Drum roll please….. This is my first anniversary as a member of The Secret Recipe Club! One year! Obviously, I was counting the days for this Reveal Day, and jumped on my assigned blog the very minute I got the email notification. This month I am cooking from Loving Life, a fun blog hosted by Kirstin, the super busy Mom of two teenage daughters, who also home schools them. I get tired just thinking about it. The mystery is how does she find the time to cook and blog? Superpowers? Probably. I chose a recipe from her blog quite quickly, because it is one of the favorite dishes we used to order at a place called BJ’s in Oklahoma. Light, refreshing, flavorful, Phil and I would share that as an appetizer almost every single time, but I had never made it at home. Great opportunity, which I grabbed right away! 😉
CASHEW CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS
(adapted from Loving Life)
for teriyaki sauce:
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Sesame oil
for chicken:
3/4 lb. chicken breast or tenders, diced in small pieces
6 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup diced baby-bella mushrooms
3/4 cup chopped cashews
1 tsp. soy sauce
canola oil
6-8 butter lettuce leaves
for topping:
2 carrots, peeled & julienned
1/2 Tbs. Sesame Seeds
Mix all sauce ingredients, making sure the brown sugar dissolves.
.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
We absolutely loved this recipe! Next time I might just up the amount of sauce a little bit, but other than that, no changes… This post gives me the opportunity to share with you a very special gift we received from our friend Cindy. She probably got tired of me complaining about the electric stove in our new home, and one day I got this box delivered with an induction-type single burner cooktop! Not only it works great, but it is a life-saver for me, due to another small problem in our kitchen: no ventilation. I had pretty much given up on frying or sauteing fish or meat. With this cooktop, I was able to install a cooking area on our patio, and voila’: no more offensive odors! Plus, it’s is such a nice setting, don’t you agree?
Cindy, thanks so much for such a thoughtful gift!
For the full round-up on the Secret Recipe Club, click on the cute blue frog. To see which recipe was chosen from my blog this month click here to visit Lindsay’s blog…
Kirstin, nice to “meet” your blog! Have fun with today’s reveal day!
ONE YEAR AGO: Clay-pot Pork Roast
TWO YEARS AGO: Panmarino
THREE YEARS AGO: A Classic Roast Chicken
So glad you liked this. I love it too and sometimes just want to make it to eat myself. I knew which recipe was mine the moment I saw the name…I love looking at the titles and pictures and trying to figure out which recipe is mine. Have a great week.
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Thanks, Kirstin! It’s such a fun day…
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Yum! These sound great! I love making Asian food at home since it’s a whole lot healthier! Great pick!
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You are so right! Many of the restaurant concoctions end up very heavy and I just don’t feel that great after indulging… making them at home is the key… of course, having a great recipe is important, and this one delivered!
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These look so delicious! And congrats on the 1 year! I Think my is coming up soon, but not sure of the exact date…
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Isn’t that amazing how fast one year can get by?
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Happy anniversary Sally! It’s been a pleasure having you in the club, and I hope to see you celebrate another anniversary with us next year. 🙂 I’ve never tried lettuce wraps yet, but your recipe sure looks like a good one to try.
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Thanks so much, April! I have a load of fun each month with this event, so I look forward to another year!
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Nice setting indeed…! Congratulations on your anniversary with the Secret Recipe Club Sally. I very much like this kind of meal – satisfying without being heavy and it’s also full of goodness too. I’m especially smitten with the sounds of that teriyaki sauce… I could use some of that deliciousness right about now… Running very late for lunch but so glad I stopped by! :).
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Running very late for lunch…. story of my life since March this year… runnning very late for this… running very late for that…. but isn’t that part of an exciting life? 🙂
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I love lettuce wraps! This looks amazing!
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Lettuce wraps are great, never too filling, just right!
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What a great gift, Sally! The lettuce wraps look delicious too!
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I had it wrong in my original post, convection instead of induction, but a dear friend (hello there, Gary!) called my attention and I fixed it.
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the lettuce wraps look amazing especially with the crunch of the cashews. love this
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It’s true, the cashew gives the exact amount of crunch for this dish. Another thing I should have mentioned in the post: for this dish, cutting the chicken by hand is very important. Ground chicken just won’t be the same… a little more work, but totally worth it!
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Yummy! Those wraps look delicious!
What a great gift – I wish that I had a patio to cook in/on… 🙂
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The fact that the patio has no real windows, just a screen – helps a lot with cooking, I am a bit paranoid about smells, and hate the lingering smell of anything fried.
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Lettuce wraps are such a great idea, especially when the filling is as tasty as your chicken/cashew filling. These sound really good! And what a thoughtful gift! Good for you.
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John, I have amazing friends! a very thoughtful gift indeed…
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Yum!! I love ordering the chicken lettuce wraps at P.F. Chang’s, they make me at least *feel* healthy 😉 These look awesome, I have to give this recipe a try! Happy one year anniversary 🙂
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Same to you, Casey! Happy 1st year! Still brings me a smile to know we started at the same time…
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I’ve never seen those little cooktops, what a special treat to find that in the mail! And, yes, it’s the perfect setting for it.. and those wraps! That’s one of my favorite dishes too! Congrats on your anniverary!!
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THanks, Barbara! Cindy left me speechless, as you imagine. And just this past weekend, as if the cooktop was not enough, she gave me a huge bag of fresh herbs from her garden: thyme, tarragon, mint, cilantro, garlic chives, oregano… can you imagine?
yeap. I have amazing friends!
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Wow!! That is really something:D
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Congrats on your SRC anniversary! I always find it so fun to see what recipes people choose when they do this,. Take-out at home always sounds good to me!
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Same here… from my observations, most people go for sweets and desserts. I am usually tempted by those, but often pick savory stuff which we prefer.
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wow this looks really good. Cindy is a brilliant friend – I love the cooktop!
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Agree on Cindy… 😉
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I’m a little embarrassed by all the kind words. Sally is a thoughtful and generous friend and it was my pleasure to buy her a housewarming gift she would find useful.
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Thank you again, Cindy! Hopefully soon you’ll be able to profit from the same setting in the patio when you come visit!
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I too have ordered this out but never tried at home! I’ve got to add this to my soon to make list! Love your patio, you are right in nature and with the trees turning, you have a beautiful show!
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It’s just getting a bit cold, but not too bad… the view compensates the temperature for sure!
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This looks amazing – fantastic SRC choice!
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It was delicious indeed!
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Love lettuce wraps and this looks delicious! Great SRC pick!
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Lettuce makes it so much lighter than a flour tortilla, I never feel stuffed after a meal like this
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I love your view Sally! It reminds me of the sun porch at our last house. It was my favorite place to relax and how cool that you get to cook out there now! What a great friend. 🙂 And this recipe looks great. I’m sure Mr. N would enjoy it too. He loves cashews and chicken! Now if I could just get him to eat the lettuce. 😉
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If his objection is the texture of the lettuce, it might be a tricky recipe for him, but if it’s the taste, it definitely gets hidden in all the other flavors… hey, he can always just have the filling, right? 😉
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Happy anniversary, Sally! 🙂
The lettuce wraps look absolutely amazing! 🙂
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Thank you!
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I made a similar dish for dinner just last night! Now, I’m wishing I would have added cashews. They look great in this!
How fun to be able to cook on your patio. That’s a lovely setting!
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The cashews are a must in this dish, they do add a lot. Although I must say that water chestnuts could also be great, maybe in place of the mushrooms?
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Happy SRC anniversary — and a great recipe pic!
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Thank you!
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