Monday, May 16, 2011

Cream Cheese Wonton's





Yesterday was a very fun day.  Almost perfect if you minus the absolutely debilitating Migraine.  I rested, took meds and then felt a bit better for the afternoon....I had to feel better!  You see, my thirteen year old twin nephews, Kyle and Cameron, popped in to help me create this tasty and fun recipe! We love to cook together and they are becoming pretty accomplished at it!

I love to eat with my fingers.....seriously....who doesn't?? Admit it...you know who you are!   SO much easier, less to clean up and somehow the food just tastes better. That of course, is my opinion!  what's funny is when I was a kid I used to dangle my  left hand in my plate all the time!  Funny, I loved the way food felt in my hands even way back then!!  But my mom would always tell at me to stop by saying "stop doing that! how will you ever find a husband ??"  Now this is SOOO funny because I was the first of the 4 to get married, so maybe that wasn't such a bad thing after all!  I still love to play with my food...it's just something that I will likely NEVER stop doing! But again, I digress....

Cooking and eating should be fun.  But, just because we are on a lite and healthy eating plan doesn't mean we need to forego fun!   Finger Food is just that, it's fun, it's creative and it feels like youre eating a lot !  And really, for me what better finger food is there than a cream cheese won ton?  OK.  For you cheese haters out there, this might not be the recipe for you.  But it's cream cheese!  That doesn't really count as "real cheese" does it?

Here is my disclaimer.  We made them and the family thought they were really good.   But don't get excited.  They are not Pick Up Stix cream cheese won tons (those are like a million calories/points).  But they satisfied the craving and they were fun to put together!

This recipe was a tough one.  It took us a while to figure out just how to go about it.  Normally when the boys and I cook together, I make up the recipe and type it up for them or I download a recipe before they get here.  But this time we created it together!  Adding this or that and deciding when the filling was perfect.  This was a new experience for them and one that brought about really good results! 

The filling is yummy, creamy and (i think) a perfect balance of creamy cheesiness with some OOMPH! But getting that won ton to crisp up without deep frying it was much harder than we thought. 

At first we wrapped them like a present, sprayed them and baked them...



and they looked so pretty!! 





But they had a doughy after taste that we all agreed "had to go"!  So we opted for a different shape and cooking method - FRYING!  Now frying without a good amount of oil is tough also.  The recipe calls for spray, but if you have extra points, I would definitely use a little oil.  The taste and texture were acceptable, so we left oil out. But oil would have been good (but not lite!)

Enjoy the fun of making these with the kids (big or little) in your life!

Cream Cheese Won Tons
WW recipe builder says 3 points for 4 won tons.

1 8oz package light cream cheese (don't use Fat Free) - room temperature
1/4 cup egg substitute
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
3 tablespoons green onions, thinly sliced (green parts only)
Bottled hoisin sauce (this is like chinese bbq - if you dont like it, leave it out or try plum sauce)
salt and pepper (just a pinch of each)
1 package Won ton wrappers
bottle sweet chili sauce or try the Orange-Sesame Glaze recipe (see archive post)

If you haven't purchased toasted sesame seeds, toast them now.  (hot dry pan, "saute until golden" pour onto plate and cool).

In your food processor or mixer, add cream cheese and egg substitute and process/mix until very well combined.

Add sesame seeds and green onions and salt and pepper to taste.



Remove won ton skins from the wrapper (be very sure you only have ONE - easy to grab two) and lay 4-6 down on your work surface.  Prepare a small finger bowl of water and set next to wrappers.

Heat a non stick pan with low to med heat.

Put a dab of hoisin sauce closer in center:


(That is an "eensy" amount of sauce, but it's a close up so it looks like more...be careful, it's a strong flavor)

Add about a teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture:



Dab two sides with water (make sure the water goes all the way down each side of the won ton).  This will be your glue.

Fold the dry corner (opposite the two wet sides) and touch won ton wrapper together and press a bit to seal.  Spray the pan, raise the heat and spray the wontons, when the pan is very hot, put the won tons in to "fry" on each side, being careful not to burn them (although I like them kind of burned!).




When browned, Turn them over and fry the other side.



While these are frying, start on your next 4 to 6 and put the fried ones in the oven to warm (about 225 degrees)  You should be able to make about 24 to 30 of them.

Serve with sweet chili sauce or the orange sesame glaze (see recipe)



The result?  A nicely creamy, tasty and fun finger food that is crispy enough to be satisfying without breaking the calorie bank.  Get your kids (or ANYONE) to help you do the work for extra fun and free kitchen SLAVES (Hey!  Food bribes WORK!) 



From my home to yours, ENJOY!

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