Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Healthy recipe alert!! Ever since I launched More Than You Can Chew in the beginning of this year I can’t say that I’ve become known for posting the healthiest of recipes so I’m pretty hype that I’ve managed to post something that looks good, tastes amazing and is actually pretty healthy!

I say “pretty healthy” because I know how particular people are about what’s considered to be “healthy food”. Some say it has to be vegan, some say it has to have vegetables, some say it should not have carbs. To me, healthy food is just as much what it is as what it isn’t. This dish is not carbs smothered in meat and cheese.  And it’s not deep fried and coated in sugar. So it’s definitely considered healthy to me!

That said, there are modifications that can be made to this recipe to make it even healthier. I will list some modification suggestions below but in short, this recipe does include ingredients like breadcrumbs and buttermilk. These are two things that can be omitted without changing the main components of the meal and still produce a pretty tasty result. “But Jasmine, if they can be omitted they why even include them in the recipe?” The reason for that is because I like buttermilk and breadcrumbs, they taste delicious and I can do what I want.

You can also do what you want! Since I started this journey I’ve always stressed the ability to take my recipes and modify them to your liking. All I want is for this to be a guide of what to do but ultimately you can add, omit, replace, reuse, reinvent any recipe on here. I actually encourage it!

Let me know in the comments below if you have any alternatives to this recipe. I’d love to hear your ideas!

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Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

by Jasmine Nichole Sanders

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. chicken breast, cut into 8 strips
• 8 large lettuce leaves
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 cup your favorite buffalo sauce
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
• 1 cup shredded carrots
  Instructions
• Place chicken in a large bowl and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne pepper, if using. Pour buttermilk over chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Completely coat each buttermilk soaked chicken strip in panko bread crumbs and place on a baking rack over a baking sheet. Bake chicken for 30-35 minutes.
• Remove chicken from oven and cover in buffalo sauce.
• Arrange lettuce wraps by placing one chicken strip on a lettuce leaf. Top with blue cheese and shredded carrots.

Details

Prep time: 1 hour 15 mins Cook time: 35 mins Total time: 1 hour 50 mins Yield: 8 wraps

Notes:

• Reduce prep time by seasoning chicken as directed but without buttermilk. This is also a healthier option.

• Omit panko breadcrumbs for a healthier alternative.

• Use blue cheese dressing instead of crumbles as an alternative. (The crumbles are a better option health-wise)

SHOP KEY INGREDIENTS & TOOLS:

Thai Chicken Red Curry

This is yet another one of my favorite Asian dishes to grace this blog. Trust me there are many more to come! Red curry was probably the second Thai dish that I’ve ever tried, after Pad Thai, of course. This one is Devin’s favorite. When we lived in our tiny 450 sq. ft. apartment in Brooklyn we ordered out A LOT. Mind you, our kitchen was super small, we had no dishwasher and I wasn’t super into cooking yet. Living in Brooklyn also came with a plethora of food options so these were all valid reasons to continuously order out.

My undying love of Asian food had me always craving either sushi, Chinese or Thai, so whenever Devin gave into the Thai option, Red Curry was always his go to. I should mention that we lived in Borough Park, Brooklyn that had a large Asian population so they truly knew how to make some bomb-ass curry!

Since moving to Virginia, we definitely did not have as many good food options as we were used to. On the contrary, moving to Virginia came with more living space, a larger kitchen and, alas, a dishwasher! Thus my desire to cook the meals we were so used to ordering was born and so was this blog!

I think that’s about enough of a backstory. Let talk curry! So as always, I’m going to let you know that the veggies/meat in this recipe are not set in stone. I just used the veggies that I prefer but I’ve had many red curry dishes that used different veggies. Some alternatives would be zucchini, asparagus, green beans, snow peas and squash. I’d say any veg that has a firm consistency could be used.

In terms of alternatives, the same goes for meat. You can make this completely vegetarian by just leaving out the chicken. It will also cut 10 minutes of your cook time! But if you’re like Devin and MUST HAVE MEAT, shrimp is a great alternative to chicken. Fish could work as well but be aware, it may break apart in the sauce.

As for flavor, we’ve tried a lot of different seasoning variations from takeout. Some were sweet, some were spicy, some were more savory. Our favorites were on the sweet and spicy side. The amount of sugar used in this recipe was perfect for OUR liking. So I’d suggest to start with less and gradually add more as you taste. Fish sauce is what will make it more savory/salty. It also adds a distinct flavor that you may or may not like so add this gradually as well, or opt for using salt instead.

How do you love your red curry? Sweet? Savory? Spicy? All the things? Let me know in the comments below!

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Thai Chicken Red Curry

by Jasmine Nichole Sanders

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes and seasoned
• 1 small onion, diced in large chunks
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 red or green pepper, diced in large chunks
• 7 oz. shitake mushroom, sliced
• 14 oz. can bamboo shoots, drained
• 0.5 oz. package Thai basil
• 4 tbsp. red curry paste
• 2 13.5 oz. can coconut milk
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp. raw sugar
• 1 tbsp. sriracha (optional)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups Jasmine rice

Instructions

Bring water and rice to boil in a medium pot. Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté onions, garlic, ginger and peppers for 1 minute. Add in sliced mushrooms, bamboo shoots, basil and red curry paste and cook for an additional minute making sure to fully coat all veggies in curry paste.

Add coconut milk to skillet and stir. Season with fish sauce and sugar one tablespoon at a time. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning to your liking, whether you prefer it more sweet or more savory. Add sriracha for some heat, if you like. Bring to a boil.

Add in chicken, turn stove to low, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes until chicken is fully cooked.

Remove from heat and serve over rice.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 4-6

Bacon, Mushroom & Mozzarella Chicken Roll Ups

Let me tell you why I so excited about this recipe. Well for starters, I genuinely did not expect it to come out as good as it did! I’ve made a version of this a while back, you know, before blogging, and it turned out just okay. I can’t pinpoint what went wrong the last time but it just was not the same. Wait no, I know exactly what it was, there wasn’t any bacon! Seriously the bacon makes this dish everything!

The other thing about this recipe is that it was easy AF to put together! I would say one of the key components was beating the shit out of that chicken breast. Not only does it make it very easy to roll, but it was legit a fun time! You also have the option of buying pre-sliced chicken that are perfectly thin enough for rolling but it takes all the fun out of it! Just slice a regular chicken breast in half and go to town! Just remember to cover it with plastic wrap first otherwise you’ll end up with a massacred chicken mess.

After you punish the chicken, you have to layer your filling. We, well mostly Devin, decided to use mozzarella, mushroom and, of course, bacon. I threw in the spinach for some color. I really doesn’t matter what you decide to fill with, but we found that this flavor combination was too good to pass on. One tip is that you should try to use the “creamy” shredded mozzarella. Kraft has a “creamy shredded mozzarella” that has cream cheese in it and it unbelievable! This is in no way sponsored or anything, I truly believe this!

Rolling the chicken is much easier than it may seem at first. The trick is to roll pretty tight so that the filing doesn’t fall out and all the flavors can fuse together. Secure the end with the toothpick and that’s it! Jus make sure to take them out when it’s done cooking!

Now on to the panko coating. This is optional but I really do think it makes a difference. The last time I made these roll ups, I didn’t coat them in any type of breadcrumbs, and it was seriously lacking. Most recipes online will say to dip the rolls in milk before breading them. But I once read a comment on one of the recipes I saw and it said that instead of milk, she used yellow mustard. I thought that was so genius! However, Instead of yellow mustard, I used Dijon because I’m bougie and not sorry about it! But anyway, the mustard gives it another added layer of flavor while also helping the breadcrumbs to stick perfectly.

This isn’t specifically stated in the recipe, but I also season the panko crumbs with salt, pepper, oregano and thyme. This may seem like an obvious thing to do, but if it didn’t seem obvious to you then it’s your reward for actually reading the blog post! I am truly thankful for that! So, now you’re ready to pop these bad boys in the oven and wait. I’d use this time to make your side dish. This particular time I made goat cheese mash potatoes. And I promise I will post a recipe for this because it was on point!!

Once the chicken is done go ahead and slice them. Not only does this show all the goodness inside but also helps to remind you that there are toothpicks still in them! Please take those out! Now that you’ve avoided being attacked by your dinner, it's time to eat!

Let me know in the comments if you thought this recipe was as damn good as I did! Did you follow the recipe to a tee or try anything different? Let me know!

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Bacon, Mushroom & Mozzarella Chicken Roll Ups

by Jasmine Nichole Sanders

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breast halves
• 4 slices of bacon
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 4 oz. portabella mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup baby spinach
• 1 tbsp. butter (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 6-8 toothpicks
  Instructions
• Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Heat a skillet on medium heat and cook bacon until well done. Break bacon into large pieces. Cook mushrooms in bacon grease or in one tablespoon of butter in a clean skillet. Cook for 4 mins then set aside.
• Lay chicken breast on a cutting board and cover with a layer of plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, beat chicken until flatten to about 1/4 inch. Remove plastic wrap layer and season with salt, pepper, thyme and oregano. One chicken breast at a time, layer bacon pieces, cheese, mushrooms then spinach on top of chicken. Begin to roll chicken tightly, starting from the thinner side. Secure end with 1-2 toothpicks.
• Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Brush chicken rolls with Dijon mustard and coat each with panko crumbs. Place on baking sheet and bake for 30 mins.
• When chicken is done baking, cool for 5 minutes then slice 1/2 inch thick slices. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour 5 mins Yield: 4