Occasionally I will find an ingredient in my refrigerator and wonder why I bought it. I try to be pretty organized, but sometimes I am really at a loss as to where my mind went while I was at the store. This week it was a head of butter lettuce, an item I don’t normally buy. I decided to make lettuce cups with it rather than try to remember where my head was when I deviated from my grocery list. I love the P.F. Changs variety, but the recipe is too complex with way too many ingredients so I did an Italian take on the dish.
Italian Lettuce Cups
2 lbs ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Italian seasoning to taste (oregano, rosemary, basil, thyme), dry or fresh
salt and pepper to taste
1 8oz can tomato sauce
olive oil
1 head butter lettuce leaves
Saute onion and garlic in 1 TB olive oil. Once browned, add ground beef and cook until browned. You see two pans here only because I forgot to start with the onion and garlic. No doubt I was still distracted by what the head of lettuce could have been meant for. š
While the beef mixture is cooking, chop up any fresh herbs you plan to use. I used fresh basil and parsley.
Once beef mixture is browned, add fresh and dried herbs. Cook a few minutes then add tomato sauce and cook until bubbly. Spoon as much as you like into one lettuce cup and top with favorite topper. I used chopped artichoke. Delicious!
a pinch of homestead 