Sushi Night!

Hey guys!

So tonight's blog is a first and after many hours slaving over the stove we bring you sushi night! Note to self though: this kind of dinner should be made on a evening during the weekends not a Tuesday night. As mention in above sentence we have never done a sushi night before and there's a first time for everything right? We decided instead of bringing you just one plate of sushi we'd bring you a smorgasbord (<---love that word) of different foods to jazz up your recipe box. So let's get to it shall we?

Here's what you'll need:

California Sushi Rolls Recipe

Prep: 1 hour + standing
Yield: 64 Servings

Ingredients:
*2 cups sushi rice, rinsed and drained
*2 cups water
*1/4 cup rice vinegar
*2 tablespoons sugar
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
*2 tablespoons sesame seeds
*Bamboo sushi mat
*8 nori sheets
*1 small cucumber, seeded and julienned
*3 ounces imitation crabmeat, julienned
*1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and julienned
*Reduced-sodium soy sauce, prepared wasabi and pickled ginger slices, optional


Directions:
1. In a large saucepan, combine rice and water; let stand for 30 minutes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from the heat. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

3. Transfer rice to a large shallow bowl; drizzle with vinegar mixture. With a wooden paddle or spoon, stir rice with a slicing motion tocool slightly. Cover with a damp cloth to keep moist. (Rice mixture may be made up to 6 hours ahead and stored at room temperature, covered with a damp towel. Do not refrigerate.)

4. Sprinkle sesame seeds onto a plate; set aside. Place sushi mat on a work surface so mat rolls away from you; line with plastic wrap. Place 3/4 cup rice on plastic. With moistened fingers, press rice into an 8-in. square. Top with one nori sheet.

5. Arrange a small amount of cucumber, crab and avocado about 1-1/2 in. from bottom edge of nori sheet. Lifting bottom edge of the bamboo mat, roll up the rice mixture jelly-roll style, being sure to lift plastic from rice. Roll bamboo mat over sushi roll, pressing firmly, to make a more compact roll. When the roll is complete, tighten the roll t\o make more compact.

6. Remove mat; roll sushi rolls in sesame seeds. Cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make eight rolls. Cut each into eight pieces. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and ginger slices if desired.

WW Points: *1 point per roll



Chicken Wonton Cups

Prep/Total Time: 30 min.
Yield: 36 Servings

Ingredients:
*36 wonton wrappers
*Cooking spray
*1-1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts
*1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
*1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
*1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
*1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, undrained
*1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

Directions:
1. Press wonton wrappers into miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Spritz wrappers with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for5-6 minutes or until edges begin to brown.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the chicken, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, chilies and jalapeno. Spoon chicken mixture into cups. Bake 8-10 minutes longer or until filling is heated through. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

**Editor's Note: Wear disposable gloves when cutting hot peppers; the oils can burn skin. Avoid touching your face.**

WW Points: *2 points per Chicken Wonton Cup


Hungry Girl's Crab Rangoonies

Ingredients:
*1/4 cup fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
*2 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
*4 oz. imitation crabmeat, flaked
*1 tsp. low-sodium/lite soy sauce
*1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
*2 scallions, finely chopped
*16 small square wonton wrappers (often stocked near the tofu in the fridge section of the market)
*Optional: sweet & sour sauce or Chinese-style hot mustard, for dipping

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. To make your filling, combine all ingredients except wonton wrappers in a bowl, breaking up the cheese wedges as you add them. Mix until uniform. Set aside. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and set that aside as well.

3. Lay two wrappers flat on a clean, dry surface. Spoon a heaping 1/2 tbsp. of filling into the center of each wrapper. Moisten all four edges of each wrapper by dabbing your fingers in water and going over the edges smoothly. Fold the bottom left corner of each wrapper to meet the top right corner, forming a triangle and enclosing the filling. Press firmly on the edges to seal. Repeat with all remaining wrappers and filling, gently placing each rangoon flat on the baking sheet.

4. Spray the tops of the wontons with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, carefully flipping halfway through, until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly.

5. If you like, dip your rangoonies in some sweet & sour sauce or hot mustard!

MAKES 4 SERVINGS


WW Points: *3 per serving (4 rangoonies)




Hungry Girl's Honor Rolls

Ingredients:
*6 large square egg roll wrappers (found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket with the other Asian items)
*4 cups (about half of a 12-oz. bag) dry coleslaw mix
*One 6-oz. can (4 oz. drained) tiny shrimp, drained
*1/2 cup canned water chestnuts, drained and sliced into strips
*1/4 cup bean sprouts, chopped
*2 scallions, chopped
*1 stalk celery, thinly sliced widthwise
*2 tbsp. light or low-sodium soy sauce
*1 tsp. crushed garlic
*1/4 tsp. ground ginger
*1/8 tsp. salt
*dash pepper
*Optional: sweet & sour sauce, for dipping

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Place slaw mix in a microwave-safe bowl with 2 tbsp. of water, cover, and microwave for 2 minutes. Drain any excess water, and transfer slaw mix to a large bowl. Add all other ingredients except for the wrappers, mix well, and set aside. (For more intense flavor, allow mixture to marinate in the fridge for 20 minutes.) Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying it lightly with nonstick spray.

3. Place two egg roll wrappers on a clean, dry surface. Evenly distribute about 1/2 cup of the mixture onto each wrapper, in a row a little below the center. Moisten all four edges of each wrapper by dabbing your fingers in water and going over the edges smoothly.

4. Fold the sides of each wrapper about 3/4-inch towards the middle, to keep the mixture from falling out of the sides. Then, roll the bottom of each wrapper up around the mixture, and continue rolling until you reach the top. Seal the outside edge with another dab of water. Carefully transfer egg rolls to the baking sheet.

5. Repeat process twice with remaining wrappers and filling, making sure you have a clean, dry surface each time.

6. Spray the tops of the egg rolls with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly. If you like, dip egg rolls in some sweet & sour sauce!

MAKES 3 SERVINGS

WW Points: *5 for 2 rolls

So there is a lot to cover lol. I'm gonna make it short and sweet. The crab rangoonies are amazing, I couldn't try the sushi rolls (I'm allergic to seaweed/nori), the chicken wonton cups were yum, and I'm not a fan of the egg rolls.


Tid Bits:
*Don't like crab? Leave it out and  just make cream cheese ragoonies.
*Be creative with the egg rolls. Add any seasonings or flavors you'd like.




Ma's Spot: Have you ever went to a restaurant and looked at the appetizers and said "Hmm, I could make a whole meal out of these?" well that's what we did tonight. The egg rolls and the crab rangoonies I have made a million times now but the chicken wonton cups were new and I really enjoyed them. Who knew you could take 3 ingredients like these and make such a yummy dish? The creaminess of the center and the crisp of the wontons were delicious. I've always been disgusted by the thought of sushi. When I read this recipe and seen that it has everything I love in the middle of it I thought I wanna give this a try. I'm glad that I did. I loved dipping it in soy sauce. The sesame seeds on the outside of the roll were really good. So I haven't changed my mind on all sushi but the california roll is excellent. If you don't like crab then leave it out and just make a veggie roll. Whatever way you fix it give these recipes a try. You might change your mind.




*SNACK CORNER:* It's time for snack corner! Where we take new snacks in the grocery store and break it down for you. We tell you which are hot and which are not. Let's get to this week's pick:

WW Points: *5 for 1 pop tart


Dinah: Tonight we bring you the latest from the pop tart family. The new confetti cake pop tart reminds me of...well a cupcake, ha. It's delicious and gives you the cupcake feel without eating all the extra calories. I'd say these are a keeper!


Ma: Ahh, pop tars. What can I say about pop tarts? I have to let you know right up front that this review will be a biased opinion. Ever since I was a kid pop tarts have been my friend. I haven't met one that I didn't like. I've had my favorites along the way but they never let me down. These lived up to their hype. They were delicious. The sprinkles on the top set it off right. If you're like me and not ready to go to pop tart anonymous then hop over to your local store and pick these up. You won't be disappointed.




Phew, that was a super long entry for tonight and my hands are tired. We'll see you here next week with another recipe. Have a great week guys!


Spoons and Spatula's
~Dinah and Ma