PF Changs Lettuce Wraps. Mmm Mmm Good!

OH MY HECK!  Today at work I was really craving some PF Changs lettuce wraps, and decided I would test my cooking skills by making some tonight! Making lettuce wraps don't sound too hard right? WRONG! I am seriously surprised they turned out as good as they did for me tonight. I learned two important lessons tonight.

1) Be careful when you have a wok full of boiling lava hot oil! OUCH!

2) A little bit of sesame seed oil goes a LOONNNNGGGGG way :)

The recipe I found is amazing...these tasted just like the ones at the restaurant! I challenge anyone who is reading this blog to try this out! (Pick a night where you have at least an hour and a half to cook....)

Here is the recipe and instructions.

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 Chicken breasts

1 cup water chestnuts

2/3 Cup mushroom (I didn't use the mushrooms and you couldn't even tell)

3 Tablespoons minced garlic 

1 head of iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons ketchup

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon sesame oil (make sure its NO more than 1/8 teaspoon)

1 Tablespoon hot mustard

2 Tablespoons water

1 teaspoon garlic (minced)

1 1/2 teaspoon red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1) Make special sauce by dissolving sugar in water in a small bowl.

2) Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon and sesame oil.

3)Mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

4) Combine hot water w/ mustard and set aside.

5) Eventually, add your desired amount of mustard, garlic, and chile paste to special sauce mixture to pour over wraps. 

6) Bring oil to high heat in wok.

7) Saute chicken breasts 4-5 minutes until almost done. (to avoid having dry chicken, finish cooking the chicken at the end) Remove and cool.

8) Keep oil in pan hot.

9) Mince chestnuts and mushrooms small. The size of peas would be great.

10) Make stir fry sauce by mixing soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar in a small bowl.

11) When chicken is cooled, mince it to the same size as the water chestnuts and mushrooms.

12) With the pan still on high heat, add another teaspoon of vegetable oil.

13) Add chicken, minced garlic, onions, water chestnuts, and mushrooms into the pan.

14) Add stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mix for a few minutes. 

15) Serve in the "lettuce cups".

16. Top it all off with the "special sauce".

AMAZAZAZING!

Seriously, Jake?

Ok, I don't know about any of you out there, but I have watched the Bachelor religiously this season. I just get so frustrated every single week because of VIENNA! EWWW! Have you googled her? (I have...) and she is so disgusting! She is sooooo ugly! Oh my heck. I guess after a little plastic surgery though, anyone can look halfway decent.  But take away her boob job, her nose job, her bleached out blonde hair and extensions, and her fake and baked tan...you have nothing but a spoiled brat with over-plucked eyebrows.  EW. I hope Jake gets rid of her soon. Haha. Ok. Done.




Please pick Tenley...ok Jake?

Ode to Rob.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I declare this post "Ode to Rob".  I just want to take a minute and declare my love for "Skidmark McGee" and how truly blessed I feel to have found a husband like him.

Robbie is one of the sweetest boys I have ever met. He is truly sensitive and puts me first in every situation.  Just one example of this: On our 6th month anniversary, he took me to Nordstrom Rack so I could pick out some jewelry by Betsy Johnson. (I LOVE her jewelry) He didn't expect anything in return, and I found it funny that on OUR anniversary, all he wanted to do was make ME happy. He never thinks about himself, and that is just one example. He treats me like that everyday. 

**He never yells. He never belittles me.  He is sensitive to my feelings and never says anything out of line.  As we venture into the world of having "married friends", I have realized by hanging out with other couples, that Robbie really is one in a million.  Some of the husbands I have been around don't treat their wives half as good as Robbie does to me.  

**No matter how hard I TRY to annoy him, he can still only smile and laugh. Sometimes I feel like its impossible for me to get on his nerves....and if I DO...he hides it VERY well...which is nice :) 

**Even after being together almost 2 years, he still opens the door for me everywhere we go.

**All he can ever think about is doing nice things for me.  When he gets a paycheck, instead of immediately looking for things that he wants, he gets online and looks at stuff he would like to get me. ( I am not a very material person, I don't know why he loves doing that. Its his OWN idea haha.)

**He is very ambitious and hard-working.  If he sets his mind to something, it WILL be done.  I feel like I will never have to worry about him supporting me and our future family.

**He is patient.  I am emotional. Get it?

**Lets be honest, I have some self-esteem issues.  Robbie makes me feel beautiful, and he NEVER talks about other girls, looks at other girls, or says other girls are pretty.  To be honest, I really wouldn't care if he said "That girl was really pretty" but the fact that he doesn't is nice.

**I feel comfortable knowing that he is our foundation.  No matter how lazy I feel, we will always say our prayers, read our scriptures, and pay our tithing.

**He is freaking HOT. I see girls checking him out wherever we go. I like the feeling that I have what they want ;-)

**He treats me like a princess.

** He is self-less, respectful, and understanding.

**I could go on and on, but then again I don't think you would want to read a novel about how much I love my husband.

Lastly, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, he reminds me sooo much of my DAD! That makes me feel good inside, because my dad is the most respectful, most LOVING, caring, self-less, patient, and amazing man that I know.  My dad treats my mom like a princess, and I love knowing that I picked someone just like him.