Honestly, there are many days and nights when I really don’t want to cook. I cook 5 days a week and 2 or 3 times a day. It seriously gets old. I tried making a bigger batch of food (like many people have suggested) but my family still finish it in one meal. I guess we are just big eaters. Today was one of those “too lazy to cook” days. So, I made lettuce wrap with ground meat for dinner.

I always have ground meat on hand (turkey, pork, beef, chicken, just name it I have them all). WIth this dish you can be very creative.  First you decide what kind of flavor you want. I asked the kids to vote whether they want Mexican, Asian, Indian or Italian. They answered “but mommy, India is also part of Asia”. So, I had to correct myself. “I meant east asia, the ones with sesame oil and soy sauce”. Finally the kids decide, ” aaahhh, yes we want Asian”.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of ground meat (any meat will do)
• 1 medium onion (chopped any way you like)
• 1 head of lettuce (any kind you have)
• Oil for browning

Directions:

• Heat up your pan with oil.
• Brown the onion until it is caramelized.
• Put in the meat with the onion and brown.
• Put in your seasoning as it is cooking.
• When it is done, scoop the meat onto the lettuce. (single, double or triple layer, however you like it!)

Tips:

• I like to mix my ground meat with 2 tsp of cornstarch before I cook it, to make it softer (my kids don’t like to eat chewy meats)
• If you have frozen mix vegetables, you can add it with the meat for different colors and texture. (you can always use more fiber too!)
• For Asian flavor: use sesame oil (for browning), soy sauce, garlic and green onions
• For Mexican flavor: add chile powder, cumin and oregano (if you have taco seasoning you can also use that)
• For Indian flavor: add cumin, coriander, brown mustard, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom and spicy red chili pepper (if you don’t have one, two or three of the spices that’s okay too you’re not in a cooking competition)
• For Italian flavor: add tomato paste, basil, oregano, thyme, and parsley. (you can also sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top, if you’re not on Paleo diet)