Asian Cashew Lettuce Wraps Recipe Menu Board Card #2

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about creating a weekly menu board and how easy it is to incorporate into your life if you start by writing what you are eating on a recipe card for 2 weeks to a month. That way you will have a collection of 14-31 meal ideas to start out with. I also gave you the recipe for your first meal card- Coconut Lime Chicken.

Today I present to you a second menu card. This one for Asian Cashew Lettuce Wraps.

I love this recipe for 4 reasons:

1. I LOVE thai food and this definitely has thai food flavors in it.

2. It is so versatile. You can do it with any protein. Have some ground turkey, chicken, beef or pork? Your all set to go!  Have a couple of chicken breasts? Just dice it up! You could even do it with tofu!

3. It is a 30 minute meal… and who doesn’t love a meal that is on your plate in 30 minutes?

4. It is SO YUMMY!!!

Ingredients:

-Lettuce (I find romaine or iceberg works best. For romaine just chop the bottom off the head, set the whole thing in the middle of the table and you can peel the leaves off one by one.)

-1/2 cup of cashews (I buy mine raw and roast them with a little bit of coconut oil and sea salt)

-Rice or quinoa (we used brown rice in the photo above)

-Protein: Ground chicken, turkey, pork or beef. You could also dice up some chicken breasts or use tofu. We use roughly 2lbs of ground meat for this recipe.

-1 onion, diced

-2 cloves garlic, minced

For the sauce:

-4 tablespoons soy sauce

-2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

-2 teaspoons sesame oil

-2 tablespoons honey or brown sugar

-1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Directions:

1. Put your rice or quinoa on to cook as per directions on package. We make ours in a rice cooker.

2. Combine all of your ingredients for your sauce. If you are using honey I suggest melting it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds to get it really liquidy so it blends in with the rest of your ingredients better. If you are using brown sugar, stir really well to make sure the sugar is incorporated throughout the sauce.

3. On medium high heat brown diced onions in a frying pan with a tablespoon of oil. When onions are browned transfer to a bowl.

4. In the same frying pan as you browned your onions, add your ground meat or diced chicken and cook until meat is thoroughly cooked through and slightly browned.

5. When meat is done cooking add the sauce that you made. Cook for another minute or so until sauce is warm.

6. Add cashews and stir through. Remove from heat.

7. Serve and enjoy. This is one of those meals where we put all of the pots and pans on the table and let everyone dig in.

*How we eat our lettuce wraps: Take a piece of lettuce, put a spoonful of rice on top, add a spoonful of your meat mixture, The Hubs adds a squirt of sriracha sauce on top, fold up as best you can and eat. Yummy. It’s SO GOOD!!!

So tell me… Have you incorporated a meal planning system in your house? What kinds of ethnic foods does your family enjoy? Do you have a recipe you would like to share with us? We’d love to have you guest with us!

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