Lettuce Wraps and homemade peanut sauce

I think PF Changs lettuce wraps are one of those "universally loved" dishes.  

They're like parfait.  As Donkey said in Shrek, "Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "Hell no, I don't like no parfait"? Parfaits are delicious!"  That's how I think about PF Changs lettuce wraps.

Kyle's wonderful parents and his grandmother were coming over for dinner, and we decided to try our hand at lettuce wraps.  We do not cook a lot of Asian food at the Bealert home.  We like it, but I am incapable of stir-fry.  I've tried.  And tried.  And failed.  *hangs head in shame*  We were hoping the lettuce wraps were something low-carb we could enjoy on our diet, and still please the crowd. 

They were fans!

Side note:  the homemade peanut sauce I made was awesome!  Slam dunk. :)  It was $4 at the store.  I consider this recipe a mega bargain.

And whomever is responsible for peeling the lettuce into those perfect leaves at PF Changs, has my respect.  That is WAY harder than I thought.

Lettuce fiasco.

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps:

• Marinate chicken for 2-3 hours in any teriyaki marinade
• Cut into strips and grill
• Finish with sesame seeds 
• Dice chicken before serving

• Fill iceberg lettuce cups with diced chicken, grated carrots, La Choy noodles (for crunch), and homemade peanut sauce

• We also served brown rice and cucumber slices in rice wine vinegar on the side.

 And now for the Pièce de résistance:


Homemade Peanut Sauce (this is not exact):

• 2T peanut butter
• 2T milk
• 2T soy sauce
• Sprinkle of red pepper flakes
• 1t brown sugar

Wisk and PB and milk together until you achieve a smooth consistency.  Add the soy sauce and wisk again.  If your sauce is too thick, add more milk.  Add the red pepper and sugar to taste.  Let rest at room temp for at least 20 minutes to let the flavors meld.

I was pretty proud of our healthy and crowd pleasing dinner!  

Dessert was the deep-dish chocolate pie that I made last week.  It's from Chocolate Covered Katie's blog if you are interested in more healthy desserts.  Jerry was VERY surprised (and I don't think too excited) to learn that there was a large amount of garbanzo beans in his dessert!

After dinner, Kyle and I went to see Hangover 2. It wasn't as good as the first (duh), but it provided some wonderful laughs.  Kyle cried funny tears once.

What's the last great meal you made for company?

Love and soy sauce, 

Carissa & Kyle