Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

2 cups, 4 handfuls, fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders
2 tablespoons light colored oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil
Coarse salt and coarse black pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated,
optional 1 orange, zested
1/2 red bell pepper, diced small
1 small tin, 6 to 8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 scallions, chopped
3 tablespoons hoisin
1/2 large head iceberg lettuce, core removed, head quartered
Wedges of navel orange -- platter garnish

Directions:

1. Remove tough stems from mushrooms and brush with damp towel to clean, Slice mushrooms. 2. Chop chicken into small pieces.
3. Preheat a large skillet or wok to high.
4. Add oil to hot pan. Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or 2.
5. Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two.
6. Add salt and pepper to season, then garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more.
7. Grate zest into pan, add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture.
8. Add hoisin Chinese barbecue sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly. Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken to serving platter and pile the quartered wedges of crisp iceberg lettuce along side. Add wedged oranges to platter to garnish. To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings and squeeze an orange wedge over.

Notes:

This is a Rachael Ray recipe that is especially good if you are trying to go low-carb. I do it just like the recipe except add more hoisen and some extra soy sauce. I have also used plain white mushrooms instead of shitakes and you can't tell a difference.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Cajun Chicken Pasta

4 ounces linguine pasta
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 green onion, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Place the chicken and the Cajun seasoning in a plastic bag. Shake to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the chicken in butter or margarine until almost tender (5 to 7 minutes).
Add the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, mushrooms and green onion. Saute and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat.
Add the cream, basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper. Heat through. Add the cooked linguine, toss and heat through. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Notes: I use penne instead of linguine. I also usually use 1/2 and 1/2 instead of cream. It's not quite as good, but it sure makes you feel less guilty.