Chinese Lettuce Wraps

(sorry for the camera phone photos! Our camera was lost but I'll get better ones uploaded as soon as we get a new camera!)

I am so lucky to share the joy of cooking and baking with my oh so sweet Mother In Law! She has given me several recipes. Some that she has collected and others that she came up with herself! This is one such masterpiece that she invented! Of all the recipes she has given me, I must admit this is my most favorite! I usually make it as an appetizer but I'll admit I've made it as a snack before too!
p.s. I secretly LOVE these WAY more than P.F. Changs version!

Chicken Filling:

2 Chicken Breasts (size medium- large)
1 Can of Water Chestnuts (small can)
4-6 Tbs. Iron Chef's General Tso Sauce (see pic below)

1 Head of Lettuce

Spicy Chinese Sauce:

2 Tbs. Kikkoman Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp. Hot/ Spicy Chinese Mustard
1 tsp. Chinese Chili Sauce (my family calls it "Rooster Sauce". lol)
*I have pictures of all of these below for a visual verification! And you can find all of those ingredients at Wal Mart in the Chinese section.*

Directions:

 1. Cut up your raw chicken breasts into 1 centimeter sized cubes. Also cut up your water chestnuts into slightly smaller sized cubes. (Really the size and ratio of chicken to water chestnuts is up to you!)

 2. Put the chicken and water chestnuts in a frying pan and drizzle with Iron Chef's General Tso Sauce. You just want enough to cover the chicken, about 4-6 Tbs. There really isnt a specific amount, but if you're in doubt add a little more.(Usually when I list a specific brand it's important. =D)

3. Cook the chicken and water chestnut mixture until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside.

4. To make the Spicy Chinese Sauce, add the Soy Sauce, Rooster Sauce and Spicy Mustard together and mix well. (Hopefullt his picture will clarify what I'm talking about!)

If you decide the Spicy Chinese Sauce needs more of a punch, just add a little more Rooster Sauce! And leave some out if its too spicy!

5. Tear pieces of lettuce of of the head of lettuce. Ideally you want the pieces to be ABOUT 3x5 but it usually tears off in askewed sizes and shapes. =D

6. Assemble!!! Add chicken mixture to the middle of a lettuce piece, then  add as much Spicy Chinese Sauce as you wish, roll up and DEVOUR! =D

 Just a tip, go easy on the Spicy Chinese Sauce, it may be hotter than you think and you can always add more if you need to! It has taken people off guard before! A little goes a looooooong way!

Triple Chocolate Cookies/ Crinkle Cookies

I hope ya'll have missed me! I cant believe its been so long since I posted here. July was a BUSY month for us and on top of that, we lost our camera on our last vacation trip and I apologize for the sad pictures I took from my phone. Hopefully we can replace our camera soon since Im terrible at taking pictures anyways and using a camera phone doesnt help! lol. Thanks for bearing with me!

These cookies are soooo good, I was only able to get 1 picture before they were all eaten! (Sadly it was just a picture of the cookie dough, so I'll leave it out. But, dont worry I'll make them again and upload a good picture soon! I just wanted to share this recipe ASAP!) My good friend claims them to be her ALL time favorite dessert! And my brother in law claims they're his favorite cookie. Seriously these are yum! The other great part is you can use the same cookie dough to make 2 different cookies! Shazam!

Ingredients:

1 C. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 C. White Sugar
1/2 C. Vegetable Oil
4 Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 C. Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
*For Triple  Chocolate Cookies: 1 C. White Chocolate Chips and 1 C. Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips. (or more!)*
*For Crinkle Cookies: 1 C. Powdered Sugar*

Directions:

1. In a bowl mix together Cocoa, Sugar and Oil.
2. Beat in the Eggs 1 at a time, then stir in the Vanilla.
3. In a seperate bowl whisk together the Flour, Baking Powder and Salt. Then mix into the cocoa mixture to form a dough. *For Triple Chocolate Cookies: stir in the white and semi sweet chocolate chips.*
4. The dough will be sticky, so you must place the dough in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.
5. Roll the dough into balls, place them on a cookie sheet and flatten them a little bit. *For Crinkle Cookies: After rolling the dough into a ball, roll it around in the powdered sugar and then place on a cookie sheet.*
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.


I found  this recipe on Allrecipes.com  a few years ago!