new year, new you...new recipe!

the 'new year, new you' contest is officially underway -- it started yesterday!  and after sharing a bunch of photos last week of recipes i'd like to try during the contest... guess what?!

i've made two! =)

one i'm sharing here today:  chinese turkey lettuce wraps.

i was inspired by andie over at can you stay for dinner?.  her blog is one of my favorite daily reads.  it's a go-to site for recipes, but even more so, inspiration.  she successfully lost 135 (!!!!!) pounds about six years ago and has kept it off since.  it was a long journey to lose the weight, but it was a necessary life change that has created endless opportunities for andie including book deals in the works and traveling the world.  (sounds like a pretty good life to me!)  hearing her story and following her blog, full of wisdom and deliciousness, i can't help but feel so proud of andie...even if we are just virtual friends.

if she can lose half of herself, she knows the secret:  that there is no secret.  it takes discipline.  it takes hard work.  it takes exercising more and eating less.  but it doesn't mean that you take away flavor.

and this recipe for lettuce wraps is full-o-flava!

let's get to it, shall we?

chinese turkey lettuce wraps

(inspired by can you stay for dinner?)

here's what you'll need:

2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 lb. lean ground turkey
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1" knob of fresh gingerroot, finely minced
1 broccoli crown, chopped
1 1/2 to 2 cups of grated carrot (i bought a bag of matchstick carrots for convenience)
6 scallions, chopped
1 (8 oz.) can of water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped (i chose to omit.)
1 head lettuce (iceberg, boston bibb, romaine)

here's what you'll do:

pop your chopped broccoli in a small bowl with a tablespoon of water, cover and microwave for a couple minutes.  it doesn't have to be completely cooked...it just needs a headstart.

in a small bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, and hoisin sauce.  set aside.

in a large skillet (or wok if you have one), heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  add ground turkey and cook for about 5 minutes.  (it will still be a little pink.)  

add the chopped mushrooms and continue to cook until the turkey isn't pink anymore.

add salt, chili powder, garlic, and ginger.  stir to combine.

add the broccoli...

add the soy sauce mixture to the skillet, stirring to coat all the ingredients.  you can let that cook for a few minutes to reduce.

then add the carrots, scallions, and water chestnuts (if you're using them...i didn't...i detest them.).

give it one final stir and remove from heat.  

get your lettuce leaves washed and plated.

spoon the turkey mixture onto your lettuce (i used boston bibb), and enjoy!

how delicious does that look?!  well, let me tell you...it's better than it looks!  and it's full of veggies -- broccoli, carrots, scallions, mushrooms, and lettuce!  and lean protein in the ground turkey!

i look forward to having this for lunch most of this week.  full of veggies and full-o-flava!

now i just need to figure out which recipe i'll make next!

if you have any recipes you'd like me to feature here on my kinda perfect, just email me here!

=) andrea