Wonton Wrappers as Ravioli

My family loves to eat pasta and I really wish I had the time and the know-how on making it from scratch.  Since I don't, I've found the next best thing.  Wonton wrappers.  I found this recipe in an old Bon Appetit magazine and modified it slightly to fit the ingredients I had on hand.  Here is how I shrimp ravioli with wonton wrappers instead of pasta dough.

I started by peeling and roasting an entire garlic bulb in a bit of olive oil.  To roast the garlic, I peeled the cloves, poured olive oil over the cloves, covered them and roasted them in a 350 degree oven until soft and slightly brown.

While the garlic cloves cooled, I put an egg and a small package of plain goat cheese in a medium sized bowl.

Next, I chopped up the cooled garlic cloves and added them to the goat cheese and egg.

To this mixture, I added a pound of peeled, deveined, cooked and chopped shrimp.  You could also use clams, crab or crawfish.

 Mix well.

Add a teaspoon of this mixture to the center of a wonton wrapper.

Wet the edge of the wonton wrapper and fold to make a triangle.

 Place the folded wontons on a large plate or tray.

Add the wontons in small batches to boiling water.  They will be done when they float to the top.

 Remove from the water and drain well.

The sauce to compliment the ravioli is very simple.  Boil together cream (about 2 cups) and a large shallot.

Cool this mixture slightly and then add to a blender.  Throw in a handful of basil and blend well.  This will turn the sauce a light green.  If you prefer it to remain a cream color, blend the cream and shallots then finely chop the basil and add to the blended cream and shallots.

Reheat this mixture.

Plate the ravioli and pour the sauce over the top.

I got a big "thumbs up" from my family so I will definitely add it to my menu rotation!  Maybe one of these days I'll give "real" pasta a try!

"Not only are pasta dishes delicious, but they are also great, easy options for a quick dinner during a busy weekend."  -Marcus Samuelsson

Prom 2014

Prom - 2014

"I think prom is just about enjoying yourself."  -Victoria Justice

Waffle Maker Cinnamon Rolls

I love to bake cinnamon rolls but sometimes I don't have the time to make them.  Here is what I do as a quick alternative.  I take out my waffle maker.

Instead of waffle batter, I place ready-made cinnamon roll dough that comes in a tube.

I close the waffle maker and in a few minutes here is what I have.

With a little frosting, they're ready to eat.

My family loves them!!

"Anyone who gives you a cinnamon roll right out of the oven is a friend for life."  -Lemony Snicket

Book Marks

I have written numerous blogs about books.  Ones I've read and ones I'd like to read.  A necessity when reading books, when I'm not reading on my Kindle, is the need for a book mark.  My favorite bookmarks are ones that are handmade.  Every time I look at them, I think of the person who made it and gave it to me.  It's like they're with me wherever my book and I go!

Here are two of my favorite ones.  This one was tucked in a handmade book bag someone made for me.  It's a photograph attached to a piece of colored card stock.  Somedays I long to be IN the picture - especially on nights like tonight when we're expecting 12" of snow!

This one was made by my daughter a few years ago.  Her grandma helped her make it and then she tucked it into a Mother's Day card for me.  My daughter colored circles on a piece of white notebook paper and then cut it into a rectangle with decorative scissors.  They glued it to a piece of white card stock cut with decorative scissors and then glued that to a piece of pink card stock also cut with the decorative scissors.

Add a bit of ribbon and it was finished.  Love them both and right now, they are each in a book I am currently reading.....yes, I have multiple books going at the same time!  My daughter is with me at bedtime and my friend is with me on the train to work!

"What on earth could be more luxurious than a sofa, a book and a cup of coffee."  -Anthony Trollope

A Quick Grilled Dinner

It never fails.  I can have all kinds of good intentions to leave work on time and then inevitably, something or someone comes up right before I have to leave.  Sometimes I'm even stopped on my way out the door.  This puts a bit of a crimp in my dinner planning and preparation time.  I, for one, am still of the mindset that my family sits down at the dinner table and eats supper together at least during the week, so I have a small window of time to get everything on the table before everyone is rushing off to their activities.

I've used lots of crockpot recipes and I have a few "quick dishes" cookbooks.  I also do weekly menu planning based on our daily evening schedules.  Now that the weather is warmer, I've started using my grill more often too.  It's great that I can text my oldest son as I'm walking to my car to have him start the grill (we have a charcoal Webber grill) so it's almost ready to use by the time I get home.

Tonight, we had grilled chicken and grill-roasted vegetables.  I marinated the chicken and the vegetables in olive oil, lime juice, cumin, chili powder and cilantro.  I didn't follow a recipe just added each to taste AND made sure I had enough to cover the chicken and the vegetables.  I let the chicken marinate while I cut up the vegetables.  I used yellow peppers, red onions and poblano peppers.  When cutting the peppers, make sure you protect your hands by wearing plastic gloves/bags.  (The juice from the peppers may burn your skin.)  You could also use jalapeños, red peppers, pineapple, peaches, yellow squash, zucchini, asparagus……the possibilities are endless!

After letting the chicken marinate for about 10-15 minutes, I placed it on the grill; not directly over the coals but around the edges.  While the chicken was cooking, I used the rest of the marinade on the vegetables.

Once the chicken looked close to done (no longer pink inside), I added the vegetables to the center of the grill.  Watch them carefully because they only need a few minutes to soften and blacken a bit.

Once done, I removed both the chicken and the vegetables from the grill.

To serve, I cut the chicken into strips and cut the cooked vegetables into thinner strips (I grilled them in larger pieces so they wouldn't fall through the grate).  I put tortillas, cheese, lettuce, taco sauce and sour cream on the table.  Everyone could make their own tortilla wrap OR like me, choose to just eat the chicken and vegetables without the wrap.  I dinner started and on the table within an hour - which pleased two very hungry teenage boys!

There was just enough grilled chicken and vegetables to put on my salad for lunch tomorrow and my daughter requested some chicken in her school lunch.  I would say this was a successful supper!!

"A grill is just a source of heat.  Just like a stove, it is very user friendly."  -Bobby Flay

Local Bakery Re-Opens

It was my middle child's birthday yesterday.  He turned 15.  I love birthdays and I try to do special things for each of my children on their birthdays.  Yesterday was no exception.  I started the day for my son by making an early morning pastry trip to a new, old bakery - Hans Bakery in Anoka, MN.  I say new, old bakery because it had been closed for a number of years and has now reopened with new owners but with many of the old recipes.  They also serve soup, sandwiches and salads and the Texas Donuts and Beehive/Bee Stings are still on their pastry menu.  The link to the website is:  www.hans-bakery.com

My son loves donuts so I thought I would pick out some special ones just for him.  Hans Bakery was packed at 7:30am on a Sunday morning.  I think that I'm not the only one that was excited to see that it had reopened.

My son was thrilled with the pastry choices he was presented with as soon as he got up!

He was also happy with the iced sugar cookies his little sister made for him yesterday afternoon

and the Dairy Queen cake as dessert after his steak dinner!

He has a bit of a sweet tooth!

"If there's no dessert in heaven, I'm not going."  -Unknown

Embroidery

My daughter has spent the past week at my parents' in western Minnesota.  She had a fabulous time.  In fact, she had so much fun, she really didn't want to come home.  I'm sure she loved all of the attention from two loving grandparents because when she's at home, she has to compete with her brothers!  Nonetheless, I was thrilled to pick her up from my sister's house (half way point from my house to my parents' house).  She was excited to tell me all about the things she had done and she was excited to give a little gift from Grandma.

I need to back up a bit.  Last weekend, I had driven my daughter to my parents'.  Whenever I see my mom, we show each other projects we're working on and ones we have yet to start.  We have shared hundreds of craft ideas and patterns. 

One of the crafts that my mom does that have been wanting her to teach my how to do is embroidery.  I know how to do basic stitches but I wanted to learn how to do this:

These look like they were done on a machine but these were all done by hand.  They are so beautiful!  Last weekend, when I dropped my daughter off to stay with them for the week, my mom and I finally had time to sit together so she could show me how to create these beautiful pieces of art.  I was thrilled to receive the gift of the iron on transfers!  I can't wait to start working on my own creations!

"Sewing mends the soul."  -Unknown