I suddenly realized that we could have been using the slow cooker through the height of sports season when we sometimes had to eat in shifts. A slow cooker dinner can sit there and be ready and warm whenever it’s needed.
Tonight we finally have a crockpot dinner, even though ironically everyone is home to eat together. This recipe idea is from the Greenbacks gal, Andrea. I had giant lettuce leaves, so I rolled these like stuffed cabbage (instead of like a taco) and put a toothpick in them to make them more lettuce intensive. I would modify this next time by adding a couple of shredded carrots into the whole mix. Also, ours cooked for 6 hours on low – no problem.
P.F. Chang’s Lettuce Wrap Copycat Recipe
1 T sesame oil
2 lb ground chicken or turkey
1 t dried ginger
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/4 C cooking sherry
1/2 C hoisin sauce
2 T tamari
1 T chili garlic sauce
2 cans sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped (1 can is fine)
2 T rice wine vinegar
12 small lettuce leaves – Bibb, butter, or whatever you have
Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Brown the ground turkey and garlic in the oil. Add ginger and sherry and cook until all the liquid is gone. Transfer everything to a crockpot. Mix the hoisin sauce, tamari, and chili garlic sauce. Stir into the meat mixture in the crockpot.
Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 3-4 hours. Before serving, stir in water chestnuts and rice vinegar. Cook an additional 10 minutes to warm through. Roll in lettuce leaves.
