Wrapless Lo Mai Gai

This is by far one of my favourite things to eat at dim sums. The only pitfall is that it's really filling so then you can't have as much of the other yummy stuff at dim sums. That being said, I usually don't order it or I'll order it and then not eat it so I can save it to go. Teehee.

You can wrap it in parchment paper (if you don't have the lotus leaves) and then steam it for 15 minutes in a steam basket to make a more traditional Lo Mai Gai. But I didn't care for any of it so I just topped the sticky rice with the filling in this "wrapless" Lo Mai Gai. ;)

Note: If using a pot to cook the rice, then soak rice in water overnight and add enough water so that it's 1 part rice and 1.5 part liquid. Add seasonings. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes, covered. Turn off heat and let stand for 10-15 minutes before stirring/serving.


Wrapless Lo Mai Gai
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 3 "cups" uncooked sweet/glutinous rice
• 4 chicken skinless boneless chicken thighs, cubed
• 5-7 Shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated & sliced/diced, steeping liquid reserved 
• 2 lap cheong (Chinese sausage), thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp five-spice
• 1 Tbsp ginger, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsps yellow wine/shaoxing wine
• 1/4 cup soy sauce, divided
• 2 tsps cornstarch, divided
• 2 Tbsps sesame oil, divided
• Water

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together five-spice, ginger, garlic, sugar, wine, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil with the chicken thighs. Marinate for 30 minutes on the counter.
2. Rinse out the rice and add the reserved mushroom steeping liquid and enough water to meet the 3 cups line. Add in a tablespoon of sesame oil and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Cook sweet rice in the Instant Pot using the rice option. 
3. In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, toss in the lap cheong slices until they become bright red and the oil comes out. Make a large well in the middle and add the marinated chicken thighs and mushrooms. Cook until chicken is cooked through, stirring frequently.
4. Meanwhile, make a slurry out of the remaining teaspoon of cornstarch and 1/2 cup of water. Add to the wok or skillet, scraping up any brown bits. Cook until the sauce thickens. Turn off heat.
5. Scoop rice into 4 bowls and top with skillet mixture, drizzling extra sauce over the rice.
6. Serve hot with soup and steamed veggies.

Asian Beef Wrap

My sister does not eat onions, nor green onions. Surprisingly she ate this though. And she ate more than one wrap so she's gotta like this. I know I do, cuz I ate until I was stuffed. :P

You can wrap everything yourself and then serve it, or just place the skillet on the dinner table and have everyone make their own wraps. This is essentially what I did. It's more like a family meal this way.


Asian Beef Wrap
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 8-12 10" flour tortillas
• 1 head of green lettuce, leaves washed and dried
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup mushrooms, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 green onion stalks, finely diced
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsps oyster sauce
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Hoisin sauce
• Sriracha

Directions:

1. Heat up a large skillet over medium high heat. When the skillet is very hot (a water droplet would bounce and sizzle away), add ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until beef is no longer pink.
2. Toss in bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms. Cook until onions start getting soft.
3. Add garlic and soy sauce. Cook until garlic is fragrant.
4. Stir in oyster sauce and green onions. Turn off heat. Season with more salt and pepper, if necessary.
5. To assemble, lay a thin layer of lettuce leaves on a tortilla. Spoon about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of beef mixture into the middle. Top with as much hoisin sauce and Sriracha as you like. Fold opposite ends and roll into a small/medium wrap. Repeat with remaining filling.
6. Enjoy with a cold glass of limeade or strawberry lemonade.

Quick Breakfast Wrap

Believe it or not, this was easy enough for me to make during a weekday morning. I'm sure it's not THAT difficult to get yourself and a toddler ready in the morning and then cook breakfast and feed the pets at the same time. For most people. But I'm not most people. One of the most "elaborate" breakfasts I typically make on weekday mornings consist of sunny side up eggs with pre-cooked bacon that I can just nuke in the microwave. Teehee.

But this wasn't bad...I left the ham and peppers to cook on the pan while I took K to the potty (we're potty training and it's just oh so much fun) and luckily nothing burnt. YES!


Quick Breakfast Wrap
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 2 10 inch flour tortillas
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 leftover ham steak, diced (or equivalent to about 1 cup of diced ham)
• 2 green onion stalks, finely diced
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp canola oil
• Salsa (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat up oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add in ham and cook for about a minute so the sides start to brown up a bit. Toss in peppers and cook until peppers are tender crisp.
2. Mix in beaten eggs and stir until eggs are almost no longer runny. Toss in green onions and season with salt and pepper. Take the pan off the stove.
3. If you have a gas stove, just lay the tortilla over the gas and let it warm up the tortillas. It'll only take about 3-5 seconds per side, if even that, so keep an eye on those tortillas.
4. When tortillas are warmed, lay them on two separate plates. Divide the filling in half, spooning half onto the center of each tortilla. Top with some salsa, if desired. Tuck in the ends and roll into a wrap.
5. Serve with coffee or milk.
6. If you're taking it to work with you, just use aluminum foil that's been lined with wax paper and wrap. It'll keep the wrap warm for about an hour or so.

Beef Enchiladas

I have not made beef enchiladas in a LONG long time. Like at least 3 years ago long. I really have no clue why, considering they're so darn yummy. It's almost impossible to find any enchiladas sauce here, so maybe that's why. I did get a bottle from Trader Joe's the last time I went down to the states, so I decided to put it to good use!

Of course after I made this, I stumbled across a recipe for enchiladas sauce. I'm gonna have to try it out next time with this. :D


Beef Enchiladas
(serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 bell pepper, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 355ml (12oz) bottles Trader Joe's Enchiladas Sauce, divided
• 2-3 Tbsps taco seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
• 2 cups cheddar/Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 6 10" whole wheat flour tortillas
• 2 green onion stalks, finely diced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. 
2. Pour 1 bottle of enchiladas sauce on the bottom of a 9" x 12" casserole dish/lasagna pan. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet, cook ground beef with 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning. Once the beef is no longer pink, add in onions, bell peppers and garlic. Cook until the onions are translucent and bell peppers are tender crisp. Stir in about 1/4 of a bottle of enchiladas sauce. You need just enough so that the meat mixture is moist. Season with more taco seasoning if needed.
4. Spoon 1/6 of the meat mixture onto the center of a tortilla. Top with 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt or sour cream. Tuck the sides in and roll into a burrito. Place seam side down on the casserole dish. Repeat with the other 5.
5. Pour remaining enchiladas sauce over the burritos, making sure the edges are covered. Top with shredded cheese. At this point, if you want to freeze it for another day, just let it cool down to room temperature, cover with aluminum foil and freeze.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is all melted. If baking from frozen, leave aluminum foil on top to bake for 60-75 minutes, and then uncover to bake for another 20. Top with green onions.
7. Serve with salad and Mexican rice.

Chicken Fajita Wrap

Originally I was going to make the chicken wrap that my mom always made for us when we were younger. But then I forgot to marinate the chicken and pfft. Just added taco seasoning to it and POOF! Chicken fajita wraps. :D

I always have a batch of this taco seasoning on hand. It's awesome and I always have all the ingredients on hand anyway, so why bother buying packaged stuff (that's probably filled with MSG and other crap)?


Chicken Fajita Wrap
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 4 10" whole wheat flour tortillas
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
• 1 large bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 large onion, cut into strips
• 1 cup cheddar/Monteray Jack cheese, shredded
• 1 Tbsp taco seasoning
• 1 Tbsp canola oil

Directions:

1. Place tortillas in oven set to 250F to heat up until warm. (Or place in the microwave and nuke for about 30 seconds just before assembling fajitas.)
2. In a large hot skillet, heat up oil over medium high heat. Add in chicken strips and cook until opaque. Add in bell pepper strips, onion strips and taco seasoning. Cook until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender crisp. Add more seasoning if required.
3. To assemble, place 1/4 cup cheese in the center of a warm tortilla and then top with 1/4 of the chicken and veggies filling. Fold the sides over the filling and roll up into a wrap. Repeat with the other 3.
4. Serve with salad and/or soup.

Cheeseburger Quesadilla

Okay, so it's a crappy picture. I was hungry and wanted to eat this right away before it got cold, so I took a quick snap and then started shoveling it into my mouth. Oh and it was wonderful. Eating this reminded me of why sometimes Hubby doesn't like going out for food. It's just sometimes yummier at home and healthier since I know exactly what went in there. There's almost nothing more satisfying than when you cook a meal and it tastes better than the stuff you can get outside......and people tell you so. :D


Cheeseburger Quesadilla
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 lb extra lean ground beef
• 2 (whole wheat) flour tortillas
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a small skillet, brown ground beef on medium high heat. Season with salt, pepper, ground cumin and chili powder. Drain off excess fat.
2. Stir in onions and cook until translucent. Set aside.
3. In a 10" pan or grill, lay a tortilla down and warm up on medium heat. Spread 1/4 cup of cheese on one half. When almost all melted, top with half of ground beef mixture and then top with another 1/4 cup of cheese on top. Fold the tortilla in half. Using a large spatula, flip the quesadilla over to get the remaining cheese all melty.
4. Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream, guacamole & salsa.

Beef Lettuce Wrap

I love lettuce wraps. They can be a little messy but I always feel like I'm eating healthier when I have them. And it's so refreshing in the summer. :)

It's probably easier to eat when using butter lettuce but green is so much easier for me to find, so I use that instead. You can also add mushrooms or bell peppers in the filling too. I just didn't have all that on hand, so it was more plain this time.


Beef Lettuce Wrap
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 - 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 head of green lettuce, separated and dried
• Cilantro (optional)
• Sriracha (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef on medium high heat. Season with cumin, salt & pepper. Drain off excess grease.
2. Stir in onions. Cook until onions are translucent. Stir in the Hoisin sauce. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
3. To serve, spoon meat filling into the lettuce cups, add a little cilantro and a squirt or so of Sriracha.

Beef Beans & Cheese Burritos

So I had purchased a big package of flour tortillas from Costco, thinking I'd make some sort of wrap or whatever for Hubby. Something he can just take out of the freezer and nuke when he's busy and need a quick lunch/snack. Well...things don't always go as planned. It just never does. I'm flaky when it comes to planning out meals. I can't help it. :(

So instead, I just made some burritos for dinner. I can still freeze them, but they were too yummy. So I just took them for lunch instead of saving them for Hubby. WAHAHAHAHA!


Beef Beans & Cheese Burritos
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 batch of Cheesy "Refried" Red Kidney Beans
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsps taco seasoning
• 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsps tomato paste
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 8 12" flour tortillas

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, heat up the oil and sauté the onions until translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add in the ground beef and brown.
2. Stir in the taco seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Lower the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until everything is cooked through and very little liquid remains. Set aside.
3. Nuke the flour tortillas in the microwave on high at 48 seconds.
4. Scoop two big spoonful of cheesy "refried" red kidney beans in the middle and scoop two big spoonful of the beef mixture on top of the beans. Tuck the sides in and roll into a burrito.
5. Serve two per person with sour cream and salsa.

Chicken Tacos

There's chicken under there somewhere. I just wanted more veggies and sauce than meat so it got buried lol

Normally you'd use two corn tortillas for proper tacos, but I couldn't find them at the grocery store and I didn't want to go somewhere special just to get them, so flour tortillas it is! As long as they taste good, right?

You can purée the guacamole if you want it to be smoother. Or leave it chunky. I definitely will be grilling my own corn instead of using the canned niblets if I can find some corn on the cob at the grocery store. It just tastes better.


Chicken Tacos
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 12 medium flour tortillas
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• 1 cup Pico de Gallo
• 1/2 cup Chunky Guacamole
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 311g (11oz) can of corn niblets
• 3 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat up oil in a large frying pan on medium high heat. 
2. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Pan fry chicken breasts about 6-7 minutes per side until cooked. 
3. While chicken is cooking, heat up tortillas by putting over an open flame on a gas stove, about 10 seconds per side. If you don't have a gas stove or don't want to do it, just nuke it in the microwave for 30 seconds on high.
4. Once chicken is cooked, set aside to rest for 10 minutes before slicing into strips.
5. Place all ingredients in their own separate bowls with serving spoons/tongs/forks. Let everyone assemble their own tacos with whatever they want.

Tuna Salad Wrap

It seems like I'm always in need of a quick dinner. Sure, I have some frozen meals to dump into the slow cooker but I haven't been able to find anything I REALLY like (although I did find something I REALLY didn't like). Maybe I'm just not a fan of slow cooking? I know, right? The horror! It's like me and roast beef. I tried making it at least 5 different times with different recipes and always failed. Then I actually had some during a buffet dinner somewhere and decided that it's really just well done steak. So not a fan. So maybe I didn't really fail all those times, but it's just that Hubby and I don't like that kind of taste. So maybe it's the same for slow cooking...????? Who knows, but maybe I'll figure it out in a couple of years or at least after a few more attempts at frozen slow cooker meals.

In any case, I haven't had tuna salad in a while and (as usual) I needed a quick dinner. No bread in the house but I do have a couple of tortilla wraps left. Score! I even made it with some Greek yogurt to increase the protein and decrease the fat. That oughtta offset that box of chocolates I devoured at work earlier today...right? XD


Tuna Salad Wrap
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 2 170g (7oz) cans of tuna, flaked with a fork
• 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsps Greek yogurt
• 1 celery rib, finely diced
• 3 Tbsps capers, drained & minced
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 flour tortillas
• Butter/green/red lettuce or spring greens (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine tuna, mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, celery, and capers in a small bowl and mix until well blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Spread some lettuce (optional) in the center of 1 of the tortillas. Spoon one half of the tuna salad on top of the lettuce. Fold the sides over the filling and roll up into a wrap. Repeat for second wrap.
3. Slice each wrap in half and serve with a side salad and soup. Enjoy!