Game Night Snack's

We had Sweet & Sour Sausage Wontons, Cream Cheese Wontons & Pretzels!

I bought a large package of wonton wrappers and dove on in!

Sweet & Sour Sausage Wontons

2 pieces of Sausage (unwrapped cooked and crumbled) I used chicken apple sausage
4 tbls. Sweet n' Sour sauce
1/2 pkg of wonton wrappers
1 small bowl of water

 Add the sauce to the cooked sausage - mix cook down, remove from heat.
Add 1/2 tsp 1 tsp of mix to the middle of each wrapper.
Wet the edges and fold.
I did mine in the purse shape as directed on the package.
I also baked my wontons, feel free to deep fry them if you like.
350 degrees for 10 min.

Cream Cheese Wontons

1 pkg Cream Cheese
1/2 pkg Wonton Wrappers
1/2 C. Sweet & Sour Sauce (for dipping)

Add 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp cream cheese to middle of each wonton wrapper. Again I used the purse wrap (next time I will do it differently.)
Using water to seal the edges I prepped all of them.
Baked them at 130 for 10 min.
Next time I most likely will fry these but even baked they were delicious!

Pretzel Recipe

3 3/4 C. Flour
1 1/2 tsp. table salt
Rock salt for topping
1 tsp. Veg. Oil
1 tsp. Butter
3/4 C. Plus 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 1/4 C. 2 Tbsp Warm Water

Water bath recipe (for when pretzels are formed)
2 C. Warm water
2 Tbsp. Baking Soda

Prepare yeast (add to warm water allow to sit for 15 min)
Add oil to yeast and Stir
In separate bowl mix, sugar, butter, flour and salt.
Then add yeast mix.
Flour a surface & knead the dough for 10-15 min.
Add dough to a large bowl - cover & rest in a warm area (my suggestions are in microwave, oven ect)

Pre-heat oven to 425, separate into 8 sections.
Roll into long ropes, twist into pretzel shapes or into simple twists.
Dip each pretzel into water bath and then layout on parchment sheet.
Bake 10 min.
Brush with melted butter & sprinkle with rock salt.

All the food was delicious! I think I will prepare the wontons differently next time. 



 

The Cheesecake Factory ~ A Review

 The Cheesecake Factory, Murray, Utah.

For our 10th anniversary, hubby and I choose to dine together (childless!) at our local cheesecake factory.
Now I have some feed back and of course photos to share.
The first photo is my hubby's course.

It was fantastic.
Normally I don't really rave on food places ~ especially ones priced so above other normal dining.

However, besides having amazing food the cheesecake factory does a few other things RIGHT!
Lighting, music levels, plate sizes and color schematics are done well.
The color and presentation of the food, the quality of every piece that came out of the kitchen.

But what really throws them over the top?
The service.
Not kidding.
They have one person dedicated to an area.
I mean DEDICATED. He/she does not leave that area, not to turn in order slips, get food, extra plates, bread nothing.
Each server has a computer and 2-4 wait staff that support him in the running, fetching, cleaning, greeting, drink filling... well you get the idea.
This way you never have a hard time getting service.
You are never forgotten.
You never have to flag someone else down.
They are the best of the best of the best that the restaurant has to offer.
They are the "career" servers. The ones that made it up the chain, training and were promoted to the spot.

This is what really puts Cheesecake Factory over and above so many of the other restaurants.
Yes the food is amazing, yes the ambiance is great, but if you have a bad wait staff it won't matter.
One bad customer service experience leaves many people bitter toward a place.
This company should have 5 stars on service alone.
They really do know how to treat a customer right!

I highly recommend this restaurant, in any city, in any state - anywhere because its clear how much the corporation values excellence!
 

Home Made Laundry Soap (High Efficiancy)

If you have a front load washer - I'm sure you've heard the words "High Efficiency" soap.
Why?
Because the vast majority of laundry soaps both powdered and non-powder on the market today are filled with fillers - perfumes, dyes & extra junk that make it extra sudsy or even slimy.
With a front load washer - this is a major no-no.
Front load washers are amazing - mine is energy efficient, water efficient and has so many wonderful extra cool buttons and features.

However, due to not wasting water or power - you need to be careful what type of soap you use/buy.
This can get expensive or very very cheap.

This is my Home-Made Powdered High Efficiency Laundry Soap

2 Cups finely grated Fels Naptha --- can use regular soap but this work amazing and is only around 1.00     found in the laundry aisle
1 Cup Washing soda (found in laundry aisle)
1 Cup Borax (20 mule team borax easiest to find also in laundry aisle)

mix together and store in an air tight container.
use 1-2 tbls per load.

I made this batch twice and then liked it so much I just made a HUGE triple batch (2 bars made 6 Cups grated) this will last me quite a while!

Meatless Navajo Tacos

Navajo Tacos are standard Utah fair food - even our amusement park Lagoon sells them!
They are delicious - the bread is amazing!
The only major con is that they are very messy! (but oh so worth it!)

When looking up recipes the other day I couldn't find any meatless ones. So I tweaked one and made my own "healthier" version. No meat and whole wheat ;).

Navajo Fry Bread

4-5 C. Flour (going whole wheat you use 2 C. Whole Wheat flour & 2-3 C. White)
1/2 C.  Instant milk
3 1/2 tsp.  baking powder
2 C. Water
1 tsp. Salt

Oil for frying (veg oil best ~ 1 inch deep in a 10 inch - 12 inch fry pan.

Mix all ingredients (save oil) in a large bowl - pour in water last and mix well.
Knead dough lightly cover and set aside.
Heat one inch worth of veg oil in large skillet.
Pinch off dough into thin 8 inch circles.

Fry until golden on both sides
Drain onto paper towels.

Add topping of choice -
This time I cooked up refried beans, seasoned potatos, black beans and corn (grilled), lettuce, tomato, cheese, olives.
Spicy ranch dressing as a light topping.
I also recommend guacamole or avocados -  I just didn't have any on hand!

 Note: making these with whole wheat does change the taste and texture - if you want a lighter - tastier version use all white flour.
I had two reasons for going whole wheat - first off its better for you - second - I didn't have enough white flour left in my house! LOL

Home Made Cold & Cough

For a sore throat and cough

Home Made "Tea"

One glass hot water
2 tbls. Honey
1 tbls. lemon juice
1 Cinnamon stick or 1 tsp cinnamon

Stir and drink - relieves pain and helps to kill off any bacteria or viruses.
Not to bad tasting, even if it is a little thin.


For Home Made Cold and Flu make up the following salve

Home Made Cold & Flu Salve

1/4 C. Olive oil
1/4 C. Coconut oil
3-5 crushed garlic cloves

Blend all three together to make the salve - store in glass container in fridge.
Rub on chest if you are having cough and congestion.
In nose if stuffy, ear if infected.
For all around cold and flu - apply to the bottom or your feet - cover with socks.

Both of these work well - not as great as modern medicine - however - if you are pregnant or nursing and need something natural to get you through - these do make a big difference!

Breakfast Shake!

 

Shakes are one of the best or worst drinks you can have for breakfast.
If you add tons of sugar, shake packets or high fat products a shake every morning is not going to help you out.

However if you have an immersion blender/magic bullet or even a regular blender a shake a morning can be quick, easy and healthy!

First off is stocking up on the right products.

I change up my liquids - I float normally between, milk, pineapple juice or horchata.
Sometimes I will even combine them.

Fresh & frozen fruit with no added sugars.

Non fat Vanilla Greek yogurt (must - really its amazing!)  


Then comes my "secret" ingredients. The ones you can't taste, see or smell once they have been blended together.

1-2 tsp of Flax seed oil

1-2 tsp. Lecithin Granules

& 1/2 dropper of Ginkgo

Add a bit of this, a dab of that, frozen items on top - always the last items in and voila - sweet, thick, rich, creamy and healthy!

This does so many things for your body! Skin, muscles, blood, intestinal track... amazing! 

Also if you are anything like me, starting off my day with such a sweet treat curbs my desire for sweets later on - also helping keep me moving forward on a healthier path!

With my immersion blender (that I love!) this literally takes two minutes. One to assemble and one to blend and pour!

I am also of thinking of adding in a tsp of gelatin for nail & hair health. Will let you know how that works out!

Edit 9/14/12

I love adding in half a packet of gelatin! Really helps my nails and thicken the shake.

I also have started to add 1/4-1/2 tsp of Chia seeds - they are amazing and very healthy! Its best if you soak them in your base liquid for at least 10 minutes before making the shake so that they absorb enough to digest better in your tummy.

Fish Fingers and Custard!

My hubby and I (children too) are HUGE Dr. Who fans. So of course when I found out that April 3rd was going to be Fish Fingers and Custard Day, we had to celebrate!

For the fish fingers we just got regular box of cheap frozen ones from my down stairs freezer.

The custard - now that's another thing! YUMMY!

Custard

4 C. Milk
6 Lg Eggs
2/3 C. Sugar
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tbls. Vanilla

Heat the milk until hot. (2-3 min) Whisk the eggs until smooth or slightly frothy. Combine the eggs and the milk. Whisk.
Add sugar, salt, & vanilla. Whisk.
Whisk whisk whisk ... if you desire you may strain it for a smoother custard, we didn't and it was still very smooth.
Pour into a large custard dish or many single serve 2-4 oz ramekins.
Bake at 325 in a water bath until a knife comes out clean.
60 minutes for a single large.
30 minutes for several small.
cool - serve, refrain from eating them all
cover leftovers and refrigerate!