Asian Lettuce Wraps

2 tsp canola oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 lb ground chicken or finely diced chicken
3 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped (about 8 small mushrooms)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 C bagged coleslaw mix or thinly shredded cabbage
1 8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained, rinsed, and finely minced
1/2 C thinly sliced green onions
4 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 lemon, zested and juiced (about 3-4 Tbs juice)
1/3 C roughly chopped cilantro
1-2 heads iceberg lettuce

Dipping/Drizzling Sauce
4 Tbs soy sauce
4 Tbs rice vinegar
3 Tbs water
2 tsp honey
1-2 tsp finely minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp sriracha (or put a small amount in individual portions of the sauce to adjust the spice)

Heat a very large skillet to medium-high heat on the stove top. When hot, add vegetable oil and then garlic and ginger. Saute for about 30 seconds, until fragrant, and then add ground chicken, chopped mushrooms, and kosher salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until chicken is cooked through. (*At this point, sometimes I have some extra liquid in the pan from the chicken. If it’s quite a bit, I tilt the pan and spoon it out so the chicken can cook and not boil.) Add cabbage/coleslaw, water chestnuts, and green onions. Cook for about 2 minutes, until cabbage starts to wilt. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, the zest from the lemon and the lemon juice, and hot sauce to taste. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

To prepare dipping sauce, combine all ingredients and whisk to combine.

To serve, carefully remove the individual leaves from the head of lettuce. (The closer you get to the center, the easier it becomes!) Place chicken mixture in the leaves and serve with sauce.

Yield: about 5 C chicken mixture. Makes 14-16 lettuce wraps.

Recipe from Our Best Bites
The only thing I changed was to put the hot sauce in the dipping sauce instead of the wraps so that some of us could have it spicy and some could have it mild. And I did dice the chicken because it didn't seem like it was worth the mess of grinding it. I liked the chicken diced and will probably always do it like that.

Rigatoni with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Recipe from foodnetwork.com

1 pound rigatoni pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound assorted mushrooms, (such as cremini, shiitake and button), cleaned and sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature (CONFESSION: I used cream cheese)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper (make sure you taste it to see if they are well seasoned. It will make a big difference). Cook until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes. Turn the heat to high. Add the wine and cook for 3 minutes until all the liquid evaporates. Add the stock and simmer until liquid is slightly reduced. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the mascarpone cheese. Stir until creamy. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water, and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the mushroom mixture and the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well to coat pasta, adding the reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Garnish with the chopped chives. Serve immediately.

Beef Stroganoff

1 pound ground beef
1 8 ounce carton sour cream
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups hot noodles
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried basil

In a mixing bowl stir together flour and sour cream. Stir in water, bouillon, pepper, Worcestershire, and basil.

In a large skillet cook ground beef, onions and garlic. Add mushrooms toward the end of cooking time. Drain fat.

Stir flour mixture into skillet. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Serve over noodles. Serves 4.

Chicken with Mushrooms

3 cups sliced mushrooms

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (or tenders)

2 eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt and pepper

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (such as Italian)

2 tablespoons butter

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced

3/4 cup chicken broth

1 can cream of mushroom soup

oregano and rosemary to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook mushrooms over stovetop in olive oil and a clove of garlic.  Place half the mushrooms on a 9x13 inch pan.  Dip each chicken breast half into egg then roll in bread crumbs.  Melt butter in skillet over medium heat and brown both sides of chicken.  Place chicken on top of mushrooms and season with rosemary and oregano.  Place cheese on top.  Mix chicken broth and cream of mushroom soup and pour over chicken.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.