Basil Chicken Stir Fry

Hello readers! I'm sorry about the lack of posts lately! I just returned from a fabulous girls only trip with my mom in New York City. We had the best time and I will be attempting to duplicate some of the wonderful things we ate there. Until then, here's a recipe for you that I threw together and turned out well! I love when that happens. Best of all, the husband enjoyed it and requested it again. I also love when that happens. This recipe was loosely based on my recipe for lettuce wraps. You can find the full recipe for those here. Hope you enjoy it!

What you need

- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 1/2 of a large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Assorted vegetables (I used broccoli, snow peas, carrots and green pepper)
- 2 1/2 T gluten free soy sauce
- 1/2 T water
- 1 T creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 T honey
- 1 T rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 can diced water chestnuts
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped


Directions

- Do all your prep work first, this cooks fast! (chop the onion, cut up the chicken and chop your vegetables if necessary)

- Heat 1 tsp sesame oil in a large skillet or wok

- Add the chicken, onion and garlic

- Add a handful of salt and pepper

 - Once the chicken is cooked through, stir in your vegetables

- Cook for a few minutes, just to soften the vegetables

- In a microwave safe bowl, combine the soy sauce, water, peanut butter, rice wine vinegar and honey. Microwave for 20 seconds and then stir well

- Pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetable mixture. Add the basil and water chestnuts and stir

- I topped ours with some chopped green onion and chopped peanuts. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Lettuce Wraps

Oh my soul these are good! Forgive me for bragging about my own recipe...but WOW. You must make these. You just must. Jon and I went to PF Changs recently (they have an entire gf menu by the way) and we got their lettuce wraps. They are salty, crunchy and full of flavor and I was determined to replicate them on my own. I found a recipe on Pinterest and tweaked it a little. I think I got pretty close! You should make them tonight...seriously do it.

What you need (serves 2-3)

 - 2 T sesame oil
 - 1/2 lb ground chicken (I used organic chicken breast and ground it myself in the food processor)
 - 1/2 md onion, minced
 - 1 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)
 - 2 1/2 T gluten free soy sauce
 - 1/2 T water
 - 1 T peanut butter
 - 1/2 T honey
 - 1 T + 1 tsp rice vinegar
 - 2 tsp chili garlic sauce
 - 3 green onions, chopped
 - 1/2 can (4 oz) water chestnuts, diced
 - 1/4 C peanuts
 - Outer lettuce leaves for serving

Directions
- Heat 1 T sesame oil over high heat in a wok (mine was $7 at Ikea...awesome) or skillet

- Add chicken, onions and a dash of salt and pepper

- Cook until the chicken is nearly done, but still pink. Add garlic and stir

- In a microwave safe bowl, add the rest of the sesame oil, soy sauce (make sure it's certified gluten-free!), water, peanut butter, honey, vinegar, chili sauce and a dash of pepper. Microwave for 20 seconds and mix until smooth.

- Add sauce mixture to chicken and stir to coat. Your kitchen will smell heavenly at this point.

- Add green onions and cook 1-2 minutes

- Add water chestnuts and cook 1-2 minutes

- Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and you are ready to serve! I made some vegetable fried rice to make it a complete meal.

- Then comes the real test...the husband tries what you have made.

He fills it up...

He takes a bite...

And...it's a winner!!!

He's already asked me to make them again :) Points for the wife! 

These really were exceptionally good, and I'm usually pretty hard on myself when it comes to recipes. I will definitely be making these again! Even though I had to buy a lot of ingredients I didn't have on hand, I now have them in my pantry to use again and again for this recipe, plus it was on the table in 30 minutes. This fed the both of us for dinner, plus leftovers for me the next day. If you are planning on more than 2 people I would definitely double or triple the recipe. Also, the original recipe called for WAY more oil and diced mushrooms but I thought it was tasty without the additional oil and we both hate mushrooms so I left those out. Play around with your own ideas :)

Have a great weekend everybody!!