Entry #3210, March 3, 2014

Sometimes after a long day of work, there’s nothing better than the promise of filling and satisfying takeout. But, everyone knows that too much takeout will wreak havoc on both your wallet and your waistline. Luckily, this Mongolian Beef Lettuce Wrap recipe is the best of both worlds. The sweet and spicy beef has all the flavor of a restaurant dish, but using the slow cooker helps you keep the calories and time spent in the kitchen to a minimum. It’s a clear winner for your easy recipes file.

Mongolian Beef Lettuce Wraps

Image Via: Stalkerville

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Prep Time: 80 minutes

Cook Time: 120 minutes

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

Marinade:

1½ cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 clove garlic

4 large scallions

½  cup brown sugar or brown sugar substitute

2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For Assembly:

2 pounds sirloin steak

1 large onion

1 bell pepper

1 head lettuce

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Image Via: Bacon Cheeseburger Sundays

Preparation:

1. Assemble the marinade by mincing the garlic and finely chopping the scallions. Put them into a bowl with the soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes and whisk to combine.
2. While the steak is still partially frozen, slice it against the grain into the thin strips.
3. Place the meat and marinade into a sealed plastic bag. Allow it to marinate for at least an hour up to overnight.When ready to cook, slice the onion and bell pepper into thin strips.
4. Put the meat, marinade, onion, and pepper into the slow cooker. Cook everything on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.
5. When ready to serve, prepare the lettuce cups by cutting the hard core out of the head of lettuce. Turing the core side up, take the knife and cut off the rounded bottom. Then, run the head under cold tap water for about 30 seconds. Afterwards, the leaves should naturally separate into rounded cup shapes.
6. Put a dollop of the Mongolian beef mixture into each lettuce cup and garnish with sesame seeds.

This Mongolian beef recipe offers all the convince of takeout with none of the guilt. The lettuce wraps make this recipe very low in carbohydrates, but to bulk it up a bit more, you could easily serve it alongside some rice or broccoli florets. But whatever side dish you choose, this dish will be on the table in less time than it takes for delivery. This easy recipe is the perfect pick become a Sunday night staple.

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