Egg Rolls... kinda

Let me start by making one thing very clear- I hate egg rolls. I can't stand cabbage. It's slimy and stringy and just... ew. From about the time we got married I would ask the Hubs what he wanted for dinner and every once in awhile I would hear- "My mom's egg rolls". Well, first of all, I hate egg rolls. Secondly, I ain't making slimy cabbage bundles- even if they are deep fried. So, he was on his own there. Thirdly, I had been informed that these weren't your average egg rolls. Being a man- he couldn't adequately describe the ingredients, but I wasn't going to get the recipe anywhere but his mom. I didn't really pursue the recipe. Cabbage remember.

And then it happened. We were visiting his family when his mom offered to make the Hubs THE egg rolls. Oh man. How am I going to wiggle my way out of this? Pretty sure I couldn't gag down slimy deep fried cabbage if my life depended on it. But as the ingredients appeared on the counter the dreaded "green things" never showed up. What!?! Apparently these are a version of a Phillipino dish similar to egg rolls- kinda. I might survive dinner.

These strike me as quintessential American MAN food. You stuff wonton wrappers with ground beef, shredded potato and carrot, and diced onion. The only thing slightly egg roll-ish about these is the splash of soy sauce you dump in there. And did I mention you deep fry them? Yeah- you do. I suppose you could bake them if you HAD to, but we haven't gone that route yet. This is totally steak and potato food though. How funny is that?

Since learning how to make these I have made them countless times. Fairly easy and so, so yummy.

Ingredients
1-2 pkgs. wonton wrappers- found in the produce section
1 lb. cooked and seasond ground beef
2-3 large potatoes, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 of an onion, shredded or diced
2 eggs
1 C. soy sauce

an additional egg to seal the edges of the rolls

Directions:

Brown your hamburger and drain well. Meanwhile, shred your carrots, potatoes, and onion into a large bowl. Dump the hamburger on top- I do this while its still warm. Add your soy sauce and 2 eggs. ROll up your sleeves and mix it all together really good.

Don't judge yet.

I love these wraps. The only trick is that they dry out really quickly. Only take out 4-5 at a time and then keep the bag closed otherwise.  Start heating your deep fryer or pot 'o oil. You want your oil temp at 350*.

Lay out your wrappers and fill with a large tablespoon of the mixture. I use a slotted serving spoon. As you fill your spoon you want to push the mixture against the edge to remove as much of the moisture as possible. You don't want drippy egg rolls.

Roll those baby's up and use a little egg wash to seal that last flap.

All wrapped up and ready to go in the fryer. I fry 5-8 at a time in a fairly large dutch oven. Once they are a lovely golden brown on the outside pull them out and let them rest on a plate of paper towels.

We love them dipped in sweet and sour sauce or ketchup. Yum.

THIS is why I coupon...

$17.93 for $104.32 worth of groceries! Thats a savings of 83%

- 10 Hungry Man Entrees- the Hubs' dinner at work
- 3 Hot Pocket Sideshots- also for the boys
- 6 OreIda Sweet Potato Fries
- 2 TGIFridays Skillet Meals
- 5 10ct. pkgs of Breathe Rite strips- the Hubs snores like a freight train
- 1 Gallon of milk
- 1 quart enchilada sauce

And earlier in the week I got:
-18 bags of Friskies cat treats
-2 24 ct. Up&Up (Target brand) Ibuprofen
-2 20 ct. Extra Strength Excedrin
-2 20 ct. Finish Quantum Dishwashing Gelpacs

All for free!

Peanut Butter Kitchen Sink Cookies

I'm calling these cookies Peanut Butter Kitchen Sink cookies because you can add everything but the kitchen sink to them. If it has chocolate and peanut butter in it- throw it in. They are so decadent. Don't forget a tall glass of milk.

They're chewy and gooey. Sweet and a little salty. And full of protein- its hiding in the peanut butter. Hehe. How can these cookies not be good for you?

Use whatever appropriate candy you have on hand. I really don't think you can go wrong here. The best part of using multiple kinds of candy is that every. single. bite. is a little different from the last.


Ingredients

1/2 C. butter, softened
3/4 C. sugar
2/3 C. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 C. peanut butter
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 C. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
5 full size candy bars of your choice, chopped

In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugars. Add eggs; beat well. Blend in peanut butter and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in candy bars. Shape into 3 inch balls and place on greased cookie sheets. bake at 350* for 15-16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Feta and Spinach Mini Quiche

Quiche is one of my favorite foods. I generally do a broccoli, cheddar, and bacon version in a deep dish crust. But my lovely sister got me a set of muffin-top pans for Christmas. I clarified on my list that they needed to be muffin-top pans and not muffin-top pants. I have plenty of those already. Yeah. I had wanted the pans for awhile, but then once they were in my hot little hands- I had no idea what to do with them. I had baker's block. Nothing seemed special enough. Then I came up with this little gem. They are a little time consuming, but so yummy, and perfect for the girl's night I had planned. 

I used a large glass to cut 6 circles out of each of the sheets of pie dough. Because it was Valentine's Day weekend I cut hearts out of the scraps and just baked them right on the pans. You'll see what we do with them soon.  

Ready for the oven.

Recipe  
makes 24 mini quiche


2 boxes refrigerated pie crust
4 eggs
1/2 t. salt
dash of nutmeg
dash of black pepper
dash of garlic powder
2 C. milk
3 handfuls spinach leaves- chopped
1/4 C. crumbled feta cheese
Preheat oven to 350*. Grease your pans- including any parts you will be using to bake cut-outs. Cut out 6 circles form each pie crust for a total of 24. Press the crust into the pans and bake for 4 minutes. Using the back of a spoon press down on any bubbles that form in the crust. Turn the oven up to 425*. Sprinkle your crusts with spinach and feta cheese. Mix the eggs, milk, salt, nutmeg, pepper, and garlic powder in a large measuring cup with a spout and pour into the crusts. Be careful not to let them overflow. Gently set any cut outs you are using onto the top of the quiche. Bake the quiches at 425* for 3 minutes- then turn down the oven to 350* for an additional 7-9 minutes or until set. Allow quiche to cool slightly before removing from pan. 

One More Pot on the Stove

Well- I did it. I finally started a blog. I'm really not sure where I'm going to find the time to do this, but all the cool kids have a blog. And I really want to be one of the cool kids. Really. Not even sure what I'll talk about- but I'm sure I'll figure something out. So... to start it off here are 10 things about me.

1. Married with no children.
2. Full time cake decorator. For now.
3. Full time student... are you seeing why we don't have kids yet?
4. Obsessive couponer- I am embarrassingly cheap. But in a good way.
5. I hate unloading the dishwasher, but don't mind loading it. Might even enjoy it.
6. I don't let my foods touch each other on my plate. I know they end up in the same place. Doesn't matter.
7. Chocolate is the base of my personal food pyramid.
8. Never learned how to iron a dress shirt. Oops.
9. One of my two cats plays fetch. Like a dog. Yeah.
10. I can't keep plants alive. Ever.

Stay tuned for recipes, craft projects, and updates on life.