The Maid-Rite sandwich…it doesn’t look like much, but looks can be deceiving. In fact, the first time I was served a Maid-Rite, I was in Iowa and had been handed a bun full of loose ground beef. I was a little perplexed as it seemed like something I would make on a night I didn’t want to make dinner for my kids – so I’d try to pass off plain ground beef as dinner. (Come on, don’t tell me you haven’t done something similar!).

What I didn’t know is the Maid-Rite sandwich would soon be one of my favorite, easy dinners to make. The beef is tender and flavorful, made with simple ingredients I always have on hand. It’s as easy as serving ground beef for dinner, but 100 times better!…

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It is no newsflash to Dine & Dish readers that I’m a little perturbed that I still live in Kansas. I always thought I would be out of this state at some point, but 37 years later, I am still about as firmly planted as one can be. It’s fine, really. I’m getting used to the idea (which is exactly what I tell myself so that I don’t fall into some deep stupor about my fate as a lifetime Kansan.)…

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As sad I am to see school back in session, I am truly excited to get back into a somewhat more manageable routine. We may have more things going on during the school year, but at least we are on somewhat of a schedule.

Along with that schedule comes the challenge of finding time to sit down to dinner as a family each evening. During the summer we would eat dinner early or eat late or eat out… we ate dinner together, but it varied greatly as far as times. Now with school getting out at 4pm, and after school activities starting soon after, I am hungrily looking for delicious recipes that can fit into our ever tight schedules.

I recently found this recipe for Asian Lettuce Wraps on another food blog and now I can’t find the blog. Luckily, I did a search on All Recipes and found the same recipe. (If I commented on this recipe on your blog, please let me know and I’ll link this back to you.) I love this recipe because it gives me something besides tacos and spaghetti to use ground beef with. It is a fun, hand held dinner and it can be made in a jiffy. With recipes like this in my repertoire, I feel like I can finally get into the groove of things!

Asian Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps, from Allrecipes

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

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.
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!

Interested in other recipe versions of Lettuce Wraps? Check out what these food bloggers have to offer:

• Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps, from Picky Palate
• Quick Chinese Lettuce Wraps, from Chaos in the Kitchen
• Ginger Chicken Lettuce Wraps, from The Village Voice
• Five-Spice Turkey and Lettuce Wraps, from Culinary in the Desert

There is still some room for you in the Adopt-a-Blogger 2 event. Veteran’s especially… come on out and mentor a new blogger! Click here to sign up.

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Why is it that all that I can think about when writing this post is the You Tube video of Faith Hill recently telling off a concert groupie for groping her husband? I know, I have the mind of a 5th grader, don’t I?

We went to an Italian restaurant a couple of years ago and  I ordered spaghetti and meatballs. To me, meatballs means lots and lots of meatballs and I was looking forward to my heaping amount on top of my pasta. When our food arrived, I looked at my plate and my expectations for the pasta were fulfilled… it was a heaping pile of pasta. Much to my dismay, my expectations for the meatball situation fell very short. On my plate was one, single, solitary meatball. It was a large meatball, but there was only one.

This was all wrong. Meatballs belong in groups and piles. They are not loners. They need others by their side to be complete….

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