Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps | Dinner or Lunch

Craving hot wings?

This recipe will satisfy your cravings. This is a little healthier version of hot wings because it uses chicken tenders instead of wings with skin. They are not fried. I still use butter but just enough to give the buffalo sauce a hint of creamy butter.

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Recipe by: Simply Fit Mama

• 1 1/2 lbs of chicken tenders, rinse and pat dry
• 1/2 cup Red Hot hot sauce
• 2 Tbsp real butter
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• Lettuce, rinsed and dried --Bibb or Boston lettuce is best but you could use romaine it just doesn't wrap as well...and you hold it more like a taco.

Blue Cheese Dip

Recipe: Simply Fit Mama

• 1/2 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup blue cheese
• Salt and pepper

First the dip. Get a bowl and mix all the ingredients together. Don't be shy with the fresh pepper it complements the blue cheese very nicely. Cover the bowl and set in the fridge to let the flavors mingle.

Now for the chicken. Place chicken in a large dish with sides then give them a nice coating of salt and pepper on both sides. In a bowl melt the two tablespoons of butter either in the microwave or stove. Add the hot sauce and garlic powder. Mix together. Reserve half of the sauce for later. Pour the other half on top of the chicken tenders, make sure all sides are coated. Let it hang out on the counter for about 15-20 minutes while you preheat your grill to medium high heat.

Grill the chicken tenders till done. It takes about 6-8 minutes on the grill depending on how hot your grill is.

Assemble. Lay out the lettuce on each plate. Then add the chicken tenders, you can slice it or leave them whole. I liked them whole. Drizzle some of the reserved buffalo sauce on top of the chicken. Now add a dollop of blue cheese dip.

On a side note. This is not a super spicy buffalo sauce. When I make spicy dishes I like to make the kiddos plates a little different. For this dish I pulled aside the chicken and grilled theirs with just salt and pepper. I then put the sauces in little ramekins so that they can explore the tastes on their own and add what they like or leave it plain if that's what they prefer. I always give them the option to eat the big food flavors because I want them to not automatically assume they don't like something just because it's spicy or too grown up.

Here's what their plate looked like:

Beef and Veggie Kabobs | Dinner

Summer is really here and I have been brainstorming some easy and fun summer recipes. I want quick and easy recipes that the kids can easily help with. One of the first things that came to mind was kabobs. So I have come up with a handful of new kabob recipes. Who doesn't like food on a stick?

This is a wine based marinade but if you want to opt out of the wine part feel free to substitute beef stock. Also you can change out the veggies to what your family prefers. This is a great low-carb recipe without skimping on taste.

Beef and Veggie Kabobs
Created by: Simply Fit Mama

• 1lb beef cut into kabob size chunks--sirloin, steak tips, tri-tip, etc.
• Assortment of veggies cut in big chunks: zucchini, bell pepper, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms.
• Skewers--if you are using bamboo/wood type make sure you soak them for an hour or so.

Marinade for beef

• 1/4 cup red wine or beef stock
• 1/4 worcestershire sauce--try to get an all natural or organic version traditional normally has some undesirable ingredients.
• 2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Trader Joe's 21 seasoning salute
• 4 Cloves of garlic, chopped

In a large ziplock bag add all the above ingredients and combine. Then add the beef. Next let marinade in the fridge for a couple of hours. You could marinate this overnight if you wanted to.

Get the kids to the counter with all those delicious veggies and let them skewer meat and veggies of their choice on the skewers. You'll be surprised at how adventurous they will be when they get to pick.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat and place the kabobs on the grill till desired doneness. I cooked mine around 8 minutes.