Buffalo Turkey Lettuce Wraps

I love lettuce wraps – especially P.F. Changs – but I wanted to make a version that wasn’t Asian-inspired (mostly because we didn’t have soy sauce).  I saw some recipes on Pinterest that were buffalo-style and I thought that sounded perfect.  I didn’t have the ingredients for those recipes either, so I just (buffalo) winged it.

I love these and the recipe is completely customizable.  I mixed cooked lentils with the meat to stretch the amount of meat and make it a little healthier.  The lentils can be left out, or you can used cooked rice or quinoa in place of the lentils.  You won’t notice the taste or texture for the lentils though, so I recommend them.    

Buffalo Turkey Lentil Lettuce Wraps

3/4 – 1 pound lean ground turkey (or chicken or beef)
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup dry lentils (brown or green…orange gets mushy)
3 carrots, shredded using a veggie peeler
Leaves of lettuce, washed (we used butter lettuce, but it doesn’t matter which type)
Shredded cheese or blue cheese sprinkles
Buffalo Wing sauce, about 1 cup
Blue cheese dressing, if desired (I didn’t have it and didn’t need it)
Chopped celery, if you have it (I didn’t)

Don’t have buffalo wing sauce?  Mix some up.

Buffalo Wing Sauce:
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot (or favorite hot sauce)
1/2 T. white vinegar (more to taste)
sprinkle of garlic powder, to taste
1-2 t. sugar, to taste
pepper, to taste

Stir together the ingredients, tasting as you go.  Add more vinegar if you want it to be more tangy; add more sugar if it’s too tangy.  If it’s still too spicy or too tangy, stir in a couple of tablespoons or more of BBQ sauce to mild it out.

For the wraps:
Sort lentils, discarding any weird looking ones.  Place in pan with 2 cups water and simmer with lid tilted until to desired tenderness, stirring occasionally, about 20-25 minutes. Drain water from lentils and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook onions for 3 minutes until tender.  Add ground meat and cook until browned.  Drain if needed.

Add lentils to cooked meat.  Stir in buffalo sauce.  If the sauce it too runny (once mixed with the juices from the meat), you can turn the heat back on and cook for a couple of minutes.

To assemble, scoop meat/lentils down the middle of the lettuce, top with carrots and desired cheese and celery, if using.  Fold it up like a taco and enjoy!  I find it easiest to eat the stem end last, since it’s a little more sturdy.