Potstickers

So I say let's make summer rolls, boyfriend says I'm gonna one up you and make potstickers to go along. What do I say? Nothing, because who complains about having potstickers along with their summer rolls (which will be making an appearance soon). I'm in love... with potstickers. Thank goodness we had so many because I've had them for dinner multiple times in the last week. If you have a little extra time on your hands you need to make these. You won't be sorry. In fact, you will rejoice to the heavens that this amazing dish is in front of you. That is all. Honestly, isn't this picture enough to convince you to make these?

Side note: I'm super excited because tomorrow is my first Crohn's and Colitis fundraiser of the year and it's at Chevy's which I already talked about here BUT I just wanted to express my excitement one more time. I can't wait for chips and salsa. My all time favorite snack. And that whole fundraising part, that's good too. Hopefully, it will really help out our team!

Potstickers
Yield ~40

Package of wonton wrappers
1 pound ground turkey or pork
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1/2 onion, diced fine
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1.5 tablespoon soy sauce

vegetable/canola oil
1 cup water

Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons ginger, 1 tbs diced and 1 tbs minced
1 tablespoon sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced

Mix together the garlic, ginger, onion, rice wine, sesame oil, soy sauce, and turkey or pork. To create the potstickers, take a wonton wrapper and line the edges with water. Place a little less than 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture in the wrapper. Take two edges opposite each other and pinch together. Then pinch the rest of the edges together and scrunch them up to look like potstickers below. In a separate bowl for the sauce, mix together soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, sugar, and garlic. Put a frying pan on medium high and put just enough oil to cover the pan. Place potstickers in to cook for about 30 seconds, then add in some water and cover the pan to steam the potstickers the rest of the way (about 5 min). Be careful when you pour the water in not to burn yourself though.

Mexican Slaw

It's Monday... again. My Monday is slightly rougher than my normal Monday but it's my fault. I had a Sunday Funday yesterday but I don't regret it. Having those random days like that are always a blast. I went to brunch in Federal Hill in Baltimore then made a pit stop at a local restaurant on the way back and further broadened my new found red wine horizons. I then ended the day by making some form of an apple pie dish and eating half of it. I say some form because it wasn't pie but I don't even know what to call it. I can't even tell you what the bottom part of it was. It kind of just consisted of some doughy cakey bottom with apples and a streusel topping. Maybe I should give Hannah Hart a call and chat with her about my Sunday shenanigans. I'd say my day was a success. 

Remember that Mexican slaw I told you about that went so well with those little pies on Friday? This is it! It really goes great with any kind of Mexican style dish. It's so light and refreshing and it's a great compliment to those heavier main dishes. 

Mexican Slaw

Yield 6 cups

Prepackaged coleslaw mix (cabbage, carrots)

3 tablespoons rice vinegar 

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon canola oil

juice of 1 lime

large handful of chopped cilantro

1 jalapeno, diced

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Let sit in refrigerator for about an hour so the flavors set in together. 

Mexican Dinner Pies

It's Friday! Time for the weekend and maybe a little winning of 540 million dollars. Muahahahaha. But seriously, I know I'm 1 of like 176 million who fell victim to the urge to get a ticket. Unlike everyone else though, I got mine with a decaf coffee and some skittles. So, I've already won with the whole Skittles part. Plus, when 11 o'clock comes around tonight and I don't win it will be ok cause I have a bottle of wine at home already with my name on it, specifically for drowning my sorrows in. Just kidding... sort of. Anyway, enough about the lotto and more about food as usual! The other day I was feeling like I needed a little spice in my life and what better way to get it than Mexican, duh. Mexican dinner pies to save the day! More like a mixture of a pie and biscuit but who really cares anyway? They are muy bueno and quite tasty with a side of some Mexican Slaw which will be coming up next. Make these tonight and serve them up with a couple margaritas to celebrate the weekend.

Mexican Dinner Pies
Yield 12 pies

1 pound chicken
1 onion
1/2 green pepper
1 cup corn/black bean salsa
1 cup cheddar cheese
dash of garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, and red pepper flakes
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup bisquick
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut up chicken into 3/4-1 inch squares. Put a little oil in a pan and add in the chicken, onion, green peppers, and dash of garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, and red pepper flakes. If you like spicy, go a little heavier than a dash of red pepper flakes. Cook until chicken is finished, then mix in the salsa. In a bowl, mix the milk, bisquick, and 2 eggs. Pour about an ice cream scoop sized amount into the bottom of a greased cupcake tin. Then put enough of the chicken mixture to fill it up about 2/3 of the way. Next sprinkle as much cheese as you would like on each hole. Last pour another ice cream scoop sized amount to fill up each little cup. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Cakey Puppy Chow

MAN! I am SO bummed right now. For the first time ever I got a lottery ticket. I went to bed last night imagining what it would be like when I came in to work today. I would log on, check the winning numbers and I would about have a heart attack. I would quietly walk upstairs to my boss and tell him I didn't feel very well and needed to leave for the day. I would then figure out my plan of attack to let the powers that be know that I was the winner. I was advised though by a source not to tell anyone though "especially my friends because when I was invited to their weddings and only gave them a Cuisinart Panini Press they would be mad at me." This person sure gave me some good advice, huh? Oh well, guess I'll have to play my odds again for only the second time in history this Friday. Until then, I will be eating puppy chow. Not just any puppy chow but cake mix puppy chow. This is way better than plain old regular puppy chow and it brings a nice little unexpected pump of deliciousness to the chow. What's even cooler is you can use any kind of cake mix to give it whatever flavor you want, but it's a better flavor because cake mix is godly.

Cakey Puppy Chow
Yield 8 servings (1/2 cup)

4 cups Chex cereal
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1 tablespoon shortening or butter
1 cup yellow cake mix (or whichever flavor you prefer)
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Place chips in a bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals until chips are melted. Stir in the shortening/butter. Next mix in the chex making sure to get all the cereal pieces covered with the mixture. After mixing, put the cake mix and powdered sugar in a large ziploc bag and  pour the cereal mixture in. Shake around until all the pieces are covered with the powder mixture. Serve and eat almost half like I did.

Thai Drunken Noodles

It's Monday! Definitely not a yay for Monday though. The beautiful weather we've had for almost two weeks decided to take a break for the weekend. The one good thing about the unbeautiful weather was that it took also took a break for the 3 hours I used to move my things into my new place! I was so worried the torrential downpours would be soaking all my belongings but the rain literally stopped 10 minutes before we started moving. The weather gods were nice that day, maybe because they knew a weather lover needed their help. Or maybe cause they knew how miserable it would be for my dad and boyfriend to deal with me if our plans had to be adjusted. Either way, things went great and that evening my new room mate (i.e. boyfriend) and I celebrated with the fugdiest chocolatey brownies ever. There may have only been half the pan left in the morning. Now the weekend is over and it's Monday, my least favorite day of the week. At least some joy can be brought to your life by this dish and you will have all week to make it now. Thai drunken noodles is in my top 2 favorite Thai dishes ever. The other is curry. In fact, Thai food is my favorite type of food in the entire world.

Pad Kee Mao
Thai Drunken Noodles
Yield ~4 servings

1 pound shrimp
1 jalapeno
1 onion
6 green onions
3 plum tomatoes
1 serrano pepper
1/2 green pepper
~ 3/4 cup basil leaves
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 garlic cloves, diced
1 tablespoon canola oil
~1 cup rice noodles

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
dash pepper

Turn burner on medium high heat and place a tablespoon of oil in skillet. Add in red pepper flakes, serrano pepper, and jalapeno. Next add in the shrimp, garlic, onions, and green peppers. Meanwhile bring another pot of water to boil, place rice noodles in and boil for about 7-8 minutes until tender. It won't take very long. Once onions and peppers begin to cook through mix in the basil, green onions, and tomatoes. In a separate bowl mix all the ingredients for the sauce. Once noodles are finished cooking, drain and add into the skillet with the vegetables. Mix together then pour in the sauce and stir together. Reduce heat and let noodles soak up the sauce and flavor for a few minutes, then dish is ready.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

In my everlasting attempt (I say attempt for a reason) to always eat healthier I came across an idea for a cauliflower pizza crust through my constant food browsing. Lately this word has just meant pinterest. I click on someone's pin then I find myself immersed into another fellow food blogger's site. Then I am lead to another and another and there goes over an hour of my time. The internet is and will be the downfall of me. It's no wonder I'm left wondering why I have zero time to do anything. Last year I rarely used my computer, now I have so many bookmarks it's almost a miracle of God that pinterest was created. I tried for a very long time not to jump on the pinterest band wagon but I had to give in and upgrade my Facebook to timeline just so I could join. Now my Facebook is just even more confusing.

On to the reason I even brought up pinterest. Cauliflower pizza crust... this crust was really good! It was a definite change from your typical pizza crust but it reminded me more of a flatbread. Now you should go make this crust and create as many culinary masterpiece pizzas as you wish. I just loaded mine up with a bunch of vegetables and some shredded chicken. I thoroughly enjoyed mine and I know you will too!

Cauliflower Crust
Yield ~2 8 inch pizza crusts

2 cups grated cauliflower
1 cup grated mozzarella
1 egg
1 tablespoon pizza seasoning
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take a head of cauliflower and grate ~2 cups of it. If you have a food processor you can put about half the head of cauliflower in and pulse it. Next mix this in a bowl with the mozzarella, egg, pizza seasoning, and salt. If you do not have pizza seasoning you can just throw in a dash of dried basil, oregano, and some garlic powder. Spray a cookie sheet and cut mixture in half and form pizza crusts. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes depending how crispy you like your crust. Take out crust and put toppings on and increase heat to 500 degrees. Place back in once complete with toppings and bake another 5 minutes or so.