Wonderfully Relaxing

So, our long weekend was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! JD and I took Asher up to my parents cabin in Forest Lakes for the first time. If you dont know where that is, it's ok, I didnt either until my dad bought the cabin. It's about a half hour outside of Payson, right at the rim. It is so nice and relaxing out there. We watched my dad and JD play in the corn hole tournament at the restaurant, played horseshoes, cooked lots of yummy food, went in the hot tub, and of course had fun with our favorite boy ever, Mr. Snuggles! The weather is soooo much cooler up there and we got to bust out our winter clothes again, yay yay! Asher loved it and was the cutest bundled up snow bunny, minus the snow haha.

It was so nice to spend time with my family. We had my grandparents, my parents, and our little family of three all together. We were missing my sister and her fiance because they had to work. They will be able to come up with us for 4th of July though. It will be insane! We will have like 15 people at the cabin for the big weekend! My dad's birthday is July 5th so we always have a HUGE party at the cabin that weekend. I just got home and I seriously cant wait to go back!!! Here are some pics of our fabulous weekend getaway.......

Ready to play in the cold weather!

My happy boy

The cutest baby EVER

Playtime with Great Grandpa

Even more playtime with Daddy

He loves the stop hitting yourself game! haha

Our little family

Once we got home and got all unpacked, AKA a nightmare with all of Asher's stuff, I decided to try some new recipes. By new I mean I have had them for years but since I just recently started cooking, it is the first time I have gotten around to trying them! One was so good my husband and I stuff as much as we could into our mouths! The other was so gross, yuck. And I would like to point out that it was not my fault that it was nasty. It was the dressing that went on it, it was sooo tangy because the recipe called for so much rice wine vinegar that you couldn't taste anything else. Anywho, back to the fantabulous recipe.....it was turkey lettuce wraps. They were so yummy and so light that you felt full but not stuffed, perfect! I wish I knew where I got this recipe so I could give them a shout out but like I said, I got it so long ago that I have no idea. And I made some changes to fit our personal likes, I'll note them for you but try whatever you want. Well here it is, try this healthy easy dinner anytime!

Five-Spice Turkey & Lettuce Wraps

Makes 4 servings at 285 cals

Ingredients

         1/2 cup water

         1/2 cup instant brown rice

         2 teaspoons sesame oil

         1 pound 93%-lean ground turkey

         1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

         1 large red bell pepper, finely diced

         1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, rinsed and chopped

         1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

         2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, (see Note)

         1 teaspoon five-spice powder, (see Note)

         1/2 teaspoon salt

         2 heads Boston lettuce, leaves separated

         1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as cilantro, basil, mint and/or chives

         1 large carrot, shredded

*In my recipe I did not use the red bell pepper, garlic and wine seasoning by melting

pot instead of the five-spice powder, iceburg lettuce instead of the boston lettuce, and

of course basil as my herb because my hubby and I just cant get enough basil or

pesto

All the ingredients

PREPARATION

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add rice; reduce heat to low, cover and

cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add turkey and

ginger; cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until the turkey is cooked through,

about 6 minutes. 

Stir in the cooked rice, bell pepper, water chestnuts, broth, hoisin

sauce, five-spice powder and salt; cook until heated through, about 1 minute.

To serve, spoon portions of the turkey mixture into lettuce leaves, top with herbs and

carrot and roll into wraps.

Here is the final product!

It is so light, healthy, and yummy in the tummy!

TIPS & NOTES

Make Ahead Tip: Prepare the filling (through Step 2), cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Serve cold or reheat in the microwave.

Notes: Hoisin sauce is a spicy, sweet sauce made from soybeans, chiles, garlic and spices. It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a year.

Often a blend of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns, five-spice powder was originally considered a cure-all miracle blend encompassing the five elements (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty). Look for it in the supermarket spice section.

I hope you all enjoy it and just wanted to show you some pics of my mini chef and his first time in his highchair! He loves helping mommy in the kitchen!!!