Gyoza aka potstickers

Another Asian dish. I combined this with the meal of Yakisoba last week. Here's how to make it. You can buy these wraps in the produce section right by the yakisoba noodles. Walmart does carry these, FYI.
Here is when you get to smoosh raw meat...a favorite ;)

Then fill the wrappers and fold.

The folding can be a lot of work, this recipe makes 60 gyoza. I don't go through that much work for one meal, so I freeze nearly all of them. My family eats between 8-12 with our meal, therefore I freeze them on a cookie sheet overnight, then the next morning throw them into a freezer bag and pull them out all month long as a light lunch or to add with a meal for dinner.

The finished product:

This is Tia Chapman's recipe from recipe swap. If Dallin makes it he makes his Japanese mission ones, but I like this one because there is no ginger.

One packet of gyoza skins

Mix Well:

1/2 head cabbage finely chopped (use food processer)

1 pound ground pork (you can use whatever meat you like best)

2 bunches green onions

2 shakes salt

10 shakes garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 TBSP soy sauce

Put a spoonful into each skin and fold together.

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in frying pan, brown gyoza on both sides. Add 1/4 cup water and cover. Cook on medium heat about 5 minutes or until insides are completely cooked

Sauce:

1 cup water

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp sugar

Heat in pan to dissolve sugar.

Mamaw Cole's Spaghetti

Yes, everyone knows how to make spaghetti. This is just the only kind of Spaghetti I am allowed to serve at our house because it's everyone's favorite and just a little different. If you are looking for a think, chunky, seasoned sauce this isn't it. I think everyone in my family likes this because it's very mild for the sensitive stomachs.

1 large can diced tomatoes (or whole tomatoes then just cut them up)
1 small can tomato sauce
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (divided-I also use mild if I don't have sharp)

Combine everything except sharp cheddar cheese and heat on stove while the noodles are cooking.
Add 1/2 cheese to sauce, stir and pour over spaghetti. Add the rest of the cheese on top and mix until melted.

lettuce wraps

While these are not exactly like PF Changs, this is what I make when I'm craving their lettuce wraps. They are so yummy and I wouldn't hesitate to serve them to guests or company. They look fancy, but they're really not that hard.

Any Veggies may be added or omitted, here is how we like it:
1 or 2 chicken breasts depending on desired quantity.
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1/2 cup shredded carrots (I use more like 1 cup)
green onions or onions as desired
1/2 cup finely chopped water chestnuts
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 head iceberg or Boston lettuce

Stir Fry Sauce:
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp corn starch
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 T sesame oil
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp red pepper flakes or ground red pepper
1 tsp chili oil -or- 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce (I recomend using sweet chili sauce, it deepens the flavor)
1/2 tsp minced ginger

Method:

Finely chop all vegetables in food processor. Finely dice or chop chicken (also in food processor if desired-if chopping chicken in food processor make sure to chop veggies first to avoid cross contamination.) First add chicken to pan with 1T heated oil. Cook chicken. Add chopped add veggies. cook through until slightly crisp. Mix all stir fry sauce ingredients in a bowl or cup and whisk together and add to chicken and veggies. Allow to thicken. Serve in lettuce wraps. These are also good with sesame ginger dipping sauce and peanut dipping sauce. Although we usually just eat them plain. Here's the dipping sauce recipe, sorry, no picture.

I made them last night for dinner and had plenty left over for lunches today.
We don't like super spicy stuff, so I don't put the full amount of red pepper.
Sesame Ginger Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup cold water
3/4 tsp corn starch
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1.2 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 dash red pepper flakes
1 dash parsley

Mix well and heat until thickened.

Peanut Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup water
2 T vinegar
1/2 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp chili oil or chili sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 T brown sugar

Mix well and heat until thickened.

breakfast cups

These are really easy! It's basically just like an omlette all mixed up and baked in muffin cups. For our family of four this is what I did:

5 Eggs Scrambled with a little milk, salt and pepper as desired.
chopped green pepper
chopped red pepper
chopped orange pepper (just because I had them on hand.)
chopped spinach
chooped canadian bacon or ham
a little bit of grated cheddar cheese
I also had a bit of grated Parmesan on hand so i topped each cup with a tiny bit.

mix it all up in a bowl and then spoon the mixture into muffin cups or sprayed muffin tin. -Bake until they're done... sorry, I didn't time it.-
Note: Eggs puff up when they cook, so leave some room in the cup for it to grow as it cooks. This made 8-10 breakfast cups. 2 for each person plus a few extra, in our house the "few extra" usually goes to Owen. I don't know why he's not chubby. He eats a lot!

Yakisoba

This is a favorite dish at our house. I made it last night with some gyoza, I'll add that recipe too, but it turns out great every time. You can switch it up and make it with whatever vegetable you have/like. I like to make it vegetarian much to Dallin's dismay, but it's nice to have a couple vegetarian dishes. Last night I did add a little pork that was left from the gyoza though.

You can find these noodles in the asian section of the produce at a grocery store. For some reason Walmart doesn't carry them in Burley, but Smith's does.


This is a picture of the vegetables I used, but it was before I added the carrots. We had bean sprouts, mushrooms (shitake), cabbage, carrots and onion. Again just use whatever vegetables your family would like.
I use the instructions on the back of the noodle package, you stir fry your vegetables for 2-3 minutes, then add the noodles. Stir fry the noodles for a 1-2 minutes and add powdered sauce packet and 1/4 cup water and you have this:

Absolutely delicious. Similar to the 'mall noodles' we call them. The noodles you get at chinese restaurant's in the mall. We make it in our electric skillet, this was one package of noodles, but I usually make two. I have made up to four when we have had guests and the electric skillet handled it just fine. I think with just one or two packages you would be fine in a skillet on the stove or a wok would work great too.

Pizza Balls

I found this recipe on another blog earlier in the week but I can't remember where it was. When I went back to look for it I swear it disappeared.
These turned out so fun and tasty.


I remember the original recipe called for the Pillsbury refrigerator Pizza Dough. I don't like that so I used two boxes of the Jiffy Pizza Dough mix. I would rather have made homemade dough, but I didn't have time. Make the dough according to directions and roll out into a rectangle (it's supposed to be a rectangle).

Cut into squares with a pizza cutter.

Make your filling. This is mozarella cheese, ham, and mushrooms. Do whatever you like on your pizza.
Place the filling in the middle of each square. Bunch up the edges and form into a ball. Place in a greased baking dish, seam side down.

Here they are getting ready to bake. I sprinkled garlic salt on top. I also wanted to top with parmesan cheese, but I was out. This pizza dough box said to bake at 425 for 12-15 min. This time worked out well.

Here is the finished product with Pizza sauce on the side to dip- this is the kids favorite part.

Avocado Tortilla Soup

I LOVE this soup! I don't usually even use the tortilla chips, because it's so good on it's own. My kids don't love this recipe, but oh well. I still love to make it, it's de-lish to me!

Avocado Tortilla Soup

3 cans (14 oz. each) fat free, less salt (or lower sodium) chicken broth
2 cans (10.75 oz. each) condensed tomato soup
1/2 bunch cilantro, chop as fine as possible
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 ripe California avocado, seeded, peeled, and cubed (I usually use 2 avocados though!)
Shredded or chopped chicken (I shred a small rotisserie chicken)
Shredded cheese
Corn tortilla chips, crumbled

1. In a large pan, combine chicken broth, soup, cilantro, garlic, and pepper
2. Bring to a boil, decrease heat, and simmer for 10 minutes
3. Add chicken and avocado, heat through
4. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with shredded cheese and crumbled tortilla chips