Mexicasian Lettuce Wraps

PLEASE NOTE: If you haven't read my profile on the right-hand side of this page, go read it now. That part at the bottom, about the scrambled eggs... it totally applies tonight.

I took out an extra pound of ground beef yesterday, so I had to come up with something for tonight. I was hoping to create something a little lighter than yesterday's magnificent burgers, so I opted for some lettuce wraps. I was going to do a peanut sauce with the beef (which really would have been delicious), but then I thought I'd just keep it simple... lime, ginger, garlic, and cilantro. However, I was not happy with the name "Lime Ginger Beef Lettuce Wraps". Too descriptive. I stumbled upon the word Mexicasian and figured there must be some way to spice this dish up a little. And this is what I came up with:

MEXICASIAN LETTUCE WRAPS
1 lb. ground beef
1 leek, diced (or try some lemongrass if you like)
3-4 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. Chipotle Chili Powder
1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
lettuce leaves
diced avocado, green onion, and tomato

Brown beef with leek and garlic. Drain well. Stir in ginger, chipotle, cilantro, and lime juice. Mix well to combine flavours. Combine diced veggies together in a bowl. To assemble lettuce wraps, place a scoop of beef on a lettuce leaf along with a scoop of diced veggies. Wrap it up and enjoy!

Enjoy. Easier said than done. Today my daughter graced us with one of her after-school tantrums. They are a sight to behold. The poor thing is starving at 4pm, but one snack is never enough, and then by 5pm she wants nothing to do with supper. So we limit her snacks to a reasonable amount, and she responds with sobbing, whining, the occasional kicking of walls, and usually the screaming of, "I CAN'T DO NOTHING!!!"

I knew the kids wouldn't eat the lettuce and veggies, so I cut up some cucumber slices, and wrapped up their meat in a whole wheat tortilla. My daughter took one bite and her head just about spun off. (She was less than impressed with the Mexicasian-ness of my meal.) I whipped up some scrambled eggs quicker than you can say, "I CAN'T DO NOTHING!!!" and then I finally assembled my own lettuce wrap to see what all the fuss was about.

I thought they were pretty good. The chipotle added a teeny bit of heat, but nothing really noticeable. The ginger and cilantro were pretty mild, too. In all honesty, I kinda wish I had gone with the peanut sauce idea. But hey, at least I tried something new, and at least I had enough eggs in the fridge to wage off a full-blown supper crisis..... until tomorrow night!