You can make Vietnamese lettuce wraps. There are a lot of recipes on line - I don't have mine handy here at work.

Lars

These are completely delicious:
Splendid Table Almond Chutney Chicken in Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Salad:

One 3-pound roasted chicken (take-out works here)
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
Juice of 3 large lemons, or more to taste
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced, or hot sauce to taste
9-ounce jar Major Grey Chutney, cut into bite-size pieces if necessary
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
3 large stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 cup whole salted almonds, coarse chopped

Lettuce Cups and Herbs:

1 large head Bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried
1 large bunch fresh basil, washed and dried
1 large bunch fresh coriander, washed and dried
8 radishes, thin sliced
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced into thin rounds or 2-inch sticks

Instructions

Pull the meat from the chicken carcass, discarding the skin and bones. Cut it into bite-sized pieces.

In a large bowl combine the onions, lemon zest and juice, jalapeno, chutney, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. Fold in the chicken. Taste the mix for lemon, mayonnaise, and herbs, adding more as needed. Let it stand 20 minutes to blend flavors, or refrigerate overnight.

To serve, blend the celery and nuts into the chicken mixture. Mound the salad at one side of a big platter. Pile up the lettuce leaves at the other side, and cluster sprigs of herbs in the center. Tuck the radishes and cucumbers next to the herbs.

Put a few herb leaves in the bottom of a lettuce "cup," top them with a spoonful of the salad, a slice each of radish and cucumber, and roll up.

I second Lars suggestion. I love lettuce wraps. And you can use any kind of lettuce. I like using Romaine.

Asian Lettuce Cups

Use this as an outline.
Measurements are just approximate. I don't measure anything.

1 or 2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 pound of chicken breasts ground, or
lean ground pork
1 minced garlic clove
1 or 2 teaspoons minced ginger
1/2 cup chopped onion
chicken broth
salt
3 green onions chopped
Bean sprouts
fresh chopped cilantro
Lettuce Leaves

Heat oil and saute the onions, when soft add the ground chicken or pork. Do not brown. Add the garlic and the ginger. Add a little chicken broth to stop the meat from sticking. Simmer until meat is cooked. Season with salt. Remove from the heat and add the green onion.

Sauce
(season to suit own taste)

1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 or 2 tablespoons of garlic chili sauce or Thai sweet chili sauce.
minced ginger
minced garlic
sesame oil to taste

Additional ingredients.
Peanuts (Optional)
toasted sesame seeds
Chopped water chestnuts

To serve, spoon on to lettuce leaves and drizzle on a little of the sauce. Top with bean sprouts and cilantro

-Lettuce soup.

-If you have a juicer you can use it there.

-Dehydrate. (Source: Making and Using Dried Foods)
Shred or cut into quarters. Blanch until wilted, about 2 to 2-1/2 minutes in steam or 1-1/2 minutes in boiling water. Drain. Chill in cold water. Drain. Pat dry. (I give it a quick spin in the salad spinner.)

Spread shreds or quarters thinly over trays. Dry at 120-degrees until crisp, about 8 to 12 hours, stirring or turning pieces occasionally and rotating trays once. When dry, cooled pieces should crumble easily when crushed in the hands.

To use: While refreshed lettuce does NOT have the crispness desirable for salads, it is an excellent cooked vegetable and a valuable addition to soups. Pour one cup boiling water over one cup dried lettuce, cover and cook for 20-25-minutes. One cup yields about 1-1/2 c. cooked vegetable.

SWEET AND SOUR DRIED LETTUCE
3 c. dried lettuce shreds
1 c. dried apple slices
4 c. boiling water
2 T. vegetable oil
2 T. all-purpose flour
3 T. white vinegar
4 T. brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Cover dried lettuce and dried apple slices with boiling water. Cook for 10-minutes in a covered saucepan. Add oil and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with flour, vinegar, and sugar. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Serves 6.

BRAISED DRIED LETTUCE
4 dried lettuce quarters
2 c. boiling water
2 T. butter
salt and pepper to taste
dash ground nutmeg
1 T. lemon juice

Cook dried lettuce quarters in boiling water for 30-35 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid for soups. Melt butter in a heavy skillet. Add lettuce and cook slowly for 10 to 15 minutes. Add seasonings and lemon juice and stir quickly to blend. Serves 4.

-It keeps longer if you can vacuum-seal it in a jar or canister using a FoodSaver.

-Probably similar to "Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps" -

ASIAN CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS
1 can (12.5 oz.) chicken breast (drained)
2 medium carrots - shredded (about 1-cup)
3/4 c. diced red bell pepper
4 green onions, chopped (about 1/2-cup)
1/4 c. Asian-Style Sesame Salad Dressing
6 large Bibb or Iceberg lettuce leaves

Mix ingredients, except lettuce leaves, and serve packaged in the lettuce leaves.

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SALAD-TOPPED PITA PIZZA
(source: "Hungry Girl To The MAX!" by Lisa Lillien

1 stick light string cheese
1 high-fiber pita
Dash Italian seasoning
2 c. finely chopped romaine lettuce
1/4 c. chopped tomato
1/4 c. thinly sliced red onion
2 T. fat free or low-fat balsamic or red wine vinaigrette
1 t. reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping

Preheat oven to 375-degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

Break string cheese into thirds and place in a blender or food processor -- blend at high speed until shredded. (Or pull into shreds and roughly chop.)

Lay pita on the baking sheet, and sprinkle with shredded string cheese and Italian seasoning. Bake until hot and lightly browned, 8-10-minutes. To make the salad, mix rommaine, tomato, and onion in a large bowl. Toss with finaigrette. Top pita with salad and Parm-style topping.

-Grainlady

I know you are already loaded with lettuce wraps, but here is another one. Love 'em.

Asian Pork Lettuce Wraps

"Ground beef seasoned with soy and hoisin sauces, garlic, ginger, and green onions - with a bit of crunch from diced water chestnuts - is gently folded into fresh lettuce leaves to be eaten burrito style. Delicious and great for entertaining or family style meals."

INGREDIENTS:
16 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves
1 pound lean ground beef or pork
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Asian chile pepper sauce
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil
1/3 cup chopped peanuts

1. Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions, and sesame oil, and continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes. OR USE Thai chili dipping sauce
3. Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito and enjoy!

"---What can you do with it besides salad?---"

Do you have a rabbit? :-)

Kidding.

Stir fry it a few seconds to wilt it a little, You may like the new texture and flavour.

dcarch

You didn't say what variety, but if you have escarole, make soup from it.

The lettuce is actually just a salad mix - mostly romaine and other mild leafy greens; and no spicy lettuce. The leaves are pretty small - not great for lettuce wraps (but now I really want some!!!).

I think I may be limited - but perhaps my knowledge is just limited, not my options!

Put it in a tortilla wrap, make taco salad, top chili, make quesadillas and open and add lettuce right before serving- I do this a lot.

Greeks braise lettuce in broth and serve with avgolemeno sauce. Also, one of my dad's favorites was beef or lamb stew with vegetables swimming in avgolemeno sauce. He and his best friend liked the stew with celery. But I know other friends enjoyed it with dandelion greens or lettuce. I liked it with celery or artichokes.

Greek Stew Avgolemeno

1½ - 2 pounds lean beef or lamb stew meat
2 tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin
1 large onion, chopped
2 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dill weed
3 cups water or broth
1-teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Vegetables* (see below)
Avgolemeno Sauce** (see below)

• Heat olive oil in heavy Dutch oven.
• Add beef/lamb in batches and brown well on all sides; set aside.
• Add onion to pot and sauté until golden.
• Drain off any excess fat.
• Return beef/lamb to pot and add garlic, dill, salt, pepper, and water or broth.
• Bring to simmer and cook for 1-½ hours until meat is just tender.
• Add desired vegetables* and cook approximately 30 additional minutes until meat and vegetables are completely tender.
• Adjust seasonings.
• Remove pot from heat.
• Prepare Avgolemono Sauce* and add to stew gradually.
• If desired, return to medium heat and stir for 5 minutes until sauce thickens slightly.

*Vegetable options:

• Artichoke Hearts - Use 2 packages frozen (defrosted) or 2 cans (well drained). For fresh, use 8-12 small globe artichoke hearts. Remove tough outer leaves and most of stem. Cut in half and remove hairy choke. Submerge in bowl of cold lemon water to keep from discoloring. Fresh artichokes may need to be cooked in stew 45 minutes.

• Celery - Use 1 bunch celery. If desired, peel the strings from stalks, using a vegetable peeler. Cut into 2-3 inch lengths. Pork can be used instead of lamb with this vegetable.

• Endive - Use 4-6 heads endive, washed well and trimmed of any coarse leaves. Slit heads in half lengthways.

• Lettuce - Use 2-3 heads romaine lettuce, leaves separated and washed well.

• Dandelion Greens - Use 1-2 bunches dandelion greens, washed well and trimmed of tough stalks.

**Avgolemono Sauce:
1-2 cups hot stew broth
2 eggs
Juice from 2 lemons
1-2 tablespoons quick mixing flour (like Wondra)

• Mix the flour with the lemon juice and blend well.
• Beat the eggs well, until frothy, in a bowl.
• Add the flour and lemon mixture to the eggs and beat well.
• Slowly add the broth to the egg mixture, little by little (ladle by ladle), while continuing to beat.
• Pour and mix the Avgolemono Sauce gently into the hot stew and stir well.

This is a favorite soup around our house. It came from a local restaurant. I can't find white worcestershire sauce any more so I just use 1 T of the regular.

Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Soup

½ c. margarine
2/3 c. flour
1 quart milk
2 c. chicken stock
10 slices crisp fried bacon, crumbled
1 c. lettuce, finely chopped
½ c tomato, finely chopped
2 T. white worcestershire
½ t. nutmeg
¼ t. pepper
¼ t. Italian seasoning-- optional

Melt margarine, blend in flour. Add milk, cook and stir until thickened. In boiling chicken stock, heat bacon and vegetables. Combine with cream soup. Season. Sprinkle with croutons before serving.

dcarch, you and I had the same idea, LOL, and you beat me to it.

I'm not a lover of green salads, although I keep trying, thinking I can learn to like it. Not yet, although I'm more apathetic than having an actual dislike.

I do have a recipe for braised lettuce and peas, although many people do not think of cooking lettuce. Grandma used to add it to creamed peas and make creamed lettuce with peas, but I lost her recipe. :-(

Braised lettuce and peas

1 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
3 medium shallots, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
4 cups lettuce, washed, core removed, leaves halved and thinly sliced crosswise (Boston or bibb is best)
2 cups frozen baby peas
3 tablespoons greek yogurt or sour cream (optional)

Heat oil in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add shallots, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the top and cook until raw taste is gone, about 30 seconds. Add stock and bring to a boil. Stir in lettuce and peas, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until lettuce and peas are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in yogurt or sour cream, if using. Taste, adjust seasoning as desired, and serve.

Grandma also used to make something she called "killed lettuce", which is technically a salad, I guess.

Wilted Lettuce

4 bacon strips, cut up
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 green onions with tops, sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 to 10 cups torn leaf lettuce
1 hard-cooked egg, chopped

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain.

To the hot drippings, add the vinegar, water, onions, sugar, salt and pepper, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

Place lettuce in a salad bowl; immediately pour dressing over and toss lightly. Top with egg. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings.

Annie

Duplicate Post Removed.

This post was edited by annie1992 on Sun, Apr 14, 13 at 0:26