Apple Cinnamon Wontons

I woke up to an absolutely beautiful morning. It was in the low 60's, there was a gorgeous breeze, and, best of all, no humidity!! I even got to drink my coffee on our screened in porch {{my very favorite place to have coffee}} while the girls quietly watched Mickey Mouse. It was very close to perfection {{Bet you can guess what was missing}} and in a very short amount of time, a morning like this will in fact equal perfection. The weather was so nice, I decided to open up the house and let out some of the summer-stale and enjoy the cross breeze while I had my Saturday morning clean-up party.

Clean up parties don't last long around here, anymore. Why, you ask? Well, Pigpen and her little dirt-farming-sister seem to undo any cleaning I do, faster than I can clean, so it doesn't take long before I decide to move on to bigger and better things... Like baking {{hello, I'm pregnant! What else am I going to do?}}.

I periodically crave dumplings and have used several brands of empanada, ravioli, or wonton casings found in the commissary, to make them homemade. Recently, I came across these:

And they are by far the best I have used. They freeze and thaw well and they are easy to work with, without tearing apart. Having decided I needed {{NEEEEDED}} to make some thing sweet, I opened the fridge and there they were, calling to me from their little home in the deli drawer. I also happened to have 4 Granny Smiths and I quickly decided to make Apple Cinnamon Wontons.

Ingredients:
3-4 Granny smiths, peeled and chopped.
4ish tbsp of brown sugar
2 tsp of vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
Package of wonton wrappers
1 stick of butter
1 egg white
1 tsp water


Combine all ingredients {{except the wonton wrappers and butter}} into a bowl and mix well while melting 4 tbsp of butter over med-low heat. Once butter is melted, but before it browns, add the apple mixture. Let simmer until it's all bubbly and delicious looking and then add the remaining butter. It is important not to let the moisture cook out of the apples. Also, the length of time you cook your apples is totally up to you and how cooked you like them to be. I like mine a little aldente and only cooked them for 7 or 8 minutes. Once they are done, remove them from heat and set aside for the filling process. {{If I had had some caramel squares, I would have thrown some in to melt down into the apples, at this point, and I think it would have been delicious!!}}

While the apples are simmering, beat an egg white and tsp of water together in a bowl and set up your wonton wrappers for filling. At this point you can also heat up a pan with oil or you can wait until you've filled your wontons, as once you get them in the hot oil, the process moves pretty quick. Brush the outer edges of the wonton wrappers with egg white and spoon a tbsp of the apple mixture into the center of one, top with the other and press edges together {{This would be good to let kids do, if they are helping you.}}

Drop the filled wonton into oil hot enough to make the edges bubble.

Turn when the edges start to brown. Cook for as long as it takes for the dough to bubble and lightly brown. Don't get distracted by other things or they *might* turn out a little darker than you anticipated.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and be prepared to eat them with reckless abandon.

ENJOY!!

Look What I can do!

Ok, so I said I was back and then left again. There are so many other women out there with a deployed husbands that I didn't want to turn my blog into a "Boo hoo hoo! My husbands deployed" blog. Plus, I'm trying to process quite a bit right now and my brain feels like its slowly being poked to death. Creativity {{at least in the writing department}} took a back burner.

Since J left we have had two different sets of visitors: My BFF and my Madre and a family friend that drove out with her. My BFF and I met when J and I were stationed here before he went to DS and we jokingly say that she is my husbands girlfriend and I'm her husbands girlfriend. She ended up getting to be here when J left and it was such a great distraction from him leaving.

{{A man. His Wife. And his girlfriend.}}

While She was here, we made no-sew fleece blankets {{soooo warm!!}} We got the fabric on sale, too which makes it even better! We each used 2 yards of fabric and cut 4" slits into all four of the sides. A glass of wine and forty minutes later - Vwalla!!

Between the time She left and my mom and her friend got here, I didn't really do much but feel sorry for myself. While at the outlets the day after they got here we found a Madeleine Pan. I have been searching for one for awhile {{ok, not really looking that hard}} but all I found was one at Williams-Sonoma for $30 {{and lets face it, I'm cheap.}} After professing my love for the scrumptious tasty snack and promising to make them, my mom bought the pan for me. We used THIS recipe. There were some easier sounding recipes, but I wanted to make a real Madeleine. They were DEEEEEEEEELICIOUS!! The recipe made just under 3 dozen light and buttery cookies.

{{Be jealous!}}

While showing off the sewing machine to my mom and all of the projects I have made thus far, she asked if I could make a travel kit. She's pretty much on the road at least once a week so she uses hers quite a bit. I'd never attempted to make one but I said, "Sure!" We picked up the stuff and I found a TUTORIAL that seemed well written and jumped right in.

My first attempt turned out great except the fabric I had intended for the lining turned out on the outside {{haha!}} and I was sewing while reading the steps instead of the other way around and I had already sewn my seams and couldn't add a handle {{whoops!}}

The second attempt took less than an hour to bust out and it turned out a little not square GREAT! Especially for only being my second attempt.

After my travel-bag success I decided to sew together a tote bag I had forgotten in my pity-party cut almost two weeks ago. I made it from a piece of fabric that I absolutely loved and had no clue what to do with. It's not finished {{I have to rip and re-sew the bottom seam because I missed a piece of the fabric}} but I still think for a first try it was a success!

And last but not least, the Play Set Fairies heeded my call and this weekend, with the help of some friendly awesome neighbors, we'll be putting together one of these

Three weeks down. Only 6 and a half more months to go. I figure by then I should be able to hire myself out for handyman, sewing and painting projects.

Culinary Curiosity

Whiskey Chicken

This is an old *new* recipe. It is one of the first ones I tried when I started the new recipes and I have made it a good four times since October. It's delicious and J LOVES it! This is the tweaked recipe I make. It is not by any means a "healthy" meal. But sometimes it is ok to splurge.

First things first. Get in the mood with a little "Whiskey River," Willie Nelson style.

Preparation: 20-25 min
Cook time: 20-25 min

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Fresh Ground Pepper
4 tbsp Butter or Margarine
2 tbsp minced Green Onion
1 small Sweet Onion Minced
1.5 Cups Whipping Cream
1.5 Cups Chicken Stock
1/4 Cup Irish Whiskey
1 tsp. Tarragon Leaves

Preparation:

1.) Place chicken pieces between sheets of plastic wrap. With the flat side of mallet, pound lightly. Make the chicken as thick or thin as you like, just please adjust the cook times accordingly. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

2.) In a large skillet, melt 2 tbsp of butter until pan is hot but don't brown the butter {{med high heat}}. Place just enough chicken into the pan without crowding. Don't let the chicken touch {{that is how the pan gets all watered and it wont let the chicken brown}}. Cook 3-5 minutes until chicken is browned. Remove chicken to a warm place. Repeat until all the chicken is cooked.

3.) After last chicken is done, turn heat down to medium low. Add whiskey, green onion and onion and use a whisk to scrape the bottom of the pan. The whiskey will boil up a bit and then reduce. Now add the chicken stock, the drippings from the chicken you set aside, the tarragon and the whipping cream, stirring as you add. Boil 3 to 5 minutes.

4.) Place chicken in pan with sauce and coat each piece. Let boil for a few more minutes to reheat the chicken. Serve chicken over egg noodles, spooning sauce over them. Garnish with fresh green onion.

This dish is SO good! It even looks good cooking!!

Even the toddler likes it!

2.0 was so impressed with my kitchen skills, she went right to sleep.

ENJOY!!

Culinary Curiosity

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe was kind of cheating. Its not really new, it has just been a REALLY long time since I've cooked it and was lucky enough that all the ingredients were in the pantry. Plus, I'm sick with a head cold from hell and was hoping the green chilies would help clear me out a bit.

This is not my recipe. I used to have a friend that would make this for dinner all the time and we would kill the whole 13x9 tray in one meal. It's SO delicious!

I'm really bad about measuring things when I cook them. This is one of those recipes that you have to adjust for the amount of people you are cooking for, so I will just tell you how much I used for an 8"x8" pyrex dish and you can add ingredients depending on how many people you are cooking for.

I'm to lazy to list out the ingredients, so I marked them in bold for you.

Preheat your oven to 375*. Boil a pack of large chicken breasts* on medium heat until they are coming a part. While those are boiling, pour the contents of a large container of sour cream, two small cans of chopped green chilies {{mind your heat levels when you buy these! They come in mild med & hot just like anything else!}} and about a cup of ricotta cheese into a bowl. Mix well. Toss in some salt & pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Mix again and set aside. Spray your cooking dish with baking spray and line the bottom with white or yellow corn tortillas.

Remove your chicken from the water and pull it apart. Pour chicken into sour cream mixture and mix well, so all the chicken is coated evenly. Place a few spoonfuls on the tortillas and mash it out so the chicken covers the tortilla. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese. Now repeat the layers until your happy with them or the dish is full. Top with mozzarella and put into the oven. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes until everything is bubbling and the cheese is pretty and brown.

My friend used to top hers with chopped lettuce and salsa, so that is how I served them.

They taste as awesome as they look!

*This recipe could also be a great way to use leftover chicken*

Culinary Curiosity

As you know, it has become a mission of mine to get out of the mealtime rut I got us into. In October {{I think}} I started finding new recipes and meal planning. We've had fun trying new foods that I've found, that friends have shared and in cookbooks and online. I've even shared one here. Culinary Curiosity will be one of the new feature posts about our adventures trying new food - the good, bad & ugly.

Last night, I made a Pork Apple Bake - a P90X recipe. I understand the whole savory-food thing with the salt and the sweet, but honestly, the idea of apples on my pork didn't really sound like a good idea. The recipe itself is pretty simple: Layer lean boneless pork, thinly sliced sweet potatoes and thinly sliced apples. Bake at 350* until cooked. Salt & pepper if desired {{it is desired so I used sea salt & fresh cracked pepper}}. I also drizzled some olive oil over the top of the dish because it seemed a little dry when it went into the oven. And actually when it went in, it looked fairly appetizing and I was excited to be opening new food doors.

However, when it came out of the oven, any appealing look the food had, had been cooked off by the heat of the stove {{Womp, womp}}. I am always impressed by the amazing timing J has. Usually he comes home only to catch me watching embarrassing tv {{like the Kardashians *red face*}} or something else equally mortifying. Last night he walked in right as I was closing the door on the stove to let the food cook longer. My face must have said it all because he asked what was wrong. That's the deal with new recipes you just find; you never know what your going to get or how it will taste.

So, after some fair warning and a few more minutes in the oven we sat down to eat... this.

Believe it or not it didn't taste as bad as it looked. My biggest problem with the dish was the apples {{I used Granny Smiths trying to even out the sweet}} and the sweet potatoes cooked down quite a bit and by the time they were plated {{ok someone's been watching too much Chopped}} it was like eating mashed apple-sweet potatoes. Not bad... just interesting...?

Needless to say that recipe probably wont be made anytime soon again in this house. I think it was an ugly, fail.

Speaking of P90X - It's Stablatic!

I had breakfast with Tony Horton again today. Well, I had breakfast with him but he didn't have breakfast with me. Today was day 2 of the Lean P90X program. I chose to do the Lean program because it is more cardio based than the Classic & Doubles. It went much better than day 1 but that's only because the kids were asleep {{its pretty hard to do lunges with a 2year old circling through your legs}}. He's an interesting guy. He's full of wonderful words of wisdom and retarded jokes {{like "Stablatic"}} that he laughs at all by himself...

Maybe Day 3 will be with no talking.