Chicken Lettuce Wraps

🎶"Wrap it up, I'll take it!"🎶 ~The Fabulous Thunderbirds
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With Cinco de Mayo coming up, I'm sure your feed has been flooded with tons of great Mexican menu ideas. But what about dinner tonight? Here's a tasty, simple dish that you can customize with what you have on hand, cook in one pan and have on the table in under 30 minutes! Curried chicken lettuce wraps!
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Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken (sub turkey or pork)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ginger powder
¼ tsp curry powder
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp salt
1T cashew butter
1 T coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
3-4 dashes fish sauce (feel free to omit if using soy)
1 T green curry paste
Handful each of chopped peppers, onions, broccoli, water chestnuts
Lime wedges, green onion, sliced jalapeno, chopped nuts, hot sauce(optional for toppings)
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Start by browning your meat. Mix spices together and sprinkle over meat once it is almost cooked though. Add peppers and onions, cook for 2 minutes (or more if you want your veggies softer). Turn off heat. Add cashew butter, coconut aminos, fish sauce and green curry paste. Mix thoroughly so everything is combined. Add finely chopped broccoli and water chestnuts...turn the heat back on medium and stir through for about 1-2 minutes. I prefer my veggies to retain a bit of crunch in a dish like this, but if you prefer to soften your veggies, just keep it on the heat a bit longer. Spoon onto your lettuce of choice (I used butter lettuce), give it all a squeeze of fresh lime, add some toppings and dig in!

Creamy (dairy free) Lemon Chicken Soup

“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” ~Charles Dudley Warner
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Not sure how things are in your neck of the woods, but Mother Nature can’t seem to make up her mind about spring here in Asheville. It’s been cold and rainy here and that only means one thing to me: SOUP! This creamy (dairy free), lemony chicken is warm and comforting and full of veggies, but it also has bright flavor that won’t weigh you down.
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Ingredients (4 servings):
1 T olive oil
¼ large onion (diced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1½ c riced cauliflower
½ c unsweetened almond milk
2 c chicken broth
1½ c frozen veggies
1½ c shredded chicken
½ lemon (juice and zest)
1 c chopped kale
¼ tsp cinnamon
s&p to taste
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Cook onion and garlic in oil until translucent. Add cauliflower (mine was frozen) and cook until tender and heated through. Add unsweetened almond milk and chicken broth (I used homemade instant pot bone broth). Using immersion blender, blend until you have a smooth, creamy consistency (you could also do this in the blender). Then add shredded chicken (I make big batches of shredded chicken in the instant pot, you could also use a store bought rotisserie chicken). Add frozen veggies (whatever you want here- I had a bag of peas, carrots and corn...choose something else to make it whole30). Add juice and zest of ½ a lemon. Salt & pepper to taste. And finally add cinnamon...sounds odd, I know, but it works! Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, then add finely chopped kale before serving.
I always top mine with some crushed red pepper flakes. A satisfying, healthy, versatile, comforting meal...ready to go in 30 minutes! Serve with a salad for a full meal, or just double the recipe. Enjoy! 

Chicken Stuffed Mini Peppers

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” ~Boyd K. Packer and grandmothers everywhere
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I love leftovers! Some of my favorite meals come from leftovers. It doesn’t have to mean just reheating the same thing you ate last night...get creative! The leftovers here were ground chicken from taco night. I use my own spice blends, so this had been lightly seasoned and for this meal I added my arugula pesto (I store mine flat in the freezer, so that I can easily break small bits off for single meals). I then stuffed mini bell peppers with the ground meat, sliced up an avocado and put together a simple salad...DONE! Lean protein + healthy fat + lots of veggies = 🙌. The mini peppers are a new favorite as well. They are about ¼-½ the size of a regular bell pepper, have a mild taste and great crunch...keep an eye out for them! This will be a great summer meal too. It’s definitely going into my regular rotation.
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What is your favorite way to use up leftovers?

Gyro Platter

“Variety's the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor.” ~William Cowper
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Everyone loves “Taco Tuesday” right? Of course, because...tacos...and EASY! This gyro platter is just as easy to put together as tacos, and is a great way to add a little flavor variety to your weekly meals without complicating things!
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Here are my add-ins: cucumber, tomatoes, feta chunks, green onions, mini bell peppers, radishes, chopped iceberg lettuce, black olives, store-bought tzatziki, spiced chicken strips and pita bread to stuff it all in.
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I searched for a gyro seasoning blend for my chicken because I prefer to make my own than buy the stuff that is full of junk. This blend was great with this chicken and mix of ingredients, but it didn't taste at all like a gyro! My gyro seasoning blend search continues (or I’ll cave and buy the Super Gyro from @primalpalate )! Has anyone tried that one before?
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This chicken was simple to make: I sliced chicken tenders into thin strips, seasoned with spices (keep it simple with s&p or do a quick search for a Greek seasoning recipe), tossed with oil and let it sit while I prepped all of my other ingredients. Then, I threw the chicken (w/the oil) in a hot cast iron pan, let it brown on one side, flipped the pieces and finished them off (5-6 minutes total). Super simple, can be tweaked to accommodate whole30/paleo/vegetarian etc, and always a crowd pleaser!

Guacamole Jalapeño Bacon Burger with Spicy Ranch Sauce

Rao's Homemade Meat Sauce

Quick and Easy Whole30 Tuna Salad

Habits such as meal prepping and making certain recipes part of my routine, have helped me make everyday-healthy-eating something that just happens naturally now. This tuna salad has become one of my favorite routine lunches, and I eat it at least three times a week because of how simple, quick, and tasty it is. Oh, and best of all, it abides by Paleo and Whole30 guidelines... woo hoo! Don’t you love when healthy food tastes wonderful, but also leaves you feeling satisfied? This recipe would also be great to meal prep for weekday lunches since it lasts 3-5 days in the fridge. I added a simple lemon/EVOO kale salad and apple slices to go with mine today, but the sides are endless: cucumber slices, carrots, celery, GF crackers… the list goes on and on!
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All you need to do is combine 1 can of tuna (I prefer SafeCatch), 1-2 tablespoon Primal Kitchen Mayo or homemade mayo, a big squeeze of lemon, some finely chopped celery, and salt & pepper to taste. I also added one date, chopped into pieces, to sweeten mine up; however, unsweetened cranberries would do the trick too. Thanks to @thedefineddish for introducing me to her easy tuna salad recipe which was the inspiration for today’s lunch!