Hello Friday! Even though it was a short week, it’s nice that it’s Friday and the weather is going to be gorgeous in Chicagoland this weekend – highs in the low 70s – yes!!
But first, let’s pick a winner to Nicole’s Cookbook Giveaway!
And the winner is . . . CLARE! Congrats! Shoot me your mailing address to mybizzykitchen@gmail.com and I’ll get it in the mail tomorrow.
CLARE
May 29, 2018 at 10:56 am
The first thing I ever made in a crockpot was the easiest pulled pork ever. Just put a piece of pork in the pot and pour a 2L bottle of root beer over it, cook until it shreds, and smother with Sweet Baby Ray’s. It was a huge hit! I have since developed a more refined palate 😉 and usually use a more elegant recipe but that’s still my kids’ favorite!
*****
Yesterday’s breakfast was an oldie but a goodie – breakfast nachos! 8 tortilla chips (3) topped with scrambled eggs and egg whites, and an ounce of part-skim mozzarella (3) then topped with red cabbage, romaine and pickled jalapenos. Six points of deliciousness, and in case you haven’t tried it, pickled jalapenos are a great way to start the day. 😀
My sister and I got our steps in at Block 37 – I forgot download those pics, but it was fun and a change of pace from Macy’s. Although we were in Zara (I may go back and get a cute t-shirt there) when all of a sudden a bunch of kids came in, pulled stuff off the racks and took off. The alarms went off but the staff seemed to take it all in stride and called mall security – so crazy!
Last weekend I made these shrimp and snap pea wontons, or what I like to call, “use up what you have before it goes bad” wontons. I had wonton wrappers that were about to expire, about 1/2 cup of snap peas, and shrimp in the freezer and these were so delicious and easy to make. Recipe down below 😀 That whole plate is only 6 points. I served it with 1/3 cup of rice and pan seared asparagus. I just poured my dipping sauce over the top – 1 tablespoon ponzu sauce, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and a teaspoon of sriracha for 1 point.
I didn’t have to work night secretary last night – yeah! I finished up some stuff at my desk for about 30 minutes, then headed home. Hannah texted me and asked “did you have plans for dinner?” which usually means “are you making something that we can eat too?” I told her I had leftovers on my menu, and she reheated meat for Jacob and made herself some pizza with my leftover dough.
Me? I like to think of leftover night as being on an episode of Chopped. I had: leftover rice, grilled Italian sausage, basil, eggs – suddenly I thought “arancini!”
Truth be told, I’d never heard of arancini before I met Tony. We were at a now out of business Italian restaurant in Crystal Lake a long time ago, and he looked at the appetizer list and said “why don’t we split the arancini.” I told him I didn’t know what it was (I was WAY more picky back then) when Tony described it as fried rice. I looked around at the olive oil on the table and all the pasta dishes being served around us and was thinking “why would an Italian restaurant be serving fried rice?”
Well, he ordered it and it was amazing – a fried rice ball with melty cheese in the middle this spicy marinara sauce for dipping. #sold
I’ll post the full recipe tomorrow because it deserves its own post – I put the recipe in the WW recipe builder and it’s 1 point for 1 ball, or 6 points for 4. So worth it! I also stuffed it with laughing cow cheese, and it got all melty and delish.
Am I at a fancy restaurant?!
I wasn’t overly hungry for dinner last night, so this appetizer for dinner was perfect. It was light, crunchy, cheezy in the middle and the fresh basil made this dish.
But today’s recipe is going to be these shrimp and snap pea wontons. If you have a food processor this is even easier. Just throw all the ingredients into a food processor, stuff the wontons, pan fry and boil and bam – it’s time to eat!
You basically just blend everything to get a shrimp paste texture.
I made homemade wontons once and only once – too much work when I can buy a package of 25 skins for .99 cents at my grocery store. Add just shy of a tablespoon of mixture in the wonton wrapper, wet the sides of the wrapper and then press together to hold.
Just before you make the last few wontons, heat a non-stick skillet with Pam and 1 teaspoon olive oil.
I used to think the steps were backwards – fry first and steam later, until I tried to do the opposite and the wontons completely stuck to the pan – even though it was non-stick. Frying first gets a nice texture on the bottom and they won’t stick when you add the water to steam, and they are still crisp.
Xxxxx
I wish I would have had some red thai chilis for a pop of color in this pic, but well, this was made from leftovers, so you gotta go with the flow. 😀
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I got these at Mariano’s – I love the seaweed seasoning – a nice pop of flavor on the top of these wontons and these toasted sesame seeds were only $1.99.
I have a couple things planned this weekend. I am babysitting Hannah’s friends son for several hours tomorrow (a 6 year old boy – wish me luck!) and Sunday going to my friend Whitney’s house to make . . . wontons! Turns out her son loves them so we are going to cook them up for lunch.
And pretty sure I’ll be firing up the Pit Barrel this weekend – I need to cook up some whole chicken for dinner and meal prep for next week.
Happy Friday friends – make it a great day!
Not sure what is up with my comment lately. The last couple I thought I posted didn’t show up. My work internet keeps going in and out. I need to get it checked. Your wontons always look so yummy. I’m weird. I only really like the part that gets crispy at the bottom. I need to somehow crisp the whole thing. What a great idea for a filling.