Sausage Cheese Balls

Sausage Cheese Balls

Makes 3 dozen


1 LB preferred brand and heat level Breakfast Sausage [Turkey sausage is awesome too!]


3/4 cup, plus 1 or 2 TBSP Bisquick


2 cups shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese


1/4 tsp onion powder


1/4 tsp celery salt


1/4 tsp garlic powder

optional: 8 oz Cream cheese: reduced fat or Neufchatel [confession: I can NEVER remember how to spell that!] work great here.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir well. Form into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet; bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. 

Ham Salad

Sadly, I am the only person in my family who will eat this. Silly young souls don't know what they are missing since they won't even TRY it. I don't get that at all, as I have adored ham salad sandwiches since I was their age. But I digress...
Just means more for me, which is awesome because I LOVE this stuff on sandwiches! I'm talking 2+ inch thick sandwiches full of this goodness horked down in seconds kind of love them! Honestly, I have to just stand in the kitchen and eat mine rather than bring it to the table because the wolfish, fiendish way in which I devour them would quite possibly alarm and/or traumatize my impressionable wee ones.
It's not pretty, but, dude, They. Are. Good.
This is one of those things that I will NEVER eat from a deli or a store. It REALLY has to be fresh from my own [or my mother's] kitchen for me to trust it. I mean, have you seen that disgusting pink mush they slap between two slices of bread and call ham salad? *shudder*, *shudder*

Ham Salad for Sandwiches

Ground or finely chopped cooked ham- 3 cups [I sometimes use thin sliced deli ham and just chop it super fine]
Celery- 1 cup chopped - [I go with about 4 ribs because I like it super crunchy]
Prepared yellow mustard- 1-2 TB [depending how much you like your mustard. Start with 1 and add to personal taste]
Reduced fat Mayonnaise- 1/2- 3/4 cup
Sweet relish- 3 TB or more [Adjust amount according to saltiness of the ham, really helps to tone that down]
1 teaspoon grated onion, or 1/8 tsp onion powder--**optional**

Directions

Mix all the ingredients until well blended.
Spread on sliced bread of choice to make a sandwich, or serve with crackers.

Spanakopita Puff Pastry

This traditional Greek-style appetizer, [we eat it as a meal in itself], featuring seasoned spinach, cottage or feta cheese, and made simple and delicious by using store-bought puff pastry sheets.

Ingredients

1. 1 large onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2. 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
3. 3 eggs 
4. 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 
5. 1 package (17.3 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (2 sheets), thawed according to package directions
6. 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese** I use cottage cheese**
7. 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese- or 3 TB powdered stuff
8. 1/2 tsp salt
9. 2 TB dried parsley flakes

Directions

1. Thaw pastry 20 minutes.
2. Heat the oven to 400°F. Use ungreased baking sheet or line with parchment paper
3. Combine Spinach, 2 eggs, cheeses onion, parsley, and seasonings in medium bowl. Blend well.
4. Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry into a 12 x12-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle into 9 equal sized squares. Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet, making 18 rectangles in all. 
5. Beat the remaining egg and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl with a fork. Brush the edges of rectangles with the egg mixture.
6. Spoon a heaping Tablespoon spinach mixture onto the center of each rectangle.  Fold the pastry in half over the filling and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Brush the pastries with the egg wash.
7. Bake the pastries for 20-25 minutes or until they're golden brown. Let the pastries stand for 10 minutes.

• I often just halve this recipe and that serves as a simple dinner for my husband and I. 
  Reheat leftovers in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.
  
  

*NEW* Beef Pot Stickers

**My suggestion:
Forget trying to steam these suckers. Just go ahead and fry them and save yourself the considerable frustration of having them fall apart on you every time. The three ways I have tried to steam them have all ended in disaster. Which is ENTIRELY frustrating considering the time they take to put together. If I wanted a casserole, I would have just saved the effort. 

Make them into Baked Egg Rolls. The filling is GREAT!


These were Delicious and will definitely go into my repeat file. 
Adapted from http://theredspoonblog.com

Makes about 18-24

• 1/2 pound ground beef, or turkey, or Pork
• 2 tablespoon minced green onions [ 2 whole onions including white end]
• 1 cup shredded chinese [Napa] cabbage [or coleslaw blend]
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons dry white wine, [or rice vinegar, or I used a white Merlot]
• 1 teaspoons minced peeled ginger [1/2 tsp ginger powder]
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Pot sticker or Wonton wrappers

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

-----------------------------

• In a bowl, combine first 8 ingredients.

• Place a heaping teaspoon of mixture in center of pot sticker wrapper. Lightly wetting the edges of the wrapper, fold over and press to seal. Repeat until all the filling has been used.

• Boil a large pot of water and add 1 tablespoon of oil. In two batches cook dumplings until cooked through and rise to the top, about 4 – 6 minutes. 

• Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. In a large nonstick skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium high heat. In two batches cook until browned, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. 

• Serve with Soy-ginger sauce, **or if your tastes run a bit sweeter—Mongolian Sauce.

Soy Ginger Sauce

In a bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil. Garnish with minced chives.

** Only glitch I had was with my wrappers. They say WONTON wrappers and that they are suitable for ravioli, etc, but they totally fell apart with both recipes I used them with. I had to, instead, cook the filling all together and then put about a tsp of filling in the center of the wrapper squares and fold them into triangles then pan fry them in a couple TB oil for about 2 minutes on each side on about med-hi [#7 on my dial] totally skipping the whole boil step.

The dumplings/pot stickers I've ever had in a restaurant were steamed and the wrappers felt like fat cooked pasta, but the kind I was using just went soggy and the seams all fell apart dumping out all the filling.

—However, as eggrolls they were PERFECT.

one more try at steaming:

**steamer directions I need to try next time since my previous attempts at steaming were utter disasters

Cut a piece of parchment slightly smaller than diameter of steamer basket and place in basket.  Poke about 20 small holes in parchment and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.  Place batches of dumplings on parchment liner, making sure they are not touching.  Set steamer over simmering water and cook, covered until no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes.

Baked Asian Pot Stickers [a.k.a. Dumplings]

**Make sure you have PLENTY of time to make these puppies [allow at least an hour before they even START to cook!]— they aren't for a night when you are pressed for time that's for certain!**

*Makes about 40 Dumplings*
2 cups [half head] napa cabbage, sliced finely

1 lb browned ground meat: chicken, turkey, pork or beef [ I went with half turkey/ half beef] 

3 green onions, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 cup shredded carrot

1 TB soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sesame oil

Pot sticker [wonton] wraps

Vegetable  or canola oil (for cooking)

• Cook meat, drain grease and add: cabbage, green onions, garlic, carrots, soy sauce, sesame oil. Stir until thoroughly combined and cook on Medium for about 5-8 minutes [until cabbage and carrot is soft and wilty], stirring occasionally.
• Spread out the pot sticker wraps and scoop a heaping teaspoon of filling onto the center of each wrap. 
• Wet the entire outer edge of each pot sticker wrap with finger tips
• To fold the pot sticker: Bring corners up together and press seams together.
• Really make sure they are sealed, so the filling doesn't fall out.

**I've tried recipes that pan fry the steam and one that suggested boiling. Both met with less than stellar results. I liked the baking or steaming with an asian bamboo steaming basket methods best. 
*Next time I will mist dumplings with a spray bottle before baking to give them more of the traditional soft texture.

1.  Line baking pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray [or use parchment paper.] Bake the pot stickers at 425 degrees for 8 minutes. Come out perfectly crispy outside with the piping hot filling juicy on the inside. * I fit about 20 pot stickers on a baking sheet*

**P.F. Chang's Mongolian Dipping Sauce**

1 tsp Extra light olive oil

½ tspn ginger powder

1 TB minced garlic 

½ cup soy sauce 

½ cup water 

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 large green onions 

Make the sauce by heating everything together to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat. 

Bamboo Steamer directions: 

Lay a single layer of lettuce leaves along the bottom, leaving a bit of space in between, set dumplings on  lettuce. Perfect! Steam for about 12-15 minutes.

Best Fruit Punch. Ever.

1/2 gallon rainbow sherbet

2 liters Schwepps Ginger Ale

1/2 bag of ice

1 can Five Alive frozen fruit punch

1 box frozen strawberries and syrup

combine and prepare to be delighted!

*Options! Options!*

1 can frozen limeade plus 1 can frozen orange juice, if you can’t find FIVE ALIVE

Frozen raspberries instead of Strawberries if allergies are a problem.

Crispy Baked Egg Rolls!!

Something new for dinner tonight! Yea, I LOVE egg rolls and can't wait to try these they look amazing!

Baked Egg Rolls

•     1/2 pound ground turkey or beef
•     1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
•     2 TB soy sauce
•     1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
•     2 green onions
•     2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
•     2 or 3 cups shredded cabbage [you REALLY want to try and use the pre-shredded coleslaw mix here and if so, omit the carrot listed below. I chopped my own and they rook longer to cook and were harder to fold up in the wrappers]
•     1 shredded carrot
•     1 celery stalk, sliced thin
•     8 (7 inch square) egg roll wrappers
•     1 TB canola oil

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425°. Line baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine celery, carrots and cabbage in medium microwave safe bowl. Cover with wet paper towels and heat/steam for 5 minutes.
Add canola oil to large skillet heat to medium-high. Add onion, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add turkey; cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cabbage mixture, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, flour and pepper. Cover and chill 15 minutes.
Place 1 egg roll wrapper at a time onto work surface with 1 corner pointing toward you (wrapper should look like a diamond).  Spoon 3 tablespoons filling into center of wrapper. Fold lower corner of egg roll wrapper over filling. Fold in trimmed corners. Moisten top corner of wrapper with edge of tightly folded wet paper towel [ I just licked mine, but hey, I'm family!] ; then roll up wrapper like a burrito.
Lightly coat egg rolls with cooking spray, and place, seam side down, on a baking sheet lined with foil and lightly [or generously, like I did] coat with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Finally I found it!!! Finally! FINALLY!
After 3 tries with different recipes in my desperate search to find a delectable Asian Lettuce wrap to rival P.F. Chang's tasty offerings, the first try being A-W-F-U-L, the second being " Meh, ok. I guess I can keep it down." THIS latest one, my friend, was GOOD!!
This one is worthy of SHARING even. That should speak volumes in and of itself.


So, "gimme, gimme!," you say? Ok! I will! But first, again with my disclaimer. It's my photo and I'm still trying to learn to make things actually look half as good as they are. This picture does no such thing. But rest assured, I would not lead you astray! You can trust me when I say, " Mmm...mmmm... incredibly GOOD!"

Awesome Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps:
serves 3 or 4 adults as dinner, more as appetizer

• 2 cups Chicken- minced -- [I save time by using chicken that is already cooked so I can just mince it up nice and small]
• 2 teaspoons coconut Oil [ or any kind you prefer]
• 1/2 cup matchstick carrots 
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• red pepper flakes
• 1 (8-ounce) can whole water chestnuts, drained and diced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• **optional** 1 TBSP sunflower butter or peanut butter

Combine oils and add to wok or large frying pan. Heat oil over high heat until it glistens, about one minute. Add chicken and stir-fry until cooked through, then lower heat to med-hi and add rest of stir fry sauce, carrots, garlic, onions, water chestnuts. Stir-fry everything about four minutes and remove to a serving dish.

Serve stir-fry with iceberg lettuce or nappa cabbage leaf wraps.

Addictive Cheesy Bruschetta--Don't say I didn't warn you!

Bruschetta
~ Thank you Nana Hank for creating my newest can't shake craving!~
My mother in law made these at our last family get together and we, every one of us, scarfed them down! And I mean scarfed!
*This recipe, when used with half loaf of French Bread, made about 8 or 9 slices of Bruschetta.

* 4 Roma (plum) tomatoes, sliced thin [1/8 inch thick] or you can dice them
* 2 cloves minced garlic [ or 1 tsp garlic powder]
* 2 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
* 1 tablespoon dried basil [ or 3 cups fresh basil chopped]
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 TB grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 French baguette
*1 or 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven on broiler setting.

2. In a small mixing bowl combine: garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes [I heat mine in the microwave about 30 seconds].

3. Cut the baguette into 1/2 inch slices. On a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, [ or if you're like me and have a precarious relationship with your broiler--bake 4 or 5 minutes at 400 degrees] until slightly brown.

4. Divide the pesto mixture evenly over the baguette slices. Top with slices of tomato and cover with mozzarella cheese.

5. Bake for 4-8 minutes [ or broil for 2 or 3] -- until the cheese is melted.

**To keep things ultra simple, I sometime use 1/8 inch slices [instead of grating] of mozzarella over 1/4 inch slices of tomato [instead of dicing.]