I feel like kind of a cheater for posting this recipe because it’s not even a recipe, really. But, I’ve made this many times now and so I finally figured it was time to share the method. It’s stupid easy and it involves a bottled sauce SO SUE ME. It also involves quinoa and lettuce, so at the end of the day you can be very smug about having this for dinner. Unless you have it with potstickers, in which case…maybe never mind.
Anyway, I have done this lots of different ways, used different meats or added different veggies in, etc., so it goes without saying you can add in based on what you like or what you have in your fridge. Anything goes!
What You’ll Need
2 chicken breasts, diced up into really tiny pieces (or save yourself the time and buy ground chicken or turkey)
A big handful of baby carrots, cut into small pieces
1 cup (dry) quinoa, cooked to package directions
A big healthy glug of Veri Veri Teriyaki (or your favorite teriyaki sauce/marinade)
Olive oil
Black pepper
Dried garlic
Dried onion
Sriracha
Toppings & Such
Lettuce cups
Sesame seeds
Green onion
Avocado slices
Chili garlic sauce
More sriracha
Hot mustard
What You’ll Do
– If your quinoa isn’t already cooked, start cooking it now; mine takes about 15-20 minutes.
– Add a drizzle of olive oil to a wok or pan and cook up the carrots for a few minutes, then add the chicken. I keep the heat pretty high so all the liquid cooks out, but obviously you don’t want to burn anything, so, you know. I’m sure you know your burners better than I do.
– Add that healthy glug of Veri Veri; sprinkle some black pepper, dried onion, and dried garlic, plus a little sriracha. Just keep stirring over medium-high-ish heat.
– When the quinoa is done, add it to the chicken and carrots and mix it all up; at this time, you may need to add another glug of Veri Veri, as well as some more of the spices.
– I let all this cool until I’m ready to eat so as not to burn my throat like I did the other night. I recommend letting yours cool, too.
– While it cools, you can get your toppings ready, slicing and dicing and whatnot.
– Top your lettuce wraps (romaine is not ideal, but it’s all I had this time) with the chicken and quinoa mixture, plus whatever other toppings you like. Eat three or four of them. Feel very smug.
This made 4.5 meals for us. Dinner for the three of us and lunch for two of us the next day. Viva la leftovers!