Cooking is always interesting when you have friends or relatives staying at your house. Some people are minimalist (“let’s just order pizza”) and some go all out. I think I fall in between. For dinner, and even breakfast, I want to do something that is a just a bit impressive. I like to cook and this gives me an opportunity to provide hospitality to my guest in other ways I cannot. Diablo shrimp, roasted vegetables and mushroom risotto? Not a problem. Made to order omelets with a cheesy hash brown bake? Coming right up. Lunch? Um….who wants a hot dog?
Have I mentioned how my lunch menu options are not nearly as vast as my dinner ones? Adding a filter of low carb removes some of my favorite lunch standbys (chicken quesadilla, english muffin pizzas, meatball subs). So when I can find any variation on a common lunch item, I am happy to run with it. For a recent lunch I made BLATTs. Bacon…Lettuce…Avocado…Tomato…Turkey. Served on iceberg lettuce leaves for bread. To spice it up, I decided to make some jalapeno mayo.
The ingredients: Bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato, turkey, mayonnaise and a dried jalapeno chile.
First cook up the bacon. As indicated in a previous post, I grind fresh black pepper (a rough grind) over the strips.
Carefully remove the outer leaves of the lettuce so as not to tear the large leaves. I like to have two leaves as a replacement for each slice of bread. If you use one, it will often tear. Slice the avocado and tomato.
I sliced open the jalapeno and removed the seeds. I then finely minced the pepper and mixed it with 1/4 cup of mayonnaise. I spread this on both the top and bottom inner leaves.
Stack the ingredients and cover with the top leaves.
A nice sandwich full of fresh ingredients.
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
I love this post! Like you, I want to cook something nice when we have guests for breakfast or dinner, but lunch always seems to be a bit of a struggle. This suggestion is fantastic and would make everyone happy. Thanks! I think I will re-blog this one.
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Reblogged this on onedadskitchen and commented:
This is a great lunch option posted on rantingchef.com, another great cooking blog that I follow. He always has some great ideas and I really liked this lunch choice. Check it out!
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This sounds delicious!!
I’m the same way with guest; I want to be the hostess with the mostess, but lunch usually falls short. Leftovers? Sandwich? Nothing fancy. I might have to make these next time I have weekend guests! Thanks for sharing!
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We all seem to have the same issue. I tend to cook far too much and too many different things. I think I like the rush of putting it all together for our guests. Next week will be simple and much lighter than this week.
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What a great idea! I always find it difficult to prepare something that everyone can agree on. I had out of towners last week and found that tacos were the best way to go. I was able to add my favorite ingredients without impressing on their tastes. I will certainly have to try this one. Bacon is always a crowd pleaser. Thanks for sharing!
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Wow! This is perfect! Thanks for sharing 🙂
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bacon + avocado = 🙂
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Bacon is truly from God! Great post
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Thanks for stopping by my blog, love the idea of a not sandwich sandwich on lettuce leaves….
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Yum! Def going to try this! Thanks
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Thanks for visiting my blog. I like this. Love this recipe with bacon! and lettuce as bread. 🙂
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Mega love. I have to do this. Stat.
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Thumbs up my friend 🙂
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Sounds really delish! I’m currently working on a low-carb grain free bread recipe. Needs a few more tweaks then hopefully I’ll post it up. I’ve been using lettuce wraps for a while now, but sometimes you just need a little bread
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Love using lettuce for a wrap. Your wrap is healthy and flavorful. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and for liking it.
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Interesting idea. I love bread, but I may have to try this sometime. It reminds me of the same type of concept as an Asian Lettuce Wrap.
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You had me at BACON
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What a cool lunch idea!
I think I’m the second type, I go all out when I have friends coming over for dinner or something – I always opt for dishes with a new touch, dishes that require some skill to prepare.
Thanks for visiting my blog, by the way.
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Bacon – good. Lack of bread – less good. This creation looks a little unwieldy.
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Actually, I quite like the idea of no bread. A good slice of lettus should have just the right consistency to make a sandwich. I would definitely add this to my collection of lunch time delights.
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This recipe is awesome. Fairly healthy and easy to prepare! I cannot wait to eat this for dinner tonight after I head to the grocery store. Will be re-blogging this one!
-Katie
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this looks like a great meal that I will definitely try although no way am I putting the jalapeno in there… unh unh, no way, nope not this girl. Thanks for stopping by my blog, I’m enjoying your writing.
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This looks amazing! I’m definitely going to try this. Thanks!
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I love making sandwiches on iceberg! It comes in handy since I have a wheat intolerance. Anyway, thanks for the recipe and thanks for the feedback on my post!!
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YUM.
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I like your useful site. excellent contribution. I hope you produce others. I will carry on watching
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YUM!
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BLATT’s yummmmmmm! This looks delicious!
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