Monday, December 8, 2008

vegetable & black bean egg rolls

my husband and i love love love thai food... that being said, the next couple recipes are really good but are kind of a lot of work. i didn't have a hard time finding the asian ingredients, they were all in the asian section of the major supermarket i go to.

2 TBS peanut or vegetable oil, plus extra for deep frying
4 scallions, cut into 2 inch lengths and shredded
1-inch piece fresh gingerroot, peeled and finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin sticks
6 TBS black bean sauce
1/3 c. fresh bean sprouts
1 small can water chestnuts, drained and coursely chopped
1/2 cucumber cut into thin sticks
square egg roll skins
sweet chili dipping sauce

heat the oil in a preheated wok. add the scallions, ginger, carrot and bell pepper, then stir-fry over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. add the black bean sauce, bean sprouts, water chestnuts and cucumber and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. let cool

remove the egg roll skins from the package but keep them in a pile and covered with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out. lay one skin on a counter in front of you in a diamond shape and brush the edges with water. put a spoonful of the filling near one corner and fold the corner over the filling. roll over again and then fold the side corners over the filling. roll up to seal the filling completely. repear with the remaining skins and filling

heat the oil for deep-frying ain the wok or a deep pan. add the rolls, in 2-3 batches and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until crsip and golden all over. remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, then keep warm while you cook the remaining rolls. garnish with shredded scallions and serve with sweet chili dipping sauce.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Stuffed Chickens


This is SUPER EASY and one of our favorites to make (especially when we have people over). Trevor actually made it up... i am not creative and HAVE to HAVE a recipe. I will just include the instructions for 1 breast and you can multiply as you need. 

1 Boneless skinless chicken breast (we use the foster farms frozen individual ones from costco)
1 lite laughing cow cheese wedge 
1 strip of turkey bacon*
cooking spray
parmesan cheese

1. thaw chicken breast
2. slice open along side to make a slit to fit stuff in (i usually cut it halfway on the side and then take the cut all the way to almost the other side, so the meat is still attached) 
3. open the cheese wedge and mash it a little with your fingers and then put it on both sides of the inside of your cut
4. put the piece of turkey bacon in there too! 
5. spray both sides with cooking spray and top with parmesan cheese and your favorite herbs

I usually use my roasting pan (the one that comes with your oven) line the top with tin foil and then put the it on the second rack down and then broil the chicken on high. (This is actually how i cook all my chicken and it turns out juicy as ever and amazing!!!) Flip once the chicken is white/opaque on one side and then respray the other side and add your seasonings. it usually takes about 10 min a side.

*we have tried regular bacon, canadian bacon, ham, and turkey bacon. We like the turkey bacon the best because you get extra cooking juices but not the fat of regular bacon. 

i don't have the nutritional info for these, but they are very rich tasting but each breast is under 250-300 calories with all the stuffings! 

(btw i took like 20 pictures of this and i couldn't get one good one, trevor totally was making fun of me)