Cool Chicken Summer Wraps

I will be honest, I am not a fan of pre-cooked/frozen food. But I saw the challenge from Tyson to create a meal with their new ready to eat grilled chicken and I thought it would be a good challenge to try to create a good tasting meal using it. My family had no idea they were eating pre-cooked chicken, and it saved me cooking, cooling and chopping my own chicken.

This recipe is flavorful and refreshing and a quick and satisfying meal for your family.

If you don't want to use precooked chicken go ahead and cook your own, but for me.. experiment tyson chicken strips was a success.

Ingredients

3-4 cups Tyson Grilled and ready chicken breast strips
1 small bunch cilantro chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped sundried tomatoes
3 stalks celery chopped
2 Lemons/juiced
Olive Oil to your preference
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp Poultry Seasoning
1 Tbsp dried oregano
Fresh tortillas

Directions

Heat Chicken strips and chop to small pieces.
Mix cilantro, tomatoes, celery, chicken  ingredients together in a large bowl.  Drizzle on olive oil and juice to desired moistness and sprinkle through seasonings.
Chill in fridge until you are ready to serve. Keeps well for up to a week. 
When ready to serve,warm fresh tortillas and let people just wrap up their own.
Quick, easy, tasty and crunchy this is a great cooling summer meal or snack!

Stiry Fry of Beef with Roasted Chili Paste and Sweet Thai Basil

Here is the stirfry I demonstrated at my

"Thai Essentials" class at Alive Utah's Cook and Taste Weekend.

It is one of my favorites!
Quick to prepare and cook which makes it a great weeknight meal.  This recipe shows that you don't need to go to a restaurant for a great Thai meal.

Full of rich flavors it is certain to satisfy.

Ingredients


6 cloves garlic
1 lb tender beef cut into thin strips
1 small red onion sliced
2 tsp roasted chili paste
1 TBS oyster sauce
1 TBS fish sauce
1 TBS shaved palm sugar
1 red bell pepper cut into strips
Half cup of thai basil (or substitute regular basil if unavailable)
Handful of Asian greens, such as pak choy or baby bok choy
Coriander leaves and crispy fried shallots for garnishing


Directions


Heat 2 TBSP of vegetables oil in wok, add onions and stirfry briefly. Add garlic, stirfry briefly, add beef and cook a few minutes.


Add red pepper, stirfry briefly. Add chili paste, oyster sauce, fish sauce and palm sugar. Cook until beef is tender, only a few minutes.


Add basil, Asian greens, stirfry until greens are wilted.


Don’t over cook your stirfry, a good stirfry is fresh and crunchy and full of texture.


Transfer to serving plate and garnish with coriander and shallots. Serve with freshly steamed jasmine rice.

My Favorite Asian Supermarket--so far!

I have had many questions as to where I purchase my hard to find Asian ingredients, I recommend the Southeast Market in Salt Lake City. I hear there is a great  market in Las Vegas as well, while that is closer I just generally head up north more than I ever head down to Vegas. If I know I am going up there I go prepared with a little shopping list so I don't forget anything.
Here are the contact details for the store.

http://southeastmarket.com/contact_us

My Kaffir Lime Tree

Recently I have had so much trouble locating Kaffir Lime leaves for my Thai cooking. After driving for 3 1/2 hours to Salt Lake City and still having no luck I decided it was worth the investment to purchase a tree myself.  I took the time to research before I bought, I ordered seeds directly from Thailand and as back up I also purchased a 2 year old tree.
While kaffir lime trees do produce cute little limes, it is rare that they are used in recipes - in fact if you have a recipe for some let me know!. The leaves however are like a snippet of gold. 

I purchased my tree from "The Tasteful Garden" which is located in Alabama. They have a great selection of other plants online as well. I was very satisfied and happy with my little tree. They take a little bit of TLC.. lots of sunlight, a little bit of soil treatment ever 2-3 months, and I spray it with water every couple of days to make it think it is in humidity. Worth it? TOTALLY. Here is the link to the website.

http://www.tastefulgarden.com/store/pc/showsearchresults.asp?pageStyle=H&resultCnt=10&keyword=kaffir+lime&submit.x=0&submit.y=0