Cranberry Rangoon Recipe

Happy Thursday! I know, this may sound gross to you, but you probably don't have a surplus of cranberries in you freezer. Or maybe you do.... I realize this is another recipe for fried food, but I don't go for sweets, we hardly ever eat out and we really don't have any other vices. Once a week we make something fun that is outside our normal whole-grain-local-vegetable-based regimen. Sue us!

I found this recipe on the Cranberry Growers Association website. Incidentally my favorite cranberry grower is Cranberry Hill Farm in Plymouth, MA. If you are down that way this fall you should pay them a visit.

Anyway, I changed the recipe substantially, so here is what I did:

Ingredients:

3/4 C Fresh Cranberries

1/4 C Mayonnaise

10 oz Cream cheese, softened

1 tsp Cholula hot pepper sauce

1 T sugar (I used evaporated cane juice)

3 Scallions, white and green parts, finely diced

1 package Square Wonton Wrappers

1 oil (canola, or peanut) for frying

Directions:

Combine Cranberries, Mayonnaise and Cholula in food processor and blend until almost smooth. Add half of that mixture to cream cheese along with sugar and scallions and mix thoroughly. Drop one tsp full of mixture in the center of each won ton wrapper and seal as desired. I make boats (see photo). Heat oil until it shimmers. Fry rangoons until golden brown. It helps to keep them in a low oven while you finish the whole batch. You should have about four dozen of them when you finish.

The original recipe recommended using the reserved cranberry/mayo mixture as a dipping sauce, but we didn't do that. We set it aside to spread on sandwiches or to make another batch Instead, we dipped them in the sweet and sour sauce we made last summer!

We LOVED these! The insides are delightfully pink and tangy. I can't wait to break them out at a day-after-Thanksgiving-leftover-extravaganza! That said, we've decided to start experimenting with a baked version with the help of this recipe from My Baking Addition.

Homemade Tater Tots!

I turned some so-so potato salad into some really fun fried treats!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups potato salad (easy on the mayo) with chopped onions

1/2 to 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 egg (beaten)

1 medium-sized peeled and shredded potato

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 cup canola oil

Puree potato salad. Mix with flour, egg, shredded potato and spices until thoroughly combined. Heat oil in a skillet until it shimmers. Drop tablespoonfuls of potato mixture into hot oil and cook until golden brown and crispy on both sides. Enjoy with homemade ketchup.

Hummus

We are moving away from cheese and toward hummus. I love this recipe from Simply Recipes.

Meal Plan: January 31- February 5

Monday:

Frittata Fajitas

Tuesday:

Zucchini Parmesan

Wednesday:

Sausage and zucchini chili with rice

Thursday:

Leftover Zucchini Parmesan

Friday:

Leftover chili

Saturday:

Leftover buffet

Sunday (next week):

Roast Chicken

Kale with navy beans and roasted potatoes

Spaghetti squash with creamy pesto sauce

Curry Chicken, red peppers, onions, broccoli in Crock Pot with brown rice

Granola Bar Recipe

Granola Bars

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Gather your ingredients:

2 cups oats

3/4 cup wheat germ

3/4 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup sliced almonds

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

4 Tbsp butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

approximately 8 oz. dried cranberries

I also added 1/2 C of semi sweet chocolate chips

Mix the almonds, oats, wheat germ, and sunflower seeds on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so that they don’t burn.

Prepare a glass baking dish (about 11 x 13 inches) for your granola by lining it with waxed paper lightly sprayed with a nonstick spray.

Combine the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.

Once grains and nuts are toasted, transfer to a large bowl. Add the cranberries and chocolate chips and stir to combine. Add the sugar and honey mixture and stir to be sure every surface of the grains and dried fruit are coated. The chocolate will melt into the mixture. Now, dump your granola mixture into your prepared baking dish.

Spread out the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Now fold over the sides of the waxed paper or add a sheet on top, and PRESS HARD all over the granola. You want to compact it together so that your bars won’t fall apart when you cut them.

Wait 2-3 hours or until the granola has totally cooled.

Then, open the waxed paper …And carefully turn the granola onto a large cutting board, peeling away the rest of the paper. Now, firmly pressing down with a big knife (not sawing), cut your granola into whatever size bars you’d like.

I usually cut the pan into 16 bars, so for less than the cost of one box of granola bars, I get the equivalent of three or four!

Crispy Kale Chips

Here's a recipe that will make you incredibly EXCITED to eat kale. This is a truly delicious and unexpected way to enjoy one of early summer's most abundant greens.

Crispy Kale Chips

Ingredients:
12 large kale leaves, rinsed, well-dried, cut lengthwise in half, center ribs and stems removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Preheat oven to 250°F. Toss kale with oil in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange leaves in single layer on 2 large baking sheets. Bake until crisp, dry, and fragile, about 30 minutes for flat leaves and up to 33 minutes for wrinkled leaves. Transfer leaves to rack to cool. Season again with salt and pepper if need be.

Recipe from www.epicurious.com.

Make Your Own Tortilla Chips

Recipe from Savory Sweet Life

I can't wait to do this! The warm, handmade chips are what always lure me into my favorite Mexican restaurants!

Meal Plan: August 31 - September 6

Monday:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with blueberries

Snack: Blueberry Oat bars

Lunch: Turkey sandwiches with fruit and tortilla chips

Snack: Crackers and Peanut Butter

Dinner: Slow Cooker Barack Obama's Chilli Recipe with rice

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Yogurt with fruit and homemade bread

Snack: Fruit and Saltines

Lunch: Tomato, Scallion and cheese quesadillas

Snack: Granola bars

Dinner: Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken and Potatoes with sliced tomatoes

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Oatmeal and fruit

Snack: Blueberry Oat bars

Lunch: Turkey Sandwiches with carrot sticks and tortilla chips

Snack: Animal Crackers and craisins

Dinner: Chicken Soup

Thursday:

Breakfast: Tortillas eggs!

Snack: Animal Crackers and Craisins

Lunch: Slow Cooker Tomato Soup

Snack: Granola Bars

Dinner: Pizza and Salad

Friday:

Breakfast: Slow Cooker Bread Pudding (my own recipe) and fruit

Snack: Granola Bars and fruit

Lunch: Out

Snack: Animal Crackers and Fruit

Dinner: In CT

Saturday:

Breakfast: Leftover bread pudding, fruit

Snack: Blueberry Oat Bars

Lunch: Turkey Sandwich, fruit, tortilla chips

Snack: Animal Crackers and fruit

Dinner: In CT

Sunday:

Breakfast: Yogurt, Fruit and Bread

Snack: Whatever is left

Lunch: Whatever is left

Snack: Whatever is left

Dinner: Pizza/Fraggle Rock Dinner