.strawberry wontons.

Today was a great day. I invited a couple girlfriends over for lunch and for scrapbooking. I met them over at 2Peas, and while I have gotten together with Deb quite a few times, I have only had email conversations with Denise. I had planned on making Santa Fe Chicken Salad for lunch, but while grocery shopping yesterday, I had a sudden craving for lettuce wraps.....

... and crab rangoon... (weak)

For dessert, I decided to make some deep fried strawberry wontons. What is a strawberry wonton, you ask? Oh my.... well, let me show you what it is!

In a bowl (this bowl looks really small in the picture, but it's not) mix together 1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, a dash cinnamon, and about 1 cup finely diced strawberries.

While munching on these, we all decided that any kind of berry would be awesome in these. Raspberries. Blackberries.... we really aren't particular. They were so delicious!

Take won ton wrappers (usually found by the tofu products in your grocery store) and lay as many out as you need. This recipe will make almost 2 dozen. Spoon a little filling in the middle of each wrapper.

Crack open an egg and separate. We need the egg whites to act as glue.

Dip your finger in the egg white, and run it around all four sides of the won ton wrapper. Place another won ton wrapper on top and seal the edges well. Put a dab of egg white on the corners and then pinch the corners together (as seen in the picture).

Repeat until you've made all the filled won tons. Put them on a plate and stick in the freezer. You want to firm up the filling a bit before frying otherwise it will ooze out into your oil.

Heat your oil in a pot or wok to 350* F. Carefully add each won ton and fry until golden brown. Let drain well on paper towels.

Drizzle the tops with chocolate ganache (or you can use Hershey's syrup) and put a dollop of whipped cream on the side.

Serve warm (my friends said they're still pretty tasty cold too).

Printable version:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZ-Z_fQXybIkZGcydmZqcW1fMTU2aHNnazRuZ3M&hl=en

.strawberry cream cupcakes.

We were at Costco yesterday and I noticed they had strawberries in stock. I swear I could live on strawberries alone. I love them so much. If you've ever bought them at Costco you know they come in this huge package. My husband asked me what I was going to do make with all of those strawberries. Well DUH. I don't have to make ANYTHING! I can eat them all by their pretty little selves!

Well, that wasn't a good enough answer so I told him I would make some strawberry cream cupcakes for him to take into work. I think they're starting to love me there because Jim has so far taken in Cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, muffins, and now cupcakes. Maybe they're hating me for expanding waistlines? *gasp*

This recipe comes courtesy of Martha Stewart. She had a big cupcake thing on her show last year and this was a recipe given or shared by Sprinkles -- that famous little cupcake shop out west in California. I thought I'd give them a shot. :) (For the record, I did have to eat one of the cupcakes. Poison control, right?)


First we have to wash the berries. Make sure you only wash what you need. Don't put wet washed berries back in with the dirty ones because it promotes mold and we don't want our strawberries going bad before we eat -- I mean use them all.








Remove the stems on about 10 strawberries. We need enough to measure 2/3 cup mashed.

Use a fork to smash their itty bitty heads in. (such violence!) I would smash some and then put into a measuring cup. When I reached 2/3, I let Paige eat the rest (I helped).













See? 2/3 cup. I think there might actually be closer to 1 cup in there. You'll be safe if you inch up to 1 cup. I wouldn't go over though because strawberries produce a lot of juice when they come in contact with sugar, which can be instant death to fluffy little cupcakes.







Measure out 1/4 cup milk and pour in the measuring cup with the strawberries. Add 1 tsp vanilla as well.










In a bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1 tsp baking powder.











In a mixing bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter (softened) and 1 cup sugar.











Add 3 eggs and whip on high until everything's creamed together and a little fluffy.










Alternate adding the flour mix and strawberry/milk mix until everything has been put into the mixing bowl. Don't overbeat this. When everything has come together, remove the bowl from the stand and do a courtesy mix with a rubber spatula just to make sure there's nothing left on the sides and bottom of the bowl.





Spray down a muffin tin. This made almost exactly 12 cupcakes. I didn't have paper liners so I spooned it all right into the pan. If you have or want to use liners, go ahead and use them. I have never met a fussy cupcake. :)

Put in a preheated 350* oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Insert a toothpick to make sure they're baked through.




Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then dump the cupcakes out and let cool on a wire rack.

While they cool, let's make the cream cheese frosting.







Cream together 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, and 1/2 cup butter.











Add 4 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing between each addition. You don't want to add it all at the same time because when you go to turn on your machine.. POOF! You'll be coughing on a big powdered sugar cloud.

So add a little at a time, and scrape your bowl often.






You won't even have to add any milk to this recipe. The moisture from the butter and cream cheese is enough. Add a little vanilla and some pink food coloring. Mix well.









Fill a piping bag with a star tip and swirl the frosting on the tops of the cupcakes. I washed extra strawberries and patted them dry to put on top. Paige remembered I bought Valentine sprinkles at Target a couple weeks ago so we sprinkled some of those on top after the strawberries were put in place.

Keep these stored in an air-tight container and put in the fridge. That's if they last that long. ;)

A sweet little treat for your special Valentine's to enjoy this week.


Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_135gmkjk3c8

.strawberry-orange-ginger jam.

My sister, Marcia (pronounced mar-cee-uh), came to visit me last week and brought her two children, Samantha and Jacob along. Samantha is 7 months younger than Paige so they get along great.. and fight like sisters. Jacob had a lot of fun playing with Perry, despite the age difference. Marcia's expecting baby #3 (another boy!) in March and she knew if she didn't come visit now, who knows when she'd get out this way.



Makes it hard. I wish I could live back in Washington state, especially when I hear about all of the fun get togethers they have, but I know I will enjoy living here in New York. It's always been a dream of mine to see The Big Apple (which we did venture into while she was here)!



Anyway... while she was in town, I didn't make a lot of new dishes. Marcia isn't much of an adventurous eater and her kids are the same so I had to stick with tried and true family stuff. You know what I'm talking about, right?



One thing I did make the morning they arrived was some strawberry jam. But not just any strawberry jam. Strawberry jam with orange and candied ginger. Yummy!



If you've never made jam on your own, it is SO EASY!!! What are you waiting for!?!?! (Yes.. this is me subtly coaxing you into making some.) All it takes is fruit, sugar, lemon juice, and pectin. Of course, I did add the orange and candied ginger but you don't have to go all crazy like me.




Since fresh strawberries this time of year are expensive, I bought a couple of these little babies. Frozen strawberries. It doesn't change the flavor or anything so don't worry if they're not fresh. These strawberries came sugared already. If the strawberries you buy aren't sweetened, add 3 cups sugar. (You really don't know how full of sugar jam is until you make it!)

Let them thaw completely before making the jam.








Dump the strawberries into a soup pot. You need one that's big because the fruit does boil up as it cooks.


I mashed up the strawberries a little bit. I hate when I get a big ol slimy piece of strawberry. If you don't want them mashed up, then skip this step.



Measure out 1 tsp or so of candied ginger. You can make your own if you can't find it in the grocery store. Just google "making candied ginger" and there are a few places that give step by step instructions. I took the easy way out and bought mine. You can find it in the spice aisle.

Add the ginger to the pot. Add a squirt of lemon juice too while you're at it. :)



Take one orange, and using a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off. This is an easy way of zesting.



Cut up the orange peel into very thin pieces. We don't want the orange flavor to be distorted at all so hold this off to the side until after we add the pectin. Once I sliced up the zest, I did squeeze in the juice of the orange into the pot though.



Put the pot on the stove and bring to a boil. The fruit will start foaming a lot on top. Take a large spoon or ladle and carefully skim the top to remove as much foam as possible.






Let this boil for about 2-3 minutes. Add the contents of the pectin packet. Stir and then bring to a boil again. Let boil one minute and remove from the heat.














My jam is going into the freezer so I'm using these rubbermaid containers. If you want to have this shelf safe, use clean jars with new lids. Fill the containers up but not to the top. Make sure you leave a little room at the top for a vacuum seal.

If you're using jars, as soon as you fill, wipe any jam that may have gotten on the lip. Place the lid and then tighten the ring on. Flip the jar upside down and leave it that way until the jam has cooled completely. Turn the jars over and press in the center. If it doesn't pop or move, your jar is perfectly sealed. If it *does* pop, you're going to have to keep it in the fridge or freezer. I don't think I've ever had any trouble with unsealed jars doing it this way.



That's all there is to it! Homemade jam is AWESOME and so much more delicious than the stuff you buy in the store (in my opinion). Inside the box of pectin you will find a sheet of directions. They have recipes for every kind of jam you can think of.

So again, if you've never made jam before, you'll see that it really isn't very intimidating and you don't need any special equipment except for a box or two of Ball jars and lids. No pressure cooker or anything! Good luck and I hope you let me know if you make some for yourself. Do me proud!

.steak salad w/ strawberry peach salsa.

I stumbled across a recipe for strawberry peach salsa and thought, "Oooooooooh! I wonder what I can make this with?" Then I thought I could try it with a scrumptous steak salad.

This is light and refreshing. Perfect for a summer dinner and only took 45 minutes to an hour to make! Even better!


In a bowl put 2 diced peaches (peeled), 6 sliced strawberries, 1 diced jalapeno, a little chopped cilantro, 1/2 lime juiced, and 1/2 tsp honey. Season with a little kosher salt and stir well. Set aside.


In a bowl, mix together 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 lime, juiced, a little chopped cilantro, salt and pepper.


Spoon a little of the sauce over the steak and brush all over the surface. Sprinkle a little thyme and rosemary.


Put on a grill and cook until medium or medium rare.

Set aside.


Slice some red onion.


Peel one avocado and slice.


Holding your knife on the diagonal, slice your steak thinly.

To assemble, put some lettuce (I used a spring salad mix) on a plate. Sprinkle with red onions. Fan out the steak all pretty like, and the avocado in front of it. Put a handful of the strawberry peach salsa on last.

You don't really need a salad dressing for this, but if you really want something, use raspberry vinaigrette.

You could also add a little cheese if you want. Maybe something like bleu or gorgonzola or plain ol cheddar. Enjoy!

.strawberry salad.

Do you ever feel like you make the same types of dishes over and over? I always feel like when I make salads to go with a meal, it's the same ol' lettuce, red onion, red bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, and croutons.



This recipe is one my sister, Ronda makes. Whenever we have family get togethers she always has these delicious salads to share. LOVE THEM!



I used items I had on hand here at the house. She mixes them up. She knew I would mix it up the way I wanted. You can mix up the way you want to. That's what I love about it. There are no rules! Sorry for all you rule breakers out there. ;)



I love these fresh salad packs you can get. This is the spring mix. It has endive, radicchio, and other baby lettuces. It's visually prettier than your basic run-of-the-mill iceberg or romaine.



Put some in a large bowl.

Grate a carrot. Put that in the bowl.

Unless I say otherwise, dump it in the bowl. :)

Slice up a little red onion.



If you don't like onion, leave it out. You can use green onion too if you want a more mild flavor.

Slice up some mushrooms.

Slice up some fresh strawberries. My sister will sometimes add blueberries, or fresh pineapple to this salad. I bet this would be tasty with some mango too.

Cut up a few strips of bacon and fry.

Once fried, let drain on paper towels. Once cooled, add to the salad bowl.

I love that these almonds come pre-toasted. This brand from Sunkist is original oven roasted. They have honey roasted too! That would be yummy but I'm trying to watch my sugars. Add a handful or two of these to the bowl.

I thought about what kind of cheese to use. My first instinct was to use feta, which would be fabulous in the salad, but I didn't have any here at the house. I did have monterey jack or this goat cheese. I opted for the goat cheese. Yummy. Toss a little cheese into the salad.

Here's my salad with everything in it. Toss with some salad tongs to mix everything up. If you want to add tomato, go right on and do it. I have a problem with tomato slime getting all over my salad so I leave them out of the bowl.

This is the dressing I used. My sister gave me the recipe she uses, which I will share at a later time. It rocks the house.



This was a very nice, light substitute. You can either add the dressing on your own salad, or pre-toss/coat the salad before you eat.

Plate up and enjoy! A wonderful springy/summery type salad that everyone is sure to enjoy!

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_67fq9mh8dd