Archive | September, 2011

Egg Rolls!

30 Sep

I have been working all week on a way to use the daikon radish I received in the Asian themed veggie pack that I bought with my Bountiful Baskets this week.  I decided I would try egg rolls, which I love, but have never made.  For the filling, I julienne cut some daikon and some carrots.  Then, I chopped 1 bunch of green onions and some leaves of bok choy.  I had bought a rotisserie chicken at Fry’s since I had a $2 eCoupon, so I removed the chicken from the bones and shredded it.  I added some vegetable oil to my wok, and put the daikon, carrots, and green onion in first.  Once they started to get tender, I added in the bok choy and chicken.  Once the bok choy started to wilt, I grated fresh ginger into the wok and poured in about 2 Tbsp of soy sauce.  It looked like this.

Next comes the egg roll wrappers.  I found mine in the produce section of the grocery store, they may also be in your freezer section.  You take a wrapper and lay it out, then add some filling.  For this size wrapper, it was about 2 Tbsp of filling.

To fold the egg rolls, my previous experience as an employee at Subway wrapping sandwiches in paper came in handy.  It’s also how I roll my stuffed grape leaves (that recipe will be coming hopefully in the next week).  Notice in the picture above how I placed the filling closer to one corner.  The first fold is to bring that corner up over the filling.

Next, you fold over both sides.

Then, you roll it and brush the tip with a little water to make it hold shut.

Then, you deep fry or add about 1/2″ of oil to a pan.  If your oil doesn’t completely cover the rolls, then you need to flip them when one side is golden.

Remove rolls from oil to a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

This made 11 egg rolls.  I still had wrappers in that package, so I made more filling. The second filling was all veggies, bok choy leaves and stems, julienne cut carrots, julienne cut daikon, and chopped yellow onion, then grated ginger and soy sauce.  This made 7 more egg rolls.  They turned out great, both my girls ate 2 each!

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Toddler School – Week 3

30 Sep

For this week, we started with coloring a Letter C worksheet I had created.  I didn’t have time to get items together that started with the letter C this week, so we just talked about the things on the worksheet.

Next, we worked on shapes.  I had come up with idea to create a sheet with shapes, then have cut out shapes to match them, maybe using double sided tape.  But, then I ordered a lamniator over the weekend, I decided to use it for the sheets and cut out shapes, then put velcro circles on the back so that they could be re-used.  So, I printed 2 copies of the shape worksheet and colored one of them with crayons.  Then, I laminated both of them.

Next, I cut out the colored shapes, and added the velcro circles.

It went over very well with the kids!

Next, they wanted to do the color match activity again.  I laminated a piece of paper in each color this time so they would be re-usable too.  I also added the color name to each one.  I know they aren’t anywhere near reading, but at least it’s exposure to the words.  We also got out the water beads again.

That was about all the attention we got out of them for the afternoon, so we went for a walk.

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My new laminator is here!

29 Sep

With doing more learning activities with K, and doing “Toddler School” with S and her friends, I had been debating on buying a laminator.  I had a few projects in mind, but wasn’t sure it would be worth the cost.  So, when the Amazon Deal of the Day was a Scotch Thermal Laminator, I had some thinking to do. I went back and forth on it, then finally decided to go ahead and buy it.  Since it only comes with 2 laminating pouches and I had a few things in mind to do, I also ordered a 100 count package of pouches.  I was a little nervous about buying that many pouches without knowing how it all would go, but it was the best value, so I went for it.

Thank goodness for my Amazon Prime so I didn’t have to wait long to get it!  It came 2 days after I ordered, but of course, my UPS deliveries don’t come until after dinner, so I had to wait until the next morning to give it a try.

First thing I did was laminate construction paper for the color matching activity we’ve done with Toddler School.  Turned out pretty well.  I don’t think the pouches I got work perfect, but for what I’m using it for, it’s great.  Next, I made a handwriting practice sheet for K.  I had gotten a tablet of lined paper at the dollar store, so I put her name on the first line, then uppercase A, lowercase a, uppercase B, and lowercase b on the remaining lines. We have dry erase markers, so I had her write with that to practice the motions of writing the letters for now.  The markers just wipe right off.  Since I used a permanent marker to write her name and the first letters on each line, it is visible on the back since the paper is so thin.  And of course, I thought about doing it double-sided after I made this one.  For the rest of the letters, I will use 2 sheets of the paper to make it double-sided so I only have to use up 1 laminating pouch.

Next, I laminated some sheets I made for a shape activity for toddler school.  I left 1 uncolored and then colored the other one before laminating.  I colored with crayons to save on color ink, which is so expensive!  I’ll give a preview of it now, but will explain the activity in a post later this week.

This was only using the pouches from the 100 pack, I have not used the 2 pouches that came with it.  I had read that the Scotch pouches are a higher quality, but that comparison will have to wait for another time when I decide what will be good to laminate for comparison.  For now, I’m please with the pouches I got and the laminator as well!

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Sausage, Zucchini, and Tomatoes over Rice

29 Sep

I had been intending to make egg rolls, but still hadn’t had a chance to get everything I needed.  So, I needed a quick dinner using something else I had on hand.  I had bought Italian sausage and some zucchini that was on sale over the weekend, so I decided to make a dinner I haven’t made in a long time, sausage, zucchini, and tomatoes over rice.  My good friend and former neighbor introduced me to this dinner and we love it!  Plus, it really is quite easy.

Note: This is 2 packages of sausage since I have 3 adults and 2 kids in the house to feed.

What you need:

1 package of Italian sausage, mild or hot, depending on your taste
1-2 zucchini, diced
1 can flavored tomatoes, I use basil, garlic, and oregano diced tomatoes
Cooked rice

Remove the casings from sausage and break up.  Cook until all the sausage is browned.  Add in zucchini, cook about 5 minutes, or until it becomes tender.  Add in the can of diced tomatoes, and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Serve over cooked rice.

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Stuffed Peppers

28 Sep

I got a lot of peppers this week in my basket.  We aren’t big pepper fans in this house, but I wanted to do something else besides just chopping them and adding them to stir fry.  So, I decided to try stuffed peppers. I got a recipe from a friend of mine, then looked up a couple other recipes, and came up with this.

Stuffed Peppers

4-6 peppers, tops and seeds removed
1 cup cooked rice
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano (Or any flavored tomatoes.  If you use plain tomatoes, you will want to add some kind of seasoning)
1 egg
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce (I used Ragu Traditional sauce)
1 cup water

Mix the rice, ground beef, onion, tomatoes, egg, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl.  Fill the peppers with the stuffing, making it level with the top of the pepper.  Add filled peppers to a large saucepan.  In a separate bowl, combine tomato sauce and water.  Pour over the peppers in the saucepan.

Bring the liquid to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer.  Cover, and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until meat is fully cooked and peppers have softened.

I cut open a pepper to make sure mine were done, and they were!

Note: This can be done in your slow cooker instead.  Place the peppers in your slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours.

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Chinese Napa Cabbage Salad

27 Sep

As soon as I saw the Asian themed veggie pack was available from Bountiful Baskets, I was seriously hoping that Napa cabbage would be included.  I was craving Chinese Napa Cabbage Salad, and once I found out it was in there, I got the rest of the ingredients I needed ready.

What you need:

  • 2 (3 ounce) packages chicken flavored ramen noodles, crushed
  • 1 seasoning packet from the ramen noodles
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted
  • 1 Napa cabbage, shredded
  • 1 bunch green onions, chopped
  • 1 rotisserie chicken, chicken removed from the bone (optional)
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1/8 cup white sugar
How to make it:
Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium-low heat.  Melt butter and add crush noodles.  Cook until golden brown.  Add in toasted sesame seeds and 1 of the seasoning packets from the ramen noodles, stir thoroughly.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.
In a large bowl, add cabbage, green onion, chicken (if using) and the cooled noodle and sesame seed mixture and mix.  Set aside.  Mix together the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.  Pour this over the cabbage mix and toss.  Serve immediately.

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Japanese Eggplant Teriyaki

27 Sep
I have been working through the Asian themed veggie pack I got with Bountiful Baskets and decided to first figure out what to do with the eggplant.  I came across a few recipes for Japanese Eggplant Teriyaki, and decided that would be it.  The tricky part was that I only had 1 eggplant, but most recipes called for 4-5.  So, I scaled back the ingredients as best I could, but I still think I had too much of the liquids in the pan with the eggplant.  However, it still turned out pretty tasty.
Japanese Eggplant Teriyaki
  • 1 lb Japanese eggplant, about 4-6
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 -3 drops sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup mirin
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ginger root, grated
  • toasted sesame seeds
  1. Cut the eggplants into 1/2″ slices and soak in water for 10-15 minutes. Drain and dry them.
  2. Heat a large non-stick skillet and add the vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, mirin, sugar and ginger.  Place the eggplant slices in the skillet and cook the eggplant slices on both sides until tender.
  3. Remove from heat and add to serving dish.  Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve.

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BLTs on Ciabatta

26 Sep

Each week, Bountiful Baskets usually offers some kind of bread.  9 grain bread is available pretty much every week, then sometimes other weeks there are various other types of bread that have been available, honey whole wheat, organic multi-grain, organic whole wheat, Italian olive oil, sourdough, rye, foccacia, and ciabatta.  I have bought every kind and have never been disappointed.  Best part, they freeze great.  In fact, in my freezer right now, I have 4 9 grain loaves, 1 sourdough loaf, and 2 ciabatta loaves.  Since I got iceberg lettuce and tomatoes in Bountiful Baskets over the weekend, plus turkey bacon was on sale at the commissary ($1.37 package!), so I decided it was time to use a ciabatta bread from the freezer.  BLTs.  Perfect lunch for Sunday!

What I used:

1 package turkey bacon, cooked according to package directions
1 loaf ciabatta bread, cut into 3 sections, each section cut in half lengthwise
Butter
Garlic powder
1 tomato, sliced
3 sections of iceberg lettuce, sandwich sized
Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken Breast deli meat
Miracle Whip

First, I started cooking the bacon.  While that was going, I buttered the ciabatta bread and sprinkled garlic powder on it. I placed it butter sides down on a griddle on medium-low heat to toast it.  Once it was toasted, I put it on a plate, then put the chicken deli meat, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, and Miracle Whip on, making the perfect sandwich.  If I’d had it, I would have put sliced swiss cheese on as well, but it was still good as it was.

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Fish Tacos with Avocado Cream Sauce

26 Sep

This is a great recipe I got from Lori over at My Kinda Rain.  Since I get tortillas and the Mexican themed veggie pack regularly from Bountiful Baskets, this has become a regular in our house when avocados are available and cheap.  I have played around with this recipe a bit, I don’t think I’ve made it the same way twice, but every time it has turned out great.  So, I will go through the recipe and talk about some of the alternatives I have done.

First, you make an avocado cream sauce.  For this you need:

1 avocado
1/2 cup sour cream
Lime juice
Onion (I’ve used yellow, red, or green, I think my favorite is red onion)

I now also on occasion add:

Garlic, minced or garlic salt, usually 1/4 to 1/2 tsp
Cilantro
Tomato, diced

This time, I used all of the above when making the sauce because I had cilantro and tomato on hand that needed to be used before it went bad.

Next, you cook the fish.  You need 1 lb of white fish, I use either cod or tilapia, depending on what I can get on sale.  You add 1-2 Tbsp of oil, I use olive oil, to a skillet.  Season the fish with lemon pepper seasoning and pan fry fish.

Cook until fish is no longer translucent and easily flakes with a fork.  Flake fish apart with a fork.

Next, you put together the tacos.  I usually use small flour tortillas, but have used small corn tortillas as well.  I add a tortilla to a small skillet, then put the fish, avocado cream sauce, and cabbage or lettuce.

I fold the tortilla over the topping, cook it for a few minutes, then flip and cook for a few minutes, until both sides are just starting to brown.

I usually serve this with Spanish rice and black beans.  I was worried that my girls wouldn’t eat these because it has fish, but they both eat these up!

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Roasted Broccoli

25 Sep

I have been meaning to try this for a while, but hadn’t gotten around to it.  So, when I needed to find sides for the teriyaki chicken I had marinading to grill, I remembered the broccoli in the fridge I needed to use.  Add in some brown rice, and it was a perfect meal.  How do I know?  Both girls ate some of everything, mostly the broccoli!

Roasted Broccoli

1 bunch broccoli (about 1.5 lbs)
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
Garlic salt

Cut broccoli into bite-size florets.  Add to a bowl, toss with the olive oil and season with garlic salt to your taste.  Line a baking sheet with foil and add seasoned broccoli to the baking sheet.  Bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender and starting to brown.

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