Lettuce Wraps

I have a very black/white relationship with Chinese food. I'm either REALLY in the mood for it, or I want nothing to do with it. It's been awhile since I've had any though, so when I was planning my recipes for the week I started looking for a healthy recipe to satisfy my craving. I wanted something different than stir fry, and I stumbled across a lettuce wrap recipe that sounded delish!

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• 1 tablespoon plus 1-1/2 teaspoons peanut oil, divided
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
• 1 can (8 ounces) water chestnuts, drained and diced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium teriyaki sauce
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1-1/2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup julienned green onions
• 12 Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Directions

• In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook chicken in 1 tablespoon oil for 3 minutes; drain. Add the mushrooms, water chestnuts and ginger; cook 4-6 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink. Drain and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and remaining oil. Stir in the carrots, onions and chicken mixture.
• Spoon onto lettuce leaves; sprinkle with almonds. If desired, fold sides of lettuce over filling and roll up. Yield: 6 servings.

I left out the gingerroot because I am NOT a ginger fan, and I used cooking oil spray instead of the peanut oil so that it would cut down on the calories. Otherwise though, I made the recipe exactly as listed (I did however marinate the chicken in a little teriyaki for about 24 hrs before cooking, which gave it a lot more flavor).

This was the finished product:

We had some hot and sour  soup from our favorite local place, and I steamed some edamame as well. It turned out better than I expected-I'll definitely make this one again!