i’ve never been a great cook, let’s just put that right out there. but over the past few years, as we’ve had two kids and eating out has become more and more inconvenient, as well as matt becoming vegan, i’ve had to learn how to cook. and i actually found i enjoy it, and am trying to do it well. i mentioned in a tweet that although this is not a cooking blog, i like the idea of sharing recipes that we are enjoying right now. mainly because ages ago, i saw a mom post a picture of her kids’ lunch on instagram. it was a bagel with cream cheese and jam and some chips or something. but the point is, at that point i was in such a rut with what to feed the kids, and had just forgotten about bagels and cream cheese with jam! so, if nothing else, hopefully these recipes will help spark something for someone if they’re in a cooking rut.

this recipe is, hands down, my current favorite. i just had leftovers for lunch and it is so amazing. i don’t typically cook a lot of asian dishes, so this has been a welcome different from a lot of pasta and beans and such. i didn’t have half the ingredients, not even soy sauce, so i almost didn’t make it out of laziness, but so glad i did! the recipe i used is vegan, with tofu used for the filling. i made that for matt, but also just substituted ground beef for the tofu for myself. below is the recipe with a few modifications, or you can check out the original here. 

peanut sauce

1 tsp canola oil (i used olive bc that’s all i had)

1 tbsp minced shallot (this is a small onion, i had no idea what it was ha!)

1/3 cup of water

2 tbsp creamy peanut butter (i definitely used more)

4 tsp hoisin sauce

fresh lime juice (i used half of one)

*make this last. i made it first and it was fine, but had to keep it on low heat and keep stirring it while making the filling.

filling 

1/2 package of firm tofu crumbled OR 1 lb extra lean ground beef

1 tbsp dark sesame oil

3 thinly sliced green onions

handful of chopped cilantra

3-4 tbsp soy sauce

sprinkling of sugar (i used brown crystals)

1/2 tsp sriracha

handful of matchstick carrots

handful of matchstick cucumbers

2 cups brown rice

head of lettuce

honey roasted peanuts (to add for topping)

diced avocado (to add for topping)

to me, it looked like a lot of work when looking at the recipe list. but it’s really not so bad. just get the rice started, while that is cooking do the tofu or ground beef  (i didn’t use the oil for the ground beef, has enough on it’s own), add all the ingredients up to the carrots and cucumbers. saute for a few minutes then remove from heat and add the carrots and cucumbers (or you can even just add then as you build your wrap). then saute the shallot in a different pan in the oil, add the water through hoisin sauce, stir till slightly thick (i had to add a bit of hoisin sauce or peanut butter to get it to the right consistency), then lastly add the lime juice. grab your lettuce leaves, rice, filling and sauce, build your wraps and top off with the peanuts, adds a nice crunch to it. and don’t forget the avocado, because, in my opinion, everything tastes better with avocado enjoy!

hope everyone has a nice and sunny weekend!