The other night I worked late at the office then headed to the gym to work out. By the time I got home it was 8 p.m., and I wasn't really in the mood to cook. So I searched for inspiration in my refrigerator. We've all done it - what can we put together that's tasty, healthy, and most of all easy?
Fortunately, this is the season for an abundance of fresh vegetables.
A quick inventory of the fridge included a head of romaine lettuce, some cherry tomatoes, a cucumber, a few bell peppers, an avocado, some leftover roasted chicken and a couple of staples like ranch dressing and hot sauce.
I didn't quite know how it would turn out, but my idea was that any type of fresh vegetable would go with buffalo chicken. I didn't have any celery, but the cucumber could be a great substitute for that. I don't typically keep any type of bread in the house, so the Romaine could become my wrap.
I plunged in with confidence. Out of this beautiful mixture of fresh vegetables and leftover chicken, the buffalo chicken veggie wrap was born!
The most time-consuming part was boning the chicken and dicing the vegetables - and by time-consuming, I mean five minutes of effort. Not much at all!
After deboning the chicken, I shredded it with my hands, added some buffalo wing sauce and tossed it in a bowl. I let it sit there, soaking in the awesome sauce while I diced the vegetables. Now for assembly.
I really enjoy cold chicken, but for this creation I warmed the chicken in the microwave for about a minute and a half. I did this immediately before assembly so the chicken would be warm but the vegetables would still be fresh and crisp.
I laid out four romaine lettuce leaves, filling each with the chicken. Then I topped the chicken with all of the vegetables and a couple of slices of avocado and lightly drizzled ranch dressing on the top. They looked beautiful. They tasted even better!
This recipe is a definite winner for a quick dinner on a hot summer night. For those finicky eaters who might not like theirs wrapped in a lettuce leaf, or for those of you who want to add more carbohydrate, you could always wrap a tortilla around the outside so it seemed like a more traditional wrap - but leave all those vegetables in there!
Buffalo Chicken Veggie Wraps
Serves two.
4 romaine lettuce leaves, whole
2 roasted chicken breasts, deboned
2 roasted chicken thighs, deboned
cup buffalo hot sauce
cup cucumber, diced
cup sweet peppers, diced
cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
cup avocado slices
4 teaspoons ranch dressing
Debone and shred chicken into a microwave-safe bowl. Top with hot sauce and mix until chicken is covered. (Note: You can increase or decrease the amount of hot sauce to your preference. It's a zero-calorie condiment.)
Dice the vegetables.
Microwave the chicken and hot sauce for approximately one and a half minutes on high.
Lay the romaine lettuce leaves (or lettuce leaves of your choice) on a plate. Fill with shredded buffalo chicken, top with vegetables and lightly drizzle with ranch dressing.
Fold the leaves "taco style" and enjoy!
Nutrition per serving: 460 calories, 22 grams fat, 10 grams carbohydrate, 53 grams protein.