I enjoy cooking and baking, but before I was a SAHM it was very few and far between when I had the opportunity to try new recipes, or create new dishes. Now that the kids are getting older, and I'm at home, I'm enjoying being able to see a recipe and try it. I'm still not good at taking pictures, but below are a few examples of what I've been cooking up...
- Olive Garden Tuscan Soup--after I had a delightful lunch with my daughter last weekend at Olive Garden (I had the soup and salad lunch) I couldn't resist trying it myself. It tasted just like the original!
- Southwestern Chicken wonton cups (pic below) and Creamy Chicken Wonton Cups (recipes at the end of the post)
These were a hit with my 4 year old (my picky eater), but my two year old didn't quite know what to do with them. They're fairly healthy, brown rice, chicken, black beans, corn and baked wontons.
- Black Bean Dip-this was to use the leftover up from the black beans from the wonton cups and to encourage the kids to eat a few more vegetables. Again, my daughter loved the dip, but my 2 year old wouldn't try it. We ate it with tortilla chips, and also tried it with carrots, and cauliflower--I actually preferred eating it with the vegetables since the dip was VERY flavorful and the eating with the chips almost was too much flavor.
- Soft Pretzels -- the recipe courtesy of Alton Brown. If you've ever tried pretzels and didn't love the outcome, I would suggest you give these a chance. They looked professional, and tasted just like you'd expect!
What recipes have you tried lately?
Southwest Chicken Wonton Cups
1 pkg. Wontons
A mini-muffin tin
Some non-stick spray
Spray the min-muffin tin. Take the wontons and gently press them into the muffin tin. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes,they'll brown lightly.
Now you can fill them with a combination of fillings, but here's what I used. You can't fit that much stuff in them, so they'd be great appetizers.
Filling
1 c. Cooked brown rice
1/2 c. black beans
1/2 c.corn
1 c. cooked seasoned chicken (I used taco seasoning)
1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Take the chicken, corn and black beans, combine and warm through. Take the rice and add a little to the bottom of each cup, then add the chicken, bean and corn mixture. Top with a little shredded cheese.
1 pkg. Wontons
A mini-muffin tin
Some non-stick spray
Spray the min-muffin tin. Take the wontons and gently press them into the muffin tin. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes,they'll brown lightly.
Now you can fill them with a combination of fillings, but here's what I used. You can't fit that much stuff in them, so they'd be great appetizers.
Filling
1 c. Cooked brown rice
1/2 c. black beans
1/2 c.corn
1 c. cooked seasoned chicken (I used taco seasoning)
1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Take the chicken, corn and black beans, combine and warm through. Take the rice and add a little to the bottom of each cup, then add the chicken, bean and corn mixture. Top with a little shredded cheese.
Creamy Chicken Fried Wontons
1 pkg wontons (I actually split the pkg between the two recipes)
3/4 c. Cooked chicken
1/2 c. cream cheese
1/4 c. sour cream
3 T. chopped green onions
1 clove minced garlic
small cup of water
4 T. parmesean cheese
(I'm guessing at measurements because I didn't measure)
Chop or shred the cooked chicken. Combine it with sour cream, cream cheese, garlic and green onions. The mixture should be creamy, add more or less of the ingredients to get to the desired consistency.
Take a wonton and put a small amount of filling into it. Wet the edges of the wonton with some water and press into a little packet. Repeat until the filling is gone, or you run out of wontons.
Melt some butter into a pan, and add the wontons. Brown the wontons on both sides.
While the wontons are still warm sprinkle a little parmesean cheese on them.
I had a few wontons left so I did a couple extra cups and just put them in a baggie--I think they'll keep a day or two.
1 pkg wontons (I actually split the pkg between the two recipes)
3/4 c. Cooked chicken
1/2 c. cream cheese
1/4 c. sour cream
3 T. chopped green onions
1 clove minced garlic
small cup of water
4 T. parmesean cheese
(I'm guessing at measurements because I didn't measure)
Chop or shred the cooked chicken. Combine it with sour cream, cream cheese, garlic and green onions. The mixture should be creamy, add more or less of the ingredients to get to the desired consistency.
Take a wonton and put a small amount of filling into it. Wet the edges of the wonton with some water and press into a little packet. Repeat until the filling is gone, or you run out of wontons.
Melt some butter into a pan, and add the wontons. Brown the wontons on both sides.
While the wontons are still warm sprinkle a little parmesean cheese on them.
I had a few wontons left so I did a couple extra cups and just put them in a baggie--I think they'll keep a day or two.
