Thai Lettuce Wraps

Posted on February 17, 2009 by kitchenbelle

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 This is a perfect “make Sunday and serve Monday and Tuesday” meal!  The flavors deepen as the turkey marinates so a couple of days in the fridge actually boosts the flavor.  The textures of the meat, vegetables, and nuts make these wraps satisfying to the palette.  And they are fun to eat!  I served them with a side of stir-fried vegetables.  (They would also work well as a starter course.)

Thai Lettuce Wraps:

  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
  • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce + 1 tablespoon
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 6 scallions, finely chopped
  • 4 limes, juiced
  • 1.5 tablespoons Sriacha chili sauce (available in Asian markets or Asian ingredient aisle in grocery store)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
  • 1 red pepper, finely diced
  • 1 cucumber, peeled and finely diced
  • 1 head Boston lettuce, leaves carefully removed, washed and spun dry in a salad spinner
  • 1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts or almonds, coarsely chopped

Brown turkey.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place in a covered glass bowl and refrigerate until cool.

In another bowl, combine all ingredients (except pepper, cucumber, lettuce, and nuts).  Add to turkey and mix.  Cover and allow to marinate overnight, or at least 3-4 hours for best taste. 

Remove from fridge and allow filling to come to room temperature.  Stir turkey mixture and add one tablespoon of light soy sauce to moisten it up.  Fill each piece of lettuce with filling.  Top with dice bell pepper, cucumber, and chopped nuts. Roll up and enjoy!

Adapted from Biggest Loser Ed’s Thai Turkey Wrap Recipe.

Filed under: Appetizer, carrot, ground meat, Main Dish, turkey, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Barbeque Meat Loaf

Posted on August 25, 2008 by kitchenbelle

My oh my, meatloaf is a far cry from photogenic.  And because I made this and gave it away (you guessed it, to the new parents) I didn’t slice it and plate it in attempts to make it all pretty for the camera.  If only there were a mechanism by which you could smell through your monitor!  The aroma of this meatloaf  was fantastic! I actually said the words, “Bath and Body Works should create a meatloaf-scented candle.” That’s how good this smelled.  When I asked my brother to describe the taste he said, “Slightly sweet and tangy.”  (That sounds like a description of Paula Deen herself!)  He said it was delicious and moist, and I believe him based on the scent of it!  

Leftovers of this would be great sliced up in a soft white bread sandwich.

Barbeque Meat Loaf:

  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
  • 1/2 large onion, diced
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2   8 ounce cans tomato sauce
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1cup BBQ sauce*
  • 1/4 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together the beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg, salt, pepper, 1 can of the tomato sauce, and 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce. Create a loaf out of the mixture and place it in a shallow baking pan. Sprinkle the top of the meatloaf with shredded cheese.  Stir together the remaining tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, mustard, Worcestershire and BBQ sauces.  Pour this sauce over the meatloaf. Bake covered for 1 hour, basting every so often with the sauce from the pan.   Let stand for 10-15 minutes before slicing. 

*Recipe note: As a BBQ sauce zealot, I feared the recipe would not taste BBQ-y enough as it stood, so I added BBQ sauce to the meat and the sauce.  However, unless you like to drink BBQ sauce from the bottle with a straw like I do, you’ll probably want to omit the BBQ sauce.  This recipe is sweet and moist enough without it!

Recipe adapted from Paula Deen’s recipe found here on foodnetwork.com.

Filed under: ground meat, Main Dish | 3 Comments »

Ground Turkey Risotto

Posted on July 30, 2008 by kitchenbelle

I came upon this recipe in a Pillsbury cookbook I found at the grocery store and I am glad I did!  It was delicious!  The beef broth provided a very rich taste and the parmesan cheese offered a very nice creamy texture as well as a kick of fresh flavor.  The chives added some nice color and freshness as well.  This was a satisfying and delicious weeknight dinner and I will certainly make it again.

Ground Turkey Risotto:

  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 lb. ground turkey (this recipe called for ground beef but I used turkey instead to keep the dish lean)
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 2 cups freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped

In a 12 inch skillet (do not use non-stick) over med/low heat saute onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are tender.  Add ground meat and pepper.  Cookmeat  until it is no longer raw.  Add rice and cook stirring rapidly for two minutes.  Stir in beef broth and bring to a boil.  Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 10-20 minutes.  (The amount of simmer time depends on the type of rice you chose.  I used a short grain dense brown rice requiring much more cooking time than a white rice would have.)  Add chopped carrot and cook uncovered for an additional 5-7 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed.  Remove skillet from heat and stir in parmesan cheese.  Cover and let sit for 3-5 minutes.  Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve. 

Recipe adapted from Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks: Hamburger and Chicken shown here.

Filed under: carrot, chives, ground meat, Main Dish, risotto | 1 Comment »

Chicken Sausage Burgers

Posted on July 7, 2008 by kitchenbelle

I thought these burgers were delicious!  Because of the fennel seed and other spices, they tasted very much like sausage patties, but fresh, and without all of that fat.  Also, the red pepper gave them a nice kick!  I found them to be much more interesting than traditional burgers–a nice way to add some depth to typical cookout food.

Chicken Sausage Burgers:

  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 1 pound ground turkey (package actually contained about 1.5 lbs of meat, which was fine)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • juice of one orange
  • 2 generous handfuls of grated parmigiano cheese
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • salt
  • freshly ground pepper

Place the ground meat in a bowl and add the fennel seed, red pepper flakes, allspice, orange zest, garlic, salt and pepper.  Using your hands, mix the meat with the seasoning and form about seven patties.   Make a shallow dent in the top of each burger to prevent the burger from bulging as it cooks.  Place burgers on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Drizzle burgers liberally with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on the top of each.  Layer wax paper between layers of burgers.  Cook on low heat on the grill (about 10 minutes on each side) until there is no longer pink in the center.  Be careful not to overcook.  Serve on fresh crusty rolls slathered with sweet BBQ sauce. 

These were juicy and delicious!

recipe notes: makes about 7 medium size burgers, recipe called for orange zest, which I omitted, recipe only used chicken, but I used half turkey half chicken to make the burgers a little tastier and less dry, I doubled this recipe, which is why there are 14 burgers in the photo.

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray’s recipe found here on foodnetwork.com

Filed under: chicken, ground meat, Main Dish, turkey | Leave a comment »

Unstuffed Cabbage

Posted on May 13, 2008 by kitchenbelle

Back in July, we invited a woman named Ellie Deaner to teach us how to make some easy and tasty recipes.  For some reason I hadn’t made any of her fantastic and delicious recipes since.  Last week, my mom reminded me of this one in particular.  I made it as a side dish for a little cookout and everyone adored it.  I made it again last night.  It is a great dish to keep in the fridge and reheat individual servings at your convenience.

Here is my first official blog post!

Unstuffed Cabbage:

  • 1 onion (chopped)
  • 1 pound of ground meat (chicken, turkey, beef, pork, or lamb)
  • 28 oz tomato sauce
  • 1 head of savoy cabbage (chopped or shredded)
  • I cup of raw rice
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • Grated cheese (optional)

Heat the onion and the ground meat in a large pan until the meat is no longer pink.  Add the sauce, cabbage, rice, and water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 24-30 minutes.  Sprinkle with cheese if you desire.

That’s it.  I kid you not.  And it as the title of Ellie’s cookbook asserts: so delicious!

This recipe is flexible, as well. I forgot to buy an onion last night so I used garlic instead.  The type of sauce can change the taste, as can the type of meat.  You can also change the range of healthiness based on the meat you choose.   I think I will try using brown rice the next time I make this.   

courtesy of Ellie Deaner, So Easy So Delicious

Filed under: cabbage, ground meat, Main Dish, rice | 2 Comments »

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