.p.f. chang's lettuce wraps. {husband's choice}

This recipe takes all the cake. It is so beyond delicious and healthy, what a wonderful combination. Thanks to Pinterest I found this amazing recipe here. I just love how simple it is to make and how I don't feel all gross after. I posted the original recipe below but the hubby and I enjoy things with extra flavor so we doubled the sauce. yum. try it out for yourself and your life will be ever changed. Enjoy!



Ingredients
1lb ground chicken breast (i used ground turkey)
1/2 medium onion, minced
salt & pepper, a dash of each
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 inch nob fresh ginger, peeled & minced
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon natural peanut butter
1/2 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (or more if you like it hotter)
dash of fresh pepper
3 green onions, chopped
1/2-8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained & chopped (i omitted)
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
10-12 large outer lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry

Preparation
Heat a large, non-stick skillet on high. Add chicken, onion, salt & pepper, and cook until chicken is nearly done, stirring often to break up the meat. Add in minced garlic and ginger, and continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink.
Meanwhile, in a microwave safe bowl, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, water, peanut butter, honey, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce and pepper. Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth. Add into the skillet and stir to combine.
Add green onion and water chestnuts into the skillet then cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are soft and the water chestnuts are heated through.
Sprinkle with chopped peanuts, and serve with cold lettuce leaves

.corn dogs & cheese on a stick.

So I pretty much am a fan of anything battered and deep fried. Cheese is also a major plus. I had the urge to make corn dogs one day and found this recipe, gosh I love Pioneer Woman. I don't think I did as great of a job as her..It might be because I had no way of telling how hot my oil was or it could just be because I'm not Pioneer Woman. haha. But it was very tasty and fun to make. Especially the cheese..which needed to be timed just so..before it exploded. whoops. When I do this again I will also dunk it in the batter several times mid-frying process to make it thicker on the dog. yum



Ingredients
3 cups Krusteaz Pancake Mix
1 cups Yellow Corn Meal
1 whole Eggs, Slightly Beaten
3 cups Water, More If Needed To Thin Batter
Hot Dogs
Cheese, Cut Into 1/2-inch X 3 Inch Sticks
Chopsticks
Canola Oil, For Frying
Spicy Mustard, For Serving

Preparation
**USE CAUTION WHEN FRYING WITH OIL. KEEP POT ON THE BACK BURNER TO PROTECT SMALL KIDDOS**
In a large bowl, combine pancake mix and cornmeal. Stir to combine. Add eggs and water, adding more water as needed for the batter to become slightly thick (but not overly gloopy.) Start out by adding 1 cup, then work your way up to 3 cups or more.
Heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Drop in a bit of batter to see if it's ready: the batter should immediately start to sizzle but should not immediately brown/burn.
Insert sticks into hot dogs so that they're 2/3 of the way through. Do the same with the cheese sticks.
Dip the hot dogs into the batter and allow excess to drip off for a couple of seconds. Carefully drop into the oil (stick and all) and use tongs or a spoon to make sure it doesn't hit the bottom of the pan and stick. Flip it here and there to ensure even browning, and remove it from the oil when the outside is deep golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Repeat with cheese, allowing it to get as golden as possible so that cheese will melt completely.
Serve with spicy mustard.

. crockpot broccoli cheese soup.

Please do not just this soup by its picture. I know the picture is terrible and I desperately wanted to cheat and use someone else's online but decided not to. The crushed pepper on top was my last ditch attempt on a more appealing picture..haha. I had all intentions of taking another picture later but the soup disappeared very quickly. I found original recipe here but changed it up a bit after reading the reviews and combined it with this recipe here and voila. The original recipe says that you can just mix all the ingredients together and it will be fine..it did not look fine or mix well so I used an immersion blender (a regular blender would be fine) to mix it all up well. We enjoyed it with some warm french bread and it was so yum. And btw..Target has really good french bread...who knew?!



Ingredients
1 whole Onion, Diced
1 stick Butter
1/3 cup Flour
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups milk
4 heads Broccoli Cut Into Florets (I used one bag of 16oz. bag of frozen florets)
1 pinch Nutmeg
3 cups Grated Cheese (mild Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar, Jack, Etc.)
Small Dash Of Salt (more If Needed)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preparation
Melt butter in a pot over medium heat, then add the onions. Cook the onions for 3 to 4 minutes, then sprinkle the flour over the top. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute or so, then pour in milk and add nutmeg.
Combine in crockpot with chicken broth, broccoli, a small dash of salt, and plenty of black pepper.
Cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 4-6. 20 minutes or so before serving, shred all the cheese you are going to use, and stir it in. The cheese will be stringy and will stick to the broccoli florets, you can eat the soup as is, or blend it for a smoother texture. Serve with bread or in a bread bowl and enjoy!

.spaghetti with tomatoes, olives, garlic, and feta.

I love this recipe from Food & Wine because not only was it super easy to make, but it also made me feel super healthy while eating it. Tons of flavor and o so yummy. Enjoy!



Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes (about 3), seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup Kalamata or other black olives, pitted
1/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons drained capers (i didn't use)
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
3/4 pound spaghetti
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
**I added crushed red pepper flakes because we love extra spice.

Preparation
In a large glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, feta, capers, parsley, salt, and pepper.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over moderately low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta and the garlic oil to the tomato mixture and toss.