Salad Rolls

I am taking part in a 30 day challenge to get healthier. So, I thought it would be appropriate to post this recipe. It's my version of Vietnamese/Thai Spring Rolls. I like having these for lunch! When you order these in a restaurant, they have rice vermicelli noodles inside with a tiny bit of veggies. I find that to be redundant. So, I just put a whole bunch of veggies and shrimp and/or shredded chicken depending on the mood. Kids love taking part in making and they love them too! I think it's a good time to start thinking about getting healthier. For me, I would really like to take better care of myself this year.....

Here is how

You will need

-Rice papers(a big round kind)--check this if you are not sure what they are. You can find them in most grocery stores in big cities. Try an Asian aisle.

-Any veggie you might like....I like cucumber, carrots, red bell peppers, cirantro, green onions, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts

-Shrimp (cooked, shells removed, cut in half length wise)

-Shredded chicken meat (I like using the leftover from rotesserie chicken)

1) Julienne all veggies (it tastes better if you can cut them smaller/thinner) Finely chop cirantro & green onions

2) Mix all the veggies in a bowl and toss it with a fork

3) If using chicken, add the chicken to the veggie

4) Put some boiling water in a pie plate. Soak rice paper one at a time in hot water. When soft, put it on a dinner plate. Put veggies and shrimp (about 1/4 cup) on the rice paper, wrap it up like a present. Repeat....

5) serve them with spicy peanut sauce(I just buy the sauce)

Try this video on how to roll as it's kinda hard to explain. I just mix all the veggies together instead of separating them like in the video. I think it tastes better.... Enjoy!

Not So Frumpy Turkey Soup

There are certain meals I make just so I can have the leftovers.  Turkey dinner is one of them.  I love having the leftover turkey meat in my freezer.  After years of making frumpy turkey noodle/rice soup (and they tend to get gooey mess), I have finally figured it out!  

Now I'm not a 'measure every thing' type.  Rather, I'm more a 'bit of this and handful of that' cook.  So bear with me.

Basically, if you make turkey/chicken soup from left overs, you kinda know how it's done, right?  I start by sautee-ing the veggies.  I use about half an onion, 2 carrots, 1 stalk celery and 2 potatoes.  Add spices.  Salt and pepper and thyme (anything that's good in turkey stuffing).  Add broth and water and cut up turkey meat and simmer until everything is tender.  And I also add a whole bundle of chopped up parsley.  I don't bother with any noodles or rice.  Potatoes and parsley do the trick.  Adjust seasoning before serving.  Serve with home made bread!  Yummy!  

The trick is potatoes and Parsley--a whole bundle! and also use generous amount of veggies and turkey.  The health benefit of parsley is just amazing.  Also, make soup early and let it cool and heat it up again before serving.  When the food is cooled down to room temp, the spices and veggies have the chance to let its flavors and fragrance release making it much better flavor.  It's amazing how sweet all the veggies become!

Santa Crackers

It’s so great to find an idea to share with kids which doesn’t contain sugar….. Here is the link. Sorry, I always go to Martha site for ideas, as you probably have noticed by now.

I have altered the ingredients though. For the white ‘fuzz’, I warmed cream cheese and mixed in a little bit or parmesan cheese. For eyes and nose, I cut up some olives because my kids LOVE olives. You can use pickles etc, I’m sure. I put a bunch of crackers on a dinner plate with all the bits around them. Assembled one as an example and let the kids go for it. They had so much fun. They also made elf, Mrs. Claus. So creative!

Peppermint Bark

This is from Martha

I made it last year and became our absolute favorite Christmas treats!

if you want to print this out here is the link.
Ingredients

Makes 36 pieces

1 (7.5-ounce) package hard peppermint candies, unwrapped–I just use candy canes
1 pound white chocolate, chopped (do not use chips)
2 cups puffed rice cereal
Nonstick cooking spray
Directions

Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; line with waxed paper. Place candies in a doubled resealable plastic bag; seal, and wrap in a kitchen towel. Using a rolling pin or skillet, crush candies into tiny pieces. Sift to separate crushed candy from fine powder, reserving fine powder for another use; set crushed candy aside.
Place white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in rice cereal.
Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet; using a spatula, spread evenly to a 1/4-inch thickness.
Sprinkle with crushed candy; with a piece of waxed paper covering entire surface, press in gently. Chill until firm, 20 to 30 minutes (no longer, as candy will begin to soften).
Peel waxed paper off. Break bark into 2-inch pieces. Store at room temperature in an airtight container up to 1 week.

The Best Playdough Recipe

Mix in a sacepan:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
2 Tbsp Cream of tartar

Add:
1 cup warm water
food coloring
1 Tbsp Oil

Cook over medium heat. It looks like gooey mess but keep on kneading on floured surface until it doesn’t stick to your hands. Store in airtight container (margarine tub works well). This play dough does not need to go in the fridge and stays soft for a VERY LONG TIME!!!

Santa Bread

Here is the bread my kids always beg me to make every year. I got the idea from good ol’ Martha Stewart. Click on this link to find template etc. I just used my french loaf recipe which is super easy. I think you can pretty much use any bread recipe you already use and just use the template to shape it into Santa. I didn’t bother with food coloring etc. either.

One year we took fresh santa bread with homemade jam to some friends for Christmas. We’d make one loaf every night and took it to a friend and visited. Bread was still warm and it was nice to just have one family to visit with every night instead of rushing from one house to another just to drop off the gifts in one night.

PS if you want my recipe for the bread, let me know. I’ll be happy to email it to you.