Have you had those Asian chicken wraps at Costco with that flavorful dressing? Well, surely they are not as healthy as making them at home. These are one of my daughters, Lexi’s, favorite wraps so I thought I’d try to recreate them for her with some added ingredients that I think would taste yummy in them 🙂 .

You can use a store bought rotisserie chicken for this just to make it extra easy for you to put together but I thought I’d just roast one, it’s more economical and you can control what you want to add to it. You can also just roast 2 bone in breasts. Whatever you have leftover can be used in a soup (plus the pan juices), on top of a salad, for enchiladas, or a different type of sandwich…the possibilities are endless! Plus, an added bonus, the house smells so good from all the wonderful seasonings added to the chicken…ummm.

Another ingredient that you can just buy is the coleslaw mix. It has cabbage (both green and purple) and carrots in it already. If you use a bagged mix then make sure you cut up any huge pieces that may have made it in 🙂 . As for the tortillas/wraps, you can use whatever type and flavor you like, but I recommend you use a 10 inch version, at least, so it’s easier to wrap. If you use smaller ones then use a lot less filling. You can even forgo the bread and make them into a lettuce wrap, less carby (is that a word?), so you can save yourself some calories, and just as delicious. You can also leave out the meat and make it vegetarian!

You will need:

• 2 cups breast meat from 1 whole chicken (roasted my own but you can use a store bought rotisserie chicken instead or just roast 2 bone in breasts)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt, pepper and poultry seasoning blend, to taste
• 1/2 of a 16 oz bag of coleslaw mix (or shred your own cabbage & carrots to total 8 ounces, and mix)
• 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons tahini (makes it creamier and sesame-er…here I go making up words again 🙂 )
• 1 lime, juiced & zested (at least 1 tablespoon of juice)
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 4 to 6 ten inch tortillas/wraps, plain or flavored
• 1/4 cup almonds, sliced, chopped or slivered
• 1 can chow mein noodles, you won’t need them all

Steps:

1. If roasting your own chicken, lay chicken in a pan and slather it with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and your favorite poultry seasoning blend.
2. Roast at 350 degrees for approximately 2 hours, if whole (20 minutes per pound or when the meat shows an internal temperature of 165 degrees).
3. Remove chicken from oven and let cool to the touch.
4. When cool, remove about 2 cups of breast meat from chicken and set aside. Of course if you prefer dark meat, or a combination, then use that instead.
5. Mix the coleslaw, scallions and cilantro in a bowl, set aside.
6. Mix the rest of your ingredients well, from the sesame oil to the ginger, for your dressing. Put in a jar and shake, shake, shake…set aside. Now, you are ready to wrap!
7. Set your tortilla down, almost in the center, closer to the top towards you, pile with about a cup of coleslaw mix, a tablespoon of almonds, 1/4 cup of chow mein noodles and then about 1/2 cup of chicken.
8. Fold the side of the tortilla closest to you over the filling, and bring in each of the sides, then roll the rest of the way, as tightly as you can without tearing the tortilla.
9. Finish with the rest of the tortillas and serve with dressing. If you are going to eat them all right away you can always mix some of the dressing into the coleslaw mixture before filling the tortillas so you get a wonderful bite. If you think you will have leftovers I wouldn’t do this with all of them because the wrap will become soggy eventually.

Kali Orexi!

When I was cooking in one of my classes in Thailand one of the Chef’s taught me how to make flowers out of carrots. It was so simple and fun. It’s like arts and crafts with your food! You can use the same simple technique with a daikon, cucumber or any other fruit or vegetable that can be easily squared off. See steps on pictures below.

Garnish you plate with these or serve them on a platter with some dip and listen to your guests go “oouuu and ahhhh” 🙂 .

Greek scrambled eggs with tomatoes is an egg dish prepared in Greece also called kagianas or strapatsada, depending on the region. My mother would always make this for me as I was growing up and she would call it kagianas since she was from the Peloponnese Region 🙂 .

The flavors of the tomatoes and eggs, along with the feta, provide a wonderful marriage in your mouth! Serve it with some toast and what a great simple meal…for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

You just need:

• 4 large eggs, cracked
• 6 ripe cherry tomatoes, or 2 small Roma, finely chopped (squeeze out seeds, if you prefer. See “Note” below)
• 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Flat leaf parsley, chopped (for garnish-optional)

Steps:

1. Heat oil in a non-stick pan (preferably) on medium heat.
2. Add chopped tomatoes and cook down until the tomatoes natural liquid is gone and they are thick and pasty, about 7 minutes. You should only see the olive oil and the tomatoes at this point. Turn down heat if you need to.
3. In the meantime, whisk the eggs and add salt and pepper, to taste.
4. Lightly stir in the feta cheese.
5. Turn your heat to low-medium and add the egg mixture to the tomatoes and gently stir until the tomatoes and egg are incorporated. Let cook to your desired texture. I like my eggs to have larger chunks so I lightly stir them around. If you want it to have the texture of a porridge then stir them more often as they cook.
6. Serve garnished with parsley and with a side of yummy homemade toasted bread…or any kind of bread you desire.

Kali Orexi!

*Note: If you do not like the skin on your tomatoes, you can take the skins off by cutting an X mark on the bottom of each tomato and blanching in simmering hot water for about 20 sec…then you can easily peel them off!