Chicken Wonton Salad

This was a request from way back in November after we hosted Scott and Shauna for lunch.  They liked this so much --and really, it is one of our favorites.

Chicken Wonton Salad

Amounts will vary depending on how many you want to feed.  

These amounts can feed about 5 adults generously, but can be adjusted to your needs.

Lettuce,  torn into bite size pieces. Combination of Iceberg and Romaine is best but it's all a matter of preference. (Amount will vary, you be the judge.)

2 cucumbers peeled and sliced

1/4 c green onions (scallions) sliced thinly (I usually use the white part and some green all the way up to just before it branches)

slivered almonds

Fried Wontons 

--cut one stack of the small wonton wrappers into 4ths making long slices and fry in about 1/2- 1 inch vegetable or canola oil at 325 deg F until barely golden.

2 chicken breasts 

--cut into bite size chunks and sautee with a little bit of garlic salt, pepper and then drizzle with balsamic vinegar to taste.

Dressing:

(1:1:1 ratio)

Combine in a jar or other container with a lid:

1/2 c rice vinegar (regular white or apple cider vinegar works great too)

1/2 c white sugar (dissolve as best you can)

1/2 c vegetable or canola oil

salt and pepper to taste.

Shake well before putting on salad.

You can toss it all together and serve, or allow people to build their own salad (fresher). Enjoy!

Father's Day: Crepes

I know I've shared this recipe in the past, but it didn't ever have a picture to go with it.  This is what I made for our Father's Day breakfast this year.

Crepes:

(makes 8)
6 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar (heaping)

For best results, blend this in a blender and spread out on a flat cooking surface --we like to use our electric griddle.  Unless of course, you have a crepe maker. Turn when just barely golden, and yes, one side will be ugly.
Makes enough for 4 normal adults, or 3 hungry adults who like to stuff themselves silly.

Super crepe sauce:
Sour cream
Brown Sugar
about a 3:1 ratio respectively (just go by personal taste)

Favorite toppings:  (not necessarily all together though) Fresh strawberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges, peaches, banana slices, blueberries, powdered sugar, whipped cream, super crepe sauce, Nutella, yogurt, homemade jam, apple or cherry pie filling, pudding, ice cream... the sky's the limit!

Yum!

Creamy Mushroom Sauce

This is anything but healthy, but man was it good!  Richard brought home some Morel mushrooms that he found while working (don't worry, he knows how to tell the difference between the fake ones and the real ones) and since those things usually run about $50/lb we decided we'd eat like kings for one night regardless of calories.

I imagine that you can substitute other mushrooms as well, or... you can come to our place for the full experience.  You're all welcome anytime!

I have to admit this isn't an exact recipe, since I made it up as I went, but you get the general idea. Feel free to add any suggestions.  (For example, my sister added a little white wine instead of lemon juice, but that's not something I usually have on hand.)


Creamy Mushroom Sauce:

1 small Shallot diced finely (or one thin slice sweet onion)
  carmelize in
2 T butter
add about
2 c sliced mushrooms
saute until tender
Add  1 1/2 - 2 c heavy cream, (half and half works too)
Simmer until it thickens a little,
add 1/2 c fresh grated parmesan
Squeeze a little fresh Lemon Juice in,
Add about a 1/2 tsp fresh Thyme (or 1/4 tsp dry)
Salt and pepper to taste


Serving Suggestion: This goes well over Fettuccine and Grilled Chicken.

 Enjoy!

Gwennie's goals

In a recent post on Texas Moments, I wrote about the book that Gwendolyn and I made for her use in making goals. Since blogger apparently doesn't allow pdfs, I made a handful of images to show part of the layout of the pamphlet, including the cover and the title page (above). Gwennie says, "these goals will help because I get a prize when I finish a section. I'm starting with goals about not responding in anger, memorizing five poems and making one of my own, finding an animal shelter to donate a special amount of money to, and reading books by my favorite author and writing a story from the perspective of my favorite character." The images below, after the contents, represent one of the four sections in the booklet.

Chinese Dinner!

(It was actually an accident that I posted this on Chinese New Year --it must have been something in the air...)

This dinner is a favorite that we made a nearly-monthly tradition with the Ricks family when we lived in Rexburg --mostly because it is delicious and too good to just make for yourself, but also because it makes so much, and it's nice to split up the work as well.

Egg Rolls

2 Bags coleslaw mix
3 Chicken breasts cooked (boiled and shredded is how I do it) or the equivalent meat of a rotisserie chicken shredded (much tastier, but don't get one with any special flavoring like rosemary or barbecue.)
2 T Soy sauce
2 T Wok oil (can be bought near the soy sauce -this is a key ingredient, it's infused with garlic and other spices)

Heat slowly in large pan with lid until cabbage is tender.
Let cool in fridge for an hour or so --if you don't, the steam will turn the wrappers into mush (yeah... learned from experience.)

Wrap in large egg roll wrappers (can be found in the produce section near the tofu and wontons and foreign foods) follow directions on back of package. This recipe can fill two packages of wraps (about 23 egg rolls each).

Fry in 1-2 in. of oil until just barely golden. Keep temperature around 300-350 deg. F. (We use our electric skillet to keep the temperature of the oil from getting too hot. I'm sure you could do it on the stove, or in a deep fryer too.)

These are my favorite egg rolls, I actually didn't ever like egg rolls before this recipe came along, and I think they're even better than those at the restaurants. They're also really easy--no shredding cabbage for me (wrapping takes the longest actually). Leftovers can be heated in the microwave until warmed through, and then put under the broiler or in a toaster oven for a few minutes to get the outsides crispy again. Yum!


Sweet and Sour Sauce

In saucepan combine:
1 tsp Ketchup
2/3 c Brown sugar (mix with ketchup so ketchup doesn't clump and float)
1/4 c White vinegar
2/3 c Pineapple juice or Mandarin orange juice --or both if you're doubling (drained from the can you get exactly 2/3 cup)
1 tsp Soy Sauce

Boil together, then to thicken add
1/4 cup cold water and 2 Tb Corn Starch mixed
Boil until desired thickness -may add pineapple tidbits at this point if you like.


I've been through quite a few sweet and sour recipes but this is my favorite. It's not like the red stuff you get at buffets, more like what you'd get at Fong's in Rexburg. I also always double this if I'm making the whole meal.

Batter-Fried Chicken (for sweet and sour chicken)

1 c flour
1 c milk
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg

Heat oil to 350-375 deg. F
Dip dry chicken breast pieces (cut into 1in. cubes or finger size strips) in batter and fry til golden.

Make sure the pieces of chicken aren't too thick, or you'll have to really brown them to cook them through, but don't make them too thin, or the chicken will be dry and leathery. The batter will easily cover 3 large chicken breasts, (judge about 1/3 of a chicken breast per adult). Let the chicken cool on a cooling rack over some paper towels to catch the excess oil (same for the egg rolls).

Doesn't that look so yummy!?

Now, Andrea just needs to post her excellent recipe for Fried Rice (hint hint) pictured above, and to counteract the carbs, add a favorite steamed vegetable, and voila! the perfect Chinese dinner!

It's a lot of work, but it's so worth it! Just give yourself at least 2-3 hours to get everything ready and cooked, and prepare as much as possible beforehand --cooking and shredding the chicken for the egg rolls can be done the day before, in fact the filling for the egg rolls can be refrigerated overnight --just don't wrap them until you're ready to fry them, and it probably wouldn't hurt the fried rice to be rewarmed the next day either.
Also, if you're like me, and you don't want your house to smell like fried food for days, invest in an electric skillet and plug it in outside to do the cooking. Please be careful with the hot oil! I'd hate to hear that anyone got hurt because of this recipe. If you use your skillet for the egg roll filling and wash it, make sure it is completely dry (like even turn it on warm for a bit to evaporate any water off), cause any molecule of water that is in the pan will make the oil sputter and pop. Keep a spatter guard handy and wear an apron.

butterbeer

When the Harry Potter theme park opened in Florida, several of the news reports (which we were obligated to read to Gwennie and Linus) made a big deal of the butterbeer which was being sold in the Hogsmeade section of the park. Though that drink sounds like little more than an upscale cream soda, it renewed interest in the beverage around our house.

After looking at some recipe attempts on the internets and rejecting them as pretty gross-sounding (many were based on carbonated drinks, and one actually included melting vanilla ice cream and adding it to the soda), I found a recipe in a book which I was able to adapt. Not only is it delicious, but it has the advantage of including butter as its base. So I should note that, while it does not consist of melted ice cream, it is not exactly a health shake. But for an occasional indulgence, it's been well received around here.

Butterbeer

2 cups water
1/2 stick butter
1 packed cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
shake of ground cloves
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk

Melt the sugars and the butter in the water over high heat, whisking to dissolve the sugars in the liquid. After they are fully integrated, reduce the heat to low and add the salt and spices, heating until quite hot. Meanwhile, mix the cream and milk in a blender and process until frothy. (The dairy seems to thicken best if blended cold.)

Ladle 1/4 cup of the cream mixture into a mug, followed by 3/4 cup of the spice liquid. Stirring with the tip of your wand may be considered bad manners, but no one objects to seeing frothy mustaches from a hearty gulp of butterbeer.

Melon Pops!

Have you ever picked out a melon, be it cantaloupe or honeydew, and found the flavor to be less than sweet, or the texture too mushy to enjoy? What then? Do you throw it out, or let it sit in your fridge until mold allows you to justify trashing it so you don't feel quite so wasteful?

I went for years not even trying to pick out melons because I couldn't stand the disappointment of a bad one. Luckily though, I have found the perfect solution... Melon Pops! And since it's that time of year right now, I thought I would share.

It started with a honeydew --one of those that just isn't sweet. I didn't want to throw it out, but even the kids didn't really like it. I just happened to have some leftover sweetened condensed milk in the fridge, so I tried dipping it, which helped some, but then Richard made remark about popsicles and an idea was born. I blended up the left over melon, added sweetened condensed milk until it was satisfactorily sweet, and froze it in some forms we had gotten from the dollar store. Voila! Melon Pops! They were fantastic! I was surprised at the creaminess of the texture actually, and I felt that with that much actual fruit, it was bound to be good for you. In fact, these popsicles are actually pretty filling. We've tried it with fat free sweetened condensed milk and it might be less smooth (some brands can be gritty) but it usually works just as well. We've only tried honeydew a and cantaloupe, but are looking forward to experimenting with others. Here's a basic recipe:

Melon Pops-

1 Melon (of the muskmelon variety--meaning not watermelon) off the rind and cut into chunks or "smiles" as we call them

2-3 T Sweetened condensed milk (amount will vary depending on the sweetness of the fruit, just taste it and adjust to your liking)

Put all ingredients in blender, blend on high, and pulse if necessary till it is smooth. Freeze in popsicle forms, ice cube trays with toothpicks, or paper cups with wooden popsicle sticks for a few hours or until solid.

Enjoy!

Note: Picking out melons can be tricky, but here are a few things I've found to be helpful:

-Smell is a huge indicator of sweetness.

-Color is also helpful; Cantaloupes should be more yellowish than green, honeydews should also have a milky white or yellow color.

-Finally, your should feel the ends, if you push on it you can usually tell if the fruit is going to be too ripe and mushy --pick a firmer fruit but not too firm. Of course, now that you know what to do if you pick amiss, it doesn't really matter does it?

One other note: Melons that are really too green don't work as well, since sometimes people like me can have allergic reactions such as itchy ears --the kids wouldn't eat popsicles made out of those ones either even though they were perfectly sweet.