turmeric, onion powder, and add black pepper to taste.
4. Preheat deep fryer to 350F.
5. Using a slotted spoon to drain off the buttermilk remove the chicken several pieces at a time; about enough that your deep fryer can hold without crowding. Shake chicken in the bag of flour mixture to coat, shaking off any excess flour.
6. Deep fry chicken until juices run clear, or an internal temperature of 165F is reached.

Serve with your choice of sauces

Carla Hall's Buttermilk Pie

Get the full recipe here

Ingredients 

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 3 eggs (beaten)
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pie crust (store bought or homemade) 
• whipped cream

Directions

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Put piecrust in owen for 8 minutes then take out and cool. 
3. in a large bowl-- combine sugar & flour. Stir in one egg at a time. Add butter, buttermilk, salt and vanilla.
4. pour mixture into piecrust shell. 
5. bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake for 30 additional minutes. cool and serve with whipped cream.  

Homemade Traditional Pie Crust

With the holidays in just a few short months, this recipe is perfect for making homemade pies and custards. It is a traditional pie crust which can be used in countless different recipes. I can't wait to make a pumpkin pie this season! 

Ingredients

         1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

         1/4 teaspoon salt

         1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced

         1/4 cup ice water

Directions

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. 

Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball.

Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Roll dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.

Easy Zucchini Quick Bread

Get the Full Recipe Here

 

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

This recipe is so versatile, Carissa made a butternut squash quick bread and it was amazing!