Chicken Quinoa Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce

HOLY DELICIOUS! We loved these. They didn't hold together very well, but we will have them again fo sho with a tweak or two.
I'll post the original recipe from Natasha's Kitchen but I'll write my suggested changes for next time in hopes that they'll help you - and let's be honest, so I don't forget to change it up next time I make these. :)

For the Chicken:

• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled or sautéed and thinly sliced (I made 4 breasts because I wanted cooked chicken for pizza later so I doubled the marinade too)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated, or ¼ tsp dried ginger powder
• ½ Tbsp sesame oil

For the Wraps:

• 2 heads of Boston, Bib or Butter Lettuce (this was too expensive and flimsy - next time we will use romaine lettuce so it will hold up better and is already in a boat shape)
• 2½ cups cooked Quinoa (*see notes below on how I made it) (It would also be good with cooked rice if you don't have quinoa on hand - it really acts as a filler for the wrap and your tummy)
• 1 medium or 3 small cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1 large or 2 medium Carrots, sliced into matchsticks (I'll cut the veggies into circles next time because cutting a bunch of veggie sticks took more time than I wanted)
• ¼ bunch of fresh Cilantro (we didn't use this much because the kids didn't eat it)

For the Easy Peanut Dipping Sauce:

• ¾ cup Newman’s Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger dressing (P.S. this dressing contains wheat so if you’re gluten free, try: Braggs ginger sesame)
• 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter (microwave 30 sec if peanut butter refrigerated)
• ⅓ cup chopped peanuts, optional topping 

How to Prepare the Teriyaki Chicken:

1. In a small bowl, stir together all the ingredients of your marinade: 2 Tbsp olive oil, 3 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 pressed garlic cloves, 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated ( or ¼ tsp dried ginger powder) and 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
2. Place chicken breast in a medium bowl, add marinade and stir to coat the chicken evenly. Refrigerate for 20 minutes (prep your veggies in the mean time).
3. Once chicken is marinated, heat a large skillet over medium heat, add the chicken along with some of the oil in the marinade (we used pretty much the whole marinade do cook it in) and sauté until caramelized and browned on both sides and fully cooked. If chicken breasts are very large, you might cover with the lid when sautéing the second side for the chicken to cook through.
4. Remove from heat and let chicken breasts rest on a cutting board 5 minutes before cutting into it, then slice into thin strips on the diagonal.

*How I Cooked Quinoa:

1. Rinse quinoa in a fine colander until water runs clear to get rid of any natural bitterness. Quinoa is cooked similar to rice. The ratio is ¾ cup dry quinoa to 1½ cups filtered water. I cooked mine in the rice maker on the white rice setting without adding any salt or butter and it was done after about 20 minutes. Transfer quinoa to a bowl to cool. You want it to be room temp or cooler before using in lettuce wraps.

How to make the best peanut dipping sauce

1. Combine ¾ cup sesame ginger dressing with 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter and whisk together or shake together in a tupperware with a tight fitting lid. Transfer to a small bowl and top with chopped peanuts if using.

How to Serve:

1. Place all prepared vegetables on a platter: lettuce, sliced cucumbers, sliced carrots and sprigs of cilantro. Add your bowls of chicken, quinoa, and peanut sauce to the serving platter.
2. You can either pre-assemble the lettuce wraps or let your hungry folks assemble their own (my favorite method!). Start with the lettuce leaf, add a heaping Tbsp of cooked quinoa, a strip or two of chicken breast, sliced cucumber and carrots along with a couple sprigs of cilantro. Drizzle with prepared creamy peanut sauce and be prepared to love this

*Note: If you only make the chicken in the marinade, you won't be sorry. It's so yummy! It would be good with mashed potatoes and cooked peas - or however you eat your yummy chicken. I'm going to use our leftover chicken to make homemade pizza and I anticipate yumminess there too!