Thai Cabbage Wraps With Chicken and Broccoli

Tonight’s fantastically delicious and healthy dinner is a riff on a Pad Thai I made with chicken and broccoli a while back. I tweaked the recipe and made it low carb in order to use up some of our lovely Fresh Fork Market ingredients including cabbage, carrots, candy onion and green onions. You don’t always need a new recipe, try using different ingredients to make an old recipe, new!

The following makes 7-8 wraps (compliments of This Girl’s Gotta Eat and Taylor Made):

• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
• Half a candy onion (or whatever onion you have), chopped
• 3 small carrots, peeled and chopped, green leaves removed and roughly chopped as well
• 1 lb ground chicken breast
• 1 small head of broccoli, chopped into small florets
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp Sriracha
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp natural creamy peanut butter
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional for more heat)
• Whole cabbage leaves rough stems removed, 7-10 total, depending on the size
• Toasted sesame seeds and nuts, use whatever you have, for garnish
• Fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped for garnish
• Green onions, chopped for garnish

In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrots, saute for 3 minutes or so until beginning to softened. Add the chicken and cook, tossing occasionally until cooked through. Add in the carrot greens and wilt.

Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add broccoli florets and quickly blanch, 1-2 minutes. Remove with a spider or slotted spoon and run under cold water. Drain, and set aside.

Prepare the sauce by whisking together the soy sauce, Sriracha, garlic, honey, peanut butter, juice of 1/2 a lime and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

When the chicken is cooked through and the carrot greens are wilted, turn the heat to medium-low. Add the broccoli and the sauce, toss to combine and let the sauce soak into the chicken and veggies, a few minutes.

To serve, dish out the chicken mixture onto cabbage leaves. Top with chopped nuts, cilantro or parsley, and green onions. Finish with a little more lime juice, or serve with lime wedges if desired.

If you have some of the leftover chicken mixture, enjoy it the next day over some shredded cabbage dressed with a little olive oil, lime juice and salt and pepper – delicious!

Fiesta Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers and Black Beans

This Mexican dinner with a kick is like a party for your taste buds! Loaded with flavor and comes together relatively fast, that’s my kinda dinner! It’s also low in carbs, making it a healthy meal option. This could easily be made with any meat you have on hand like pork, beef or turkey. And you can stuff the filling into baby peppers as well, making this not only a versatile dish, but a great appetizer to take to your Cinco de Mayo fiestas!

Fiesta Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers and Black Beans

The following serves 3-4 (compliments of Food Network Magazine and This Girl’s Gotta Eat):

• 3 bell peppers, any combo of red, orange and yellow, sliced in half and seeded
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 and a 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 poblano chile pepper, seeded and diced (use a large or small pepper here, the larger the pepper the more heat you’ll add to the dish)
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
• 1 tsp chipotle chile powder
• Kosher salt
• 1 lb ground chicken breast (you could also use ground turkey, pork or beef if you wanted)
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 large can (28 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (4 oz) diced green chilles
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Preheat grill to medium. Add halved peppers and grill for a few minutes on both sides, just until they begin to char and soften. Remove from the grill.

Heat a couple of Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 diced onion, poblano, 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, ancho and chipotle chile powders and 1 tsp salt. Cook, stirring, until the onion and poblano are tender, about 8 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the chicken. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink and beginning to brown, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Once cool, make sure the meat is crumbled and mix in the cheese.

Place grilled peppers on a baking sheet and stuff with the chicken mixture, using your hands and a spoon to press and mound the meat mixture evenly among pepper halves. Bake until the peppers are hot and the cheese melts, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the black beans. In a medium skillet, heat a little olive oil over medium high heat and add half a diced onion and 2 minced garlic cloves. Cook for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften, stirring occasionally. Add 1 tsp of both ground cumin and dried oregano, season with salt and pepper to taste. Next add the black beans and the diced green chilles. Cook for 5 or so minutes over medium heat, turning occasionally. Next add the juice of 1 lime and turn the heat back to low. Taste and adjust seasoning, such as salt, as needed. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Serve peppers over black beans and garnish with cilantro.