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!

Halibut and Shrimp Ceviche

There should be a LAW against having TWO major food "holidays" in the same 4 week period!  I am going to petition somebody (who would that be anyway?) to NEVER, EVER do Easter and Mother's Day this close again. It's like it's part of a mass torture!!

OK.  Now that I got that out, I can move on with my thoughts. 

Mother's day is like the PINNACLE of all family days really.  I mean Mom's EXPECT certain things on this day.  If you happen to be the poor soul who must impress your mom or mom's with your cooking and pampering skills, you know the pressure.  We are to honor our Mothers, love them and treat them like queens on Mother's Day.  This means atmosphere, food, family and drink must be in perfect harmony.  AND to top it off? It should be memorable. YIKES!!

I don't know if you read the post this weekend which depicted my menu for the day.  The meal I planned is the meal I wanted to eat.  After all, I am a mother too!  The food was good.  In fact,  I would say about as memorable as these things go.  I told my husband this morning that "I wish I was a guest at that party!!"

But did I mention I wasn't really in the mood to create "mothers day magic"?  The menu had HUGE prep to it....so it was a lot  more work than I thought it would be!  I TOTALLY mis-judged it. But Cest La Vie.

Probably the most memorable dish was the Civeche.  It was worth the effort.  Perfect fresh halibut and shrimp cut to perfection with gorgeous fresh veggies and mango.  Before I go on about the Civeche let me tell you this is not MY "Summer Civeche" that I make with my garden harvest all summer long (I will post that in the summer)

This recipe came from the company, O Olive Oil (I altered it just a bit, as usual).  If there was ONE company I would beg you to try something WONDERFUL from, it's this company.  I beg people to buy me ANYTHING from their site for any occasion that gifts are warranted.  It's the olive oil and vinegar that Oprah uses (although I was using this before her, SO THERE!).  I heard about O Olive Oil oil from another blog!!  The person writing was SO enthused I thought "man, this stuff must knock your socks off" because how excited can you really get over oil and vinegar?? As the saying goes, that was then and this is now.  It's my favorite little luxury in my kitchen.  If you buy anything upscale for your cooking repertoire, buy this.  Check them out at http://www.ooliveoil.com/. 

I'll explain what I did and how I did it, but fortunately or unfortunately you will have to get their product in order to recreate the dish.  Trust me - it was worth it,  the mom's were appreciative, and it was memorable.

It's the stuff "foodie" dreams are made of!

HALIBUT and SHRIMP CEVICHE

GORGEOUS, VIBRANT, and BRIGHT - JUST LOOK AT IT.....YUUMM  I want it again!

Here is what you will need:

3/4 LB extremely fresh Halibut
1  LB  Fresh UNCOOKED shrimp (peeled and cleaned)
1/2 CUP O OLIVE Myer Lemon Olive Oil ( the recipe calls for the jalapeno lime, but I didn't have any)
1/2 CUP O OLIVE Sudachi Lime Rice Vinegar
1/2 cup fresh squeeze lime juice
zest of two limes
1/2 Red Onion, Very small dice
4 Serrano Chile's, seeded and diced fine
1-2 Persian snacking cucumbers or 1/2 or more English (hot house) cucumber, small dice
1/2 cup cilantro, rough chopped
1 mango, diced
1 large avocado (or 2 medium)
1 tablespoon cumin seed
1 tablespoon coriander seed

First in a large glass bowl dice up the halibut in about 1/2" dice.  For the shrimp sliced them down the length (like butterflying them) then chopped them up. Add both to the bowl.

Halibut to the right and shrimp to the left. (cover and set aside in the fridge)

Toast the cumin and coriander in a DRY saute pan until golden and fragrant.   Let cool for a minute and grind in a spice/coffee grinder until fine.  (if this is just too much use a combo of ground (probably 1 teaspoon each)

In a small bowl, combine Oil, vinegar, lime juice, zest and spices.  Whisk together to combine:

(The zest kind of fell under the spices, but it's in there!!)

Pour the juice/zest over the fish/shrimp and stir well.  Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge to "cook" the fish.

Now, on to the veggies, VERY finely dice the cucumber (try to remove most of the seeds, although they are almost seedless anyway), onion, serrano chile and put into a bowl (isn't it beautiful?)

Now Mix the veggies into the fish and put back in the fridge while you dice up the mango, avocado and chop the cilantro. Mix the last ingredients and finish with nice finishing salt (if you don't have any, kosher flake will work just fine) and pepper, to taste.

Mix it all together and let it combine flavors for about 15 minute in the fridge.  The recipe from the site says to drain the extra sauce if any...UMMMM NO!!  It's so good, why waste it? (in fact, I liked the juice so much, I made and added more!)

Serve in a dish as beautiful as the ceviche (I used a giant martini glass) and scoop with baked tortilla chips. I used Guiltless gourmet, black bean chips.  The color contrast, texture and flavor was perfect with the Ceviche.

 

The result was a perfectly balanced, very refreshing, elegant and beautiful Civeche that started our celebration off in beautiful synergistic harmony.  Enough said.

From my home to yours, Enjoy!

Deviled Eggs

As hard as I try some years, I cannot get away from making deviled eggs at Easter.  Everyone loves them.  If I even sound like I don't want to make them, I am met with a bombardment of complaints and whines.  I ALWAYS give in and "embrace the responsibility".

You see, it's a tradition that started literally years and years ago.  AND LETS NOT BREAK TRADITION!!   It's  not that I don't want to make them.  It's that there is so much going on in my kitchen during a holiday, it's just another thing to "pump" out ...and well, if I am looking to reduce my "workload" - it always seems like the deviled eggs are expendable.  But.....they are not.

So I make them.  And they are good.  And people are HAPPY.  And that's all that matters.

But really, when you think about it, why should they be just for EASTER?  Deviled eggs are actually a good "snack", they make nice "easy" appetizers and can even be a meal with a salad on a spring/summer day...I was thinking Deviled Eggs with a spinach salad (eggs go so well with spinach salad anyway!)  or just deviled eggs for lunch!

So yes.  Let's embrace an old favorite and let's make them at times OTHER than Easter...WHY?  Because we CAN!

If you know me personally you know I love to grow things.  I LOVE to grow fresh herbs. THEY ARE GORGEOUS PLANTS - all of them.  They smell wonderful and taste better!   The fact that I can cook and run outside at a moments notice to snip fresh herbs for a recipe right then and there is awesome, convenient and inexpensive.  How many times have you needed 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley only to buy the whole thing and then throw it out because it goes bad so fast? (I mean really, how much parsley can you eat???)  Or how many times are you making something and you think...gosh a little fresh basil, thyme or dill would really perk this dish up....?  It's worth to have a box of herbs growing outside your door.....my faves?  Chive, dill, basil, rosemary, THAI basil, oregano..and others.

I always have fresh Chives growing - They are one of the best and easiest to grow and use.  Plus they are prolific.  You cut them and they just keep producing.  Want a chive fact?  The purple chive flowers are edible and DELICIOUS !  I put them in salads ( break them up and separate them a bit) for a pretty and tasty addition!

Why did I go off on this tangent?  Because Deviled eggs are PERFECT for the addition of fresh herbs.  They take on great flavor and seem to be transformed by what you add.  Be creative!!

So just how do you boil the perfect eggs?  If you are saying to yourself, "UMMMM , listen Shelley we got the boiled egg part down!" I can hear the sarcastic tone!  If you are satisfied by your method, skip this part.  But if you always wondered or don't know,  it's simple.  Keep reading.

Put the number of eggs in the pot that you want to cook and over them with about an inch of COLD WATER.  Cover the pot and put it on the stove over fairly low heat (not simmer low but not medium) and let the water come up to a boil at this low heat level.  When the water is boiling, TURN OFF THAT FIRE.  Keep the eggs covered and set your timer for 20 minutes.  If you're using JUMBO eggs, use 25 minutes as your guide.  When the timer goes off pour out the water and ice and cold water in the pot with the eggs to make and ICE bath.  This cools them and stops them from further "cooking". 

VOILA, PERFECT BOILED EGGS.....Enough said.

You can do this the day before and refrigerate the eggs after they cool.  Just continue making the eggs the next day or simply continue with the recipe. 

I used:

Dill pickle relish (or just chopped dill pickle and a little juice (a splash)
Fresh chives - I use quite a lot - big handful!  ( a little dill is good too)
Chopped celery
Non-Fat Greek yogurt
Light or fat free sour cream
Dried minced onion (I like the flavor better for deviled eggs than fresh)
Touch of mustard
Cayenne pepper
Salt, pepper, garlic powder

I know this seems frustrating I didn't give you specific amounts for each ingredient...why?  Because I don't know how many eggs you will use, what size the eggs are and what your preference to thickness of the filling is.  

Take the shell off the eggs ( I do this under running water):

Cut the eggs in half LENGTH WISE.  Gently pop the yolks out to another bowl. 

I put pickles, chives, celery, minced onions (and anything else you want to add) EXCEPT YOLKS into the food processor and give it a quick pulse or two. 

Add yolks, salt, pepper, some garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne.  Start with a tablespoon of yogurt and sour cream.  Run processor for a few seconds....see what it looks like. Add yogurt and sour cream by the spoonful until the filling is the consistency you like. It only take a couple, really.   Taste and adjust seasonings - you may need more pickle or celery, salt, garlic pepper...etc.  When satisfied, put eggs onto a deviled egg dish (or just on a plate or platter) and fill with a piping bag or spoon. 

I estimate about 2.5 points for 2  halves.

There are MILLIONS of ways to make deviled eggs.  This way is just my family "tradition" - less the fat.  Nobody suspected I changed the recipe to extremely low fat!!  Add or remove anything you want.  Make them Southwest, Standard, Spicy, Asian, or any other way you can dream up!  Try Deviled eggs.com also....there are many recipes on that site that you could enjoy in a healthy diet.

From my home to yours, ENJOY!