Crab Rangoon

CRAB RANGOON
If you enjoy Chinese food and you've ordered crab rangoon very many times you know it can vary significantly in texture and content.  By that I mean it is sometimes overdone to the point of "why bother" or it often is so light on the crab that you might as well call it just --rangoon. You can avoid these problems by making this tasty dish yourself.  It if fairly easy and you can make them delicately moist and filled with lots of crab meat.  This recipe is also large on flavor thanks to the garlic, ginger, and soy sauce.  A nice light meal would be just these and a bowl of soup!  Olivia made these because she is a big fan of crab rangoon.  Try making your own and you may never be satisfied with restaurant ones again!
-Nanette

CRAB RANGOON

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temp
• 3/4-1 cup crabmeat, picked
• 2 green onions, sliced thin
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• wonton wrappers (You should only need one package)
• oil ( for frying)

Directions

1. Whip together the sour cream, cream cheese and soy sauce and sugar until smooth.
2. Fold in remaining ingredients (except wrappers) Heat oil to med-high and you want it around 1 1/2-2 inches deep.
3. Place a small bowl of water on your work surface and lay out 6 wrappers, and place around 1 1 1/2 t's in the center of each wrapper.
4. Moisten edges with water, bring up corners and pinch together, along with sides-you dont want filling to float away.
5. Place all 6 in the hot oil and repeat process.
6. By the time you have the next set of 6 ready to crimp it should be time to turn the rangoons.
7. You want them a nice golden color.
8. When done remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
9. Repeat until finished.

Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

Do you like stuffed jalapeno peppers but tend to only get them as a restaurant appetizer?  If so, maybe it is because you just don't like the price of frozen ones at the grocery or you don't want to take the time to make them at home.  Olivia has developed a great alternative that is healthier,  you can make them ahead and you can use whenever you like.  When she made these, she sprinkled the corn flakes on top and put the tray in the freezer. 
When they were frozen, she divided them onto paper plates and slid the paper plates into  large freezer bags.  This kept them from getting damaged and made them easy to pull out, place on a baking sheet, and and bake.  They keep a long time in the freezer and are absolutely delicious!  What's not to love?
-Nanette

Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

18 jalapeno peppers (2 ½ - 3 inches in length)

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 package (8 ounce) fat-free cream cheese, softened

1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese

¼ cup fat-free mayonnaise

½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves

2 egg whites

1 tablespoon skim milk

2 cups corn flake cereal, crushed

salsa (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut each pepper in half lengthwise; remove seeds and membranes.  Pres garlic into 1 quart batter bowl using a garlic press.  Add cream cheese, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, and oregano; mix well using a spatula.  Cut a small tip off of a corner of a plastic sandwich bag and fill with the cream cheese mixture.  Pipe about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into each pepper half to fill.  Lightly whisk egg whites and milk together.  Finely crush corn flakes in sealed plastic bag.  Dip each pepper half into egg mixture, then into corn flake crumbs to coat.  Place pepper halves on a cookie sheet which has been sprayed with an oil spray.  Bake 30 minutes or until peppers are tender.  Serve with salsa, if desired.

"Healthier" Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Olivia is an adventurous cook.  She rarely met a spice combination she wouldn't try and her efforts run the gamut from decadent to healthy.  This one leans purposefully to the healthy side.  She made these recently and I was the happy recipient of some of them.  They of course don't have the same texture as the deep fried version of mozzarella sticks you may have experienced in restaurants, but the coating is very good and dipping them in a bit of marinara sauce is delicious.  The photograph was taken before the sticks were baked so that is why they may appear a bit pale.  As indicated at the end of the recipe, the baking time may require a bit of tweaking.  If they don't look done when you pull them out, put them back in for a minute.  If you pull them out and one or two have started to melt slightly, you are flirting with failure so use caution.  I really enjoyed these, but I have never really met a cheese I didn't like.  Forget the rarely part--I have yet to meet a cheese I didn't like (yeah even the multi-colored, somewhat fragrant varieties).  Enjoy!
-Nanette

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Servings: 12 • Serving Size: 2 pieces • Old Points: 1 pts • Points+: 2 pts*
Calories: 86.8* • Fat: 4.8 g • Protein: 7.4 g • Carb: 3.5 g • Fiber: 0.2 g • Sugar: 0.2
Sodium: 168.6

Ingredients:

• 12 sticks part-skim, reduced sodium mozzarella string cheese (Sargento)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp flour
• 5 tbsp Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 5 tbsp panko crumbs
• 2 tsp parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• olive oil cooking spray (I used my misto)

Directions:

Cut cheese in half to give you 24 pieces. Place cheese in the freezer until cheese is frozen.

In small bowl, 

whisk

 the egg. 

Place

 the flour on another small dish. In separate bowl, 

combine

 bread crumbs, panko, parmesan cheese and dried parsley.

Dip

 the frozen sticks in flour, shaking off excess, then into the egg, then coat with the crumbs.

Repeat 

this process with the remaining cheese placing them on a tray with wax paper. Place cheese back into the freezer until ready to bake (this is a must or they will melt before the crumbs get golden).

When ready to bake preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with oil.

Place frozen cheese sticks on baking sheet. 

Spray

 the tops of the mozzarella sticks with a little more oil and 

bake

 in the bottom third of your oven until crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes. 

Turn

 and 

bake

 an additional 4 - 5 minutes watching them closely so they don't melt.

Makes 24 pieces.

Recipe from:  "Skinny Taste" Website