Category: Appetizers and snacks

Wonton Cheese Sticks

Appetizers and snacks, Cheese, Kids, Vegetarian

I’m a sucker for a good cheese stick, but they can be hit or miss when you get them out at different restaurants. You have to eat them as soon as they come out of the fryer, and if they even sit around for just a few minutes, they can get cold and the cheese isn’t melty anymore.

I remember seeing different recipes on Pinterest on how to make your own cheese sticks. Some were breaded and deep fried, some were oven baked, and they all used different cheeses. A couple of weeks ago, I saw someone else make them with wonton wrappers and string cheese. I set out to make my own version. I have some wonton wrappers and lots of different cheese in my fridge. I decided to use a leftover mozzarella ball.

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It is so simple really. Heat up some vegetable oil in a nice size pot. Not too much; this will be a shallow fry. Use a candy thermometer and get your oil to about 365.
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Cut up some pieces of mozzarella. You could use any kind of melty cheese. place it in the middle and wrap your cheese like a little burrito. So easy, I had some little hands who wanted to help me. I just brushed the edges with water to keep them together.
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Place them in your oil and cook on each side about 2 minutes or until you see the bottom turning nice and golden brown.
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ENJOY!
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Leftovers: Wonton Risotto

Appetizers and snacks, Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

I bought some wonton wrappers hoping to try out some homemade cheese sticks. Those will wait another day, because I made some wonton risotto. Not sure if anyone has made this before. I will just be honest and say the idea came to me when I was driving home from the hospital and dreaming of aranchini, which is an Italian fried rice ball. It was raining and gross outside, so instead of stopping at an out of the way Italian place that has amazing ones (Figo at Perimeter), I was kind of thinking of a way to recreate them. Once I got home and remembered I had wonton wrappers, I decided to try it out.
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I heated up my Dutch Pan with an inch or so of vegetable oil. Then I put a spoonful of my leftover mushroom risotto and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese in a wonton wrapper and folded it over. I placed these in the heated oil for a minute or so until I saw the bottom turn brown. Then I flipped them.

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Delish. They were more for me than the girls. R ate 2 of them, mostly picking out the mushrooms and “crusty edges” of the dough. Then I warmed up the rest of the Pasta Pizza leftovers I made a few nights ago.

Just to recap the last few days, in case you thought I was starving myself or my family… we had Jimmy John’s sandwiches for lunch on Wednesday (always yum), My 2 younger girls got spoiled with McDonalds and Zaxby’s with their grandparents Wed night and Thursday lunch. As for me…adequate grilled chicken sandwich from the hospital and pretzel hotdog rolls at Dave and Buster’s on a hospital outing to celebrate my kiddo’s breakout of the hospital clinker tomorrow…

WOOHOO!!!!

Creamy sun-dried tomato spread

Appetizers and snacks, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Vegetarian

Most mornings I wake up just wanting coffee. Then by late morning, I start to get pretty hungry. I want a little snack or light lunch, and I want to make something easy, yet healthy. So this morning I was taking stock of what I needed to buy at the store later and found an unopened bottle of sun-dried tomatoes in the back of the fridge. I immediately opened them up and had one. I love the tart chewy taste of these little beauties. They are so versatile; you can chop them up and throw them in a salad, on top of a pizza, in a sandwich, or make them in to a spread. I decided to make a spread. All you need is a food processer and these…

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You can make a batch of this and keep it in the fridge for future snacking. It would be a great dip for pita, bagel, or tortilla chips. You could spread it on a sandwich instead of mayo or mustard. It would be lovely on little toasted baguettes, like a tapenade. It would even be great for entertaining or bringing to parties. I spread mine on a piece of wheat toast for a healthy snack!

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Do you have any easy snack ideas?