Copy Cat P.F. Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps

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Copycat P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps | The Novice Housewife

So I wont bore you yet again with I have been busy and apologize yet again for being MIA. I think thats just been so overdone on the blog lately. So let’s get past that and let’s concentrate on today’s recipe.

Lettuce wraps.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

P.F Chang inspired chicken lettuce wraps.

Crazy easy to make and super delicious to eat. A great appetizer for parties or if you are trying to keep a check on your weight then the perfect meal. Plus, they are gluten free. You just have to make them. Like pronto. Even if you are a vegetarian, it shouldn’t stop you, because you can easily substitute the chicken for tofu. Been there, done that. So I can assure you it works. And works well.

Copycat P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps | The Novice Housewife

The sudden urge to make lettuce wraps came by the other day when I went to Kylin, Chandigarh and ordered us some chicken lettuce wraps. They were good and they brought back wonderful memories of the PF. Changs lettuce wraps I have had in Phoenix. And the copy cat tofu recipe I made to take a potluck so that V would have something vegetarian to eat. They were so good that the meat lovers also had quite a bit of V’s dinner of lettuce wraps. Luckily I had made enough for everyone.

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Vegan, sugar free, gluten free Date Truffles

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Gluten Free, sugar free, vegan, raw Date Truffles } | The Novice Housewife Diwali, one of India’s biggest festivals, is right around the corner. Known as the festivals of lights, Diwali celebrations generally last 5 days, with Indians all over the world celebrating it in their own special way. Diwali signifies the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness.

Diwali is kind of like the Indian Christmas, with the days preceding Diwali marked by people cleaning their houses, lighting it, shopping new clothes and buying gifts/sweets for friends and family.

I had read somewhere that there is actually a scientific reason behind the cleaning of houses before Diwali. Since Diwali is celebrated somewhere between mid-October to mid-November, right after monsoons end, the cleaning makes sure all the germs and infestation that monsoons brought with them get eradicated with the whitewashing, and other pre Diwali cleaning activities. In fact a lot of Hindu traditions that we follow blindly these days are backed with a very logical reasoning that we are not aware of. Gluten Free, sugar free, vegan, raw Date Truffles } | The Novice Housewife Growing up, Diwali for me meant new clothes, lighting candles and diyas, putting lights up, cleaning every nook and corner of our rooms because else the Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi won’t pay our house a visit, going to the Gurudwara to light candles and then bursting crackers at home.

I, being terrified of crackers, would just just burn the sparklers and be happy while my dad and brother would burst the more scary crackers. As we grew up and realized how terrifying the noise is for animals (we had a dog who had the toughest time during Diwali), besides the air pollution that crackers cause, we stopped bursting crackers altogether. Just to continue a little tradition we celebrate Diwali now by lighting a sparkler or two, and maybe an anar for fun. Besides that we just light the house and distribute sweets to our loved ones. And eat good food and lots of sweets!

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Thai Glass Noodle Salad

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Gluten free, Vegan Thai Glass Noodle Salad | The Novice Housewife Things have been a little busy at my end and I will be updating you soon about that, but lets talk about this Thai glass noodle salad first.

Trying to lose weight? Trying to eat healthier? Looking for salads that don’t include mayo based dressings but still taste as great? Then look no further my dear lovely faithful readers, this glass noodle salad will answer all your woes. Well, most of them anyway!

Its light, refreshing and its gluten free, fat free, nut free, vegan and thus every reason why you should be making this. Gluten free, Vegan Thai Glass Noodle Salad | The Novice Housewife Made from mung bean starch, glass noodles (or cellophane noodles) are rich in iron and zinc. But lets be clear they are not a low carb option. They have their share of carbs, but its not white carbs and they have almost zero fat. Plus, if you have your glass noodles with a good serving of the veggies (like in this salad), I think this dish pretty healthy and fresh to include in your meals.

The salad is easy to make and pretty quick to put together. The only technique required is the cooking of the glass noodles, rest is chopping and mixing.

To cook glass noodles, soak the stiff mung bean noodles for about 15 minutes in hot water. Drain and wash it with cold water and cut the noodles to a smaller size. Then boil them for 30s- 1 min and drain again. If using in soups you can skip the second step. But if using noodles for this salad, you will need to boil them till tender. Read More →