• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
JillBJarvis.com
  • Events Calendar
    • Houston Events for Today
  • What to do in Houston
    • Free Things to Do
    • Houston Mural Map
    • Houston Field Trips
    • Farms and Safaris
    • Houston Parks
  • Restaurants
  • Travel
    • Family Travel from Houston
  • Resources
    • Summer Camps
    • Party Venues
    • Applying to HoustonISD Magnet Schools
    • Find a Preschool
    • Find a Doctor
    • Moving to Houston
  • Connect with Us
    • About Jill
    • Sign Up for the Newsletter
    • Contact Jill at JillBJarvis.com
    • Work with Us
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Calendar
  • Any Day
  • Restaurants
  • Travel
  • About
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Work with JillBJarvis.com
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Calendar
    • Any Day
    • Restaurants
    • Travel
    • About
    • Resources
    • Contact
    • Work with JillBJarvis.com
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Blog Archives » Cooking

    Lettuce Cups, Roasted Chicken & Chocolate Covered Strawberries - Quick & Easy Dinner Ideas!

    Modified: Dec 4, 2020 by Pranika · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · #sponsoredpost · Leave a Comment

    Hi from Pranika! We are a family of four that enjoys eating and cooking together. My girls ages 6 and 3 love to help in the kitchen as well.

    Lettuce Cups
     

    I used to think that lettuce was a total wash. Why eat lettuce when you can eat spinach or arugula and they are much healthier? Then...I ate lettuce cups and I have re-kindled my love with lettuce.

    We get a delivery of local produce and vegetables once every two weeks and one of the items that has been included for the last few months is butterhead lettuce.

    We would use it sometimes in salads, but then I got the idea to make our own lettuce cups. Throw some stuff in there that you have at home and voila! The lettuce cups are simple, delicious and take about 10-15 minutes to make!

    I serve the lettuce cups with a variety of things - pasta, quesadillas, grilled cheese, but this week it was roasted chicken. While the chicken cooks for 45 minutes, I usually make the lettuce cups, help with homework, set the table, play with my kids, or even get inspired for dessert! This week we added dessert to the mix and made some chocolate covered strawberries. Its messy, delicious, and best of all - quick!

    Happy cooking & eating!

    Lettuce Cups, Roasted Chicken, & Chocolate Strawberries

    Lettuce Cups 1
     

    Lettuce Cups

    1 head butter lettuce, washed, dried and leaves separated
    1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
    2 mini cucumbers, peeled and diced
    ½ carrot, peeled and diced
    Juice of 1 ½ lemons
    2 tbsp olive oil
    ¼ tsp dried oregano
    1 garlic clove, minced
    ⅛ tsp of pepper
    ½ tsp kosher salt
    5 fresh basil leaves, washed and dried, then chiffonade (pretty word for slice finely)

    Remove roots and wash lettuce. Peel apart lettuce leaves from root. Dry by patting gently with paper towels or use a salad spinner.

    Arrange leaves on plate. Peel cucumber and carrot and dice. Add to a medium sized bowl. Drain and rinse can of cannellini beans. Combine with cucumber and carrot.

    Make the dressing for the lettuce cups in a separate bowl. Cut lemons and squeeze lemon juice into bowl and add olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic, and basil. If you don’t have fresh basil, not to worry, go without it.

    Whisk together until combined and add to bowl with beans, cucumber and carrot. Mix together in bowl and serve in the lettuce cups.

    My kids love to help make the dressing. Complements for this dish at our table are “delectably delicious”, juicy, crunchy, and yummy. Everyone always eats at least 2 or 3!

    ***For variations or to use what you have at home, we substitute bell pepper for carrots, and chickpeas for the cannellini beans if need be. My husband and I sometimes top ours with a fresh jalapeno slice as well ***

    Roasted Chicken Legs

    Roasted Chicken
     

    2 lbs chicken legs, skin on
    16 ounce bottle of Italian salad dressing
    1 gallon sized ziplock bag

    Big Kid Cooking
     

    Yes – that’s all the ingredients! Add the chicken and dressing to the ziplock bag, shake well to coat, and marinate for anywhere from 2-24 hours.

    Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Take bag of chicken out of refrigerator at least 15-20 minutes before cooking.

    Spray Pam on a non-stick cooking sheet and using tongs remove chicken legs from bag and place on cooking sheet; do not add the marinade to the pan.

    I set the timer for 45 minutes. Bake for 25 minutes, then flip chicken. For the last 10 minutes, I increase the temperature to 400 degrees and flip once more if needed.

    Serve, eat, and smile. Kids can easily help with the marinade. (For a quicker dinner, I used chicken wings, a ½ bottle of dressing and roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.)

    Kids Making Chocolate Covered Strawberries

    Chocolate covered strawberries
    ½ of a 16 oz carton of strawberries, washed, dried, and tops cut off
    >1 cup milk chocolate morsels
    Wooden skewers (toothpicks can work but will be messier)
    ⅛ cup of milk

    Chocolate Covered Strawberries
     

    Skewer the strawberries. Create a double boiler by adding water to a large pan; I usually fill it up ⅔ of the way. Sit another pan right on top – water can touch the bottom pan, but be careful no overflowing!

    Turn on the heat to medium high. Add chocolate chips and milk to the top pan and stir constantly. It will be a goopy mess at first, but will begin to liquefy slowly.

    Add a few teaspoons more of milk if it’s too thick to stir! After 2 minutes, turn the heat down to medium low and keep stirring for about 3 minutes more.

    When the chocolate is a nice consistency that stirs easily, but is not too runny, remove the top pan to another burner and let cool for a few minutes. My kids then took over and dipped their skewered strawberries into the chocolate.

    Set skewers on a serving tray. Eat and enjoy!

    More Blog Archives

    • Rigatoni with Peas, Garlic and Butter Sauce for dinner
      Rigatoni with Peas, Garlic, Butter Sauce
    • Make an Amazing Princess Cake
    • Easy to Cook, Hearty and Delicious: BLT Pasta
    • Cooking with the Kids: Potato and Spring Leek Soup

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    On JillBJarvis.com, you will find things to do in Houston, with kids! Find all the Houston events, things to do any day, restaurants and resources for local parents.

    Popular Posts

    • Hermann Park The Commons Splashpad Kids Walking in Water
      What to Do in Houston Today, June 13-August 10, 2025
    • Smile Yall are in Houston Mural
      What to Do in Houston with Kids Any Day
    • Midtown Park Boulder
      Houston Parks: Citywide Map, Pictures & Parent Reviews
    • Boys at the Beach
      Things to Do in Houston with Teens

    Featured On

    Go HERE for more media appearances!

    As Seen On Media Channels

    Browse Website by...

    • Parks
    • Farms and Zoos
    • Beach
    • Things to do

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Jill
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Media Kit

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2021 JillBJarvis.com