Month: April 2016

Thai Lettuce Wraps

Wander & Scout, 1 Comment

The Thai lettuce wraps from the Cheesecake Factory are one of all-time favorites and this recipe is my take on them.

The peanut sauce is seriously so good you can dip just about anything in it and it will taste good. I love dinners like this because it’s healthy and the kids can customize their plate. My kids all like grilled meat, rice, and noodles, so this works great for our family. Hope you like them!

Cheesecake Factory Copycat Thai Lettuce Wraps

THAI LETTUCE WRAPS

Peanut Sauce:

1 1/2 Tb sugar (increase to 2 Tb if using natural peanut butter)

1 Tb minced peeled fresh ginger

3 Tb fresh lime juice

1 Tb soy sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 Tb water

 

Puree in blender or food processor until smooth

For the chicken:

 

I don’t have a real recipe for this part. Sometimes I’ll just salt and pepper the chicken and grill it and that works just fine. This time I created a little marinade with the following:
*3/4 cup canola oil

*1/4 cup soy sauce

*1 tsp or so of sesame oil

*juice of 1 lime

*1 clove of garlic, chopped

*1/2 TB of lemongrass, chopped

*1/2 TB sesame seeds

Don’t hold the chicken marinade recipe to a science because I’m just guessing on those ingredients. You could put marinate the meat in a combination of any of the above ingredients and grill it and I’m sure it would turn out great.

 

Fillings:

*I love the thick chow mein type noodles, but if you can’t find those spaghetti or angel hair pasta work fine

*Butter leaf or Boston lettuce

*purple cabbage

*cilantro

*bell peppers

*snow peas

*bean sprouts

*cucumbers

*chopped peanuts

Enjoy!

 

Thai Lettuce Wraps

Grandma’s Orange Rolls

Wander & Scout, , Leave a comment

Today was a very good day. The sun was shining; we were uplifted and inspired listening to the messages of LDS General Conference; and the girls and I baked a big batch of hot, gooey orange rolls.

Orange rolls will always remind me of my Grandma Neda. We used to make the 13 hour drive from California to her home in Logan, Utah every summer. She would always welcome us with straight-outta-the-oven orange rolls and nothing ever tasted quite as good.

Now orange rolls are memory food and I swear they taste just like childhood to me.04-03-2016-23

04-03-2016-8I LOVE that my girls are becoming quite the little cooks. Working alongside of them in the kitchen is my favorite.
04-03-2016-22Baby Girl does NOT like being left out! She joined us for the first time up on the barstools alongside her big sisters today and you could just tell that she felt like a big girl.
04-03-2016-2My hope of hopes is that these little ladies will always want to join me in the kitchen.

ORANGE ROLLS:

FILLING:
½ cup sugar
½ cup butter
rind from 1 orange.For the rolls:

FOR THE ROLLS:
Dissolve 1 Tablespoon yeast in ¼ cup warm water

Add:
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 cup warm milk (the temperature of bath water)

Stir until combined

Add:
2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoon salt

Stir until combined

Add:
1 beaten egg

Stir until well combined

Add:
½ to cup to 1 cup flour

Mix until all ingredients are completely combined (about a minute or 2) and allow to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.

Roll into large rectangle, about half an inch thick and spread with filling. Roll it up and cut about 1 1/2 inches thick using dental floss. Place in well-buttered muffin tins.

Allow to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place. Bake about 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven (do not over bake) Makes approximately 2 dozen rolls

I hope you love them as much as we do!

 

 

Grandma’s Orange Rolls