A little Tabasco® spices up these low carb Chicken Club Lettuce Wraps. This post is part of the Tabasco 10 Ingredient Challenge and is sponsored by Tabasco.
A few months ago, my son came to me with a very concerned expression on his face. In his hand, he held a teeny tiny bottle of Tabasco sauce that had been sitting on my bedside table. He asked me why it was there and I explained that I had seen them on the buffet table of a conference I attended and I thought they were so cute, I had to bring one home. I figured this settled the matter, but apparently not. He followed me around the kitchen, asking WHY I’d had Tabasco beside my bed. I thought perhaps he was confused about why I hadn’t brought it down to the kitchen, so I explained that I just hadn’t gotten around to it. But nope, this didn’t satisfy him and it was clear we were not understanding each other in some vital way. Finally, he said “But Mum, Tabasco is bad for you!”. And then it clicked…he was mixing up Tabasco and tobacco. Oh my!
After I finally stopped laughing, I explained the very large difference between the stuff that’s in cigarettes and the hot pepper sauce you put on your food. His concern for me was utterly adorable. And as he happens to love spicy things, he’s now been sprinkling Tabasco on many of his meals. So when Tabasco asked me to be a part of their 10 Ingredient Challenge (10 ingredients, 10 bloggers, and 5 recipes in 5 days), I had to say yes. For one thing, it gave me the perfect platform to tell you that little story. And for another, I love things that challenge my cooking creativity. Being limited to only 10 ingredients to create 5 recipes is quite a challenge, believe me! And when I looked at the ingredients list, I realized I’d be even more limited than other bloggers. I don’t use grains and I rarely use beans of any sort. And most dried fruits have too much sugar so can only be used sparingly. But hey, I am game! Thank heavens that bacon and cheese made the cut.
2. Chicken (Any Type: Boneless, Bone-In, Whole, Parts, Pieces, etc.)
3. Onion (Any Type: Red, White, Spanish, Shallot, Scallion, etc.)
4. Multi or Whole Grain (Rice: Long or Short grain, Brown, White, Red or Wild; Couscous; Quinoa; Faro; Barley, etc.)
5. Canned Beans (Any Type: White, Pinto, Butter, Chick Peas, Kidney, Black, etc.)
6. Tomatoes (Canned or Fresh, Whole or Diced)
7. Leafy Greens (Any Type Fresh or Frozen: Kale, Spinach, Collards, Mustard, Swiss Chard, Escarole, Arugula, Mixed Leafy Greens, etc.)
8. Bacon (Any Type: Thick Cut, Smoked, Pancetta, Irish, Canadian, etc.)
9. Cheese (Grating or Melting: Parmesan, Cheddar, Gruyere, Mozzarella, Asiago, etc.)
10. Dried Fruit (Any Type: Cranberries, Cherries, Apricots, Dates, Currants, Raisins, etc.)
Also a challenge for me? Cranking out 5 recipes posts for 5 days in a row. I knew from the get-go that beyond this initial post, I’d have to keep my storytelling to a minimum. So for the next five days, expect to see Tabasco recipes with lots of photos and a little less chit-chat. Why yes, it is quite a challenge for me to keep my mouth shut. But I hope you will stick around and check out the fun things I came up with for this Tabasco challenge.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Tabasco. All thoughts, opinions, recipes and photography are my own.
- 8 slices bacon
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 2 tsp Tabasco
- Salt and pepper to taste about 1/2 tsp each
- 8 washed large lettuce leaves
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- Additional Tabasco optional
- Grated cheese optional
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In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove and let drain on a paper-towel lined plate.
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Remove all but 1 tbsp of bacon fat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes.
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Add ground chicken, Tabasco and salt and pepper. Stirring frequently and breaking up any clumps, cook until chicken is cooked through.
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Divide lettuce leaves between 4 plates, then top with cooked chicken.
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Sprinkle with chopped tomato, additional Tabasco sauce and grated cheese, if using.
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Crumble bacon over each lettuce wrap and serve.
Serves 4. Each serving has 5 g of carbs and 1 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 4 g.
335 Calories; 17g Fat (46.1% calories from fat); 39g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 117mg Cholesterol; 587mg Sodium.
Joshua Hampton (Cooking Classes San Diego) says
October 10, 2013 at 6:54 amYour son is adorable. I’m glad that confusion got cleared up perfectly well. And hooray for Tabasco. I, too, love Tabasco sauce in my food, and I can’t wait to try your lettuce wraps.
Edith says
October 10, 2013 at 7:54 amYou are such a great storyteller! You are such a great everything!! Thanks!!!
The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time says
October 10, 2013 at 7:58 amI love that story! How awesome that your son is so concerned about your health. Sweet, sweet, sweet. I was looking at the list…no spices or (gasp) garlic. I guess Tabasco is showing that a little shake of their stuff is all you need to give the meal good flavor and punch. Very smart of them. And you, my friend, did just that with those wraps. They look absolutely amazing. I’ll take two please.
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
October 10, 2013 at 10:29 amI love lettuce wraps, I need to make them more often
Lora @cakeduchess says
October 10, 2013 at 3:16 pmSuch a cute story! I thought he was worried about it b/c it’s spicy-so funny. These are the kind of wraps I just love and now I want to spice them up with Tabasco-great recipe, Carolyn!
Diana says
October 11, 2013 at 6:07 amI love adding Tabasco to almost everything! I look forward to trying out this recipe.
– Diana
Deanna Segrave-Daly says
October 11, 2013 at 10:58 amGreat anecdote about your son! Loving these chicken lettuce wraps and I’m finally building up my spicy tolerance so I’d definitely top it with the tobacco…I mean Tabasco!
tea says
October 11, 2013 at 7:29 pmI actually had a similar conversation with my baby brother about root beer, after DARE came to his school. Poor baby, he refused to drink it for awhile, and we all wondered why, since he actually loves the stuff…
This looks like a great, great twist on the curried chicken salad (with chopped apples and celery) that I usually wrap up in lettuce. I’m ALL for the spicier version. Yum.
Carolyn says
October 12, 2013 at 9:46 amHaha, root beer! 😉
Anna says
October 26, 2013 at 9:23 pmThese wraps look really good. The story about your son is so cute, how old is he? When I was about 4, I remember seeing ads on TV about the dangers of drinking and driving. I was VERY concerned because my mom usually had a bottle of water or a Diet Coke with her in the car!
Candace @ Cabot says
March 12, 2014 at 4:55 pmI am a lover of lettuce wraps. I am trying these tonight…thanks for making the dinner decision so easy. And yummy!
Debra says
June 22, 2014 at 1:43 amDoesn’t Tabasco contain wheat/GLUTEN!
Carolyn says
June 22, 2014 at 5:14 amNo, it does not. Although vinegar may sometimes be distilled using wheat, the distillation process removes all traces of gluten, as it does with whiskey. Check out this: http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/13307-tabasco®-and-mcilhenny-farms®-products/
Yvette says
January 19, 2015 at 6:39 pmI love spicy! My fav is original flavor. But I love spicy and and now I have a to – go Siracha holder on a key fob. It’s wonderful!