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Product Review: Chicken & Cilantro Wontons

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Image via CJ Foods

As I learn more and more about food, frozen foods often scare me.  They are like the prepackaged enemy when you learn what goes into most of the food production, but as with most things in life, there are always the exceptions.  When I received the opportunity to try one of CJ Foods new Korean Pantry products, I was curious to see if this would surely change my mind.  I received the mini Chicken & Cilantro wontons which raised my curiosity to a new level where I am a food snob when it comes to these mini delicacies.

Taking on the task of cooking them two ways proved two things:  (1) all frozen foods are not created equally and (2) these are my new winter buddies!  Being the queen of soup du jour, I began visualizing the endless possibilities of the soups that would be concocted with these mini wontons beginning with chicken broth to simple ginger root soups.  Pan fried was the simplest and most appealing way to prepare the wontons where they did not take on the typical tough and rubbery texture that can result from fried frozen wontons.  The pan fried technique sparked my interest in whipping up some chili and soy based sauces for a quick appetizer to serve to friends.

The thing about product reviews are you can end up with something totally boring and useless or you can end up having a new go-to product.  CJ’s Chicken & Cilantro wontons are my new go-to product.  My food life has drastically changed in the past couple of years where two years ago I could whip up a homemade banana pudding in the middle of the week and now I barely have time to warm up a Hot Pocket in my house.  My schedule has taken over and despite the fact that I absolutely love it, I still yearn for quality and flavor from my kitchen (*but quick…) when I do have the down time.  With these wontons on hand, I can toss the Hot Pockets and get ready for some quick, homemade wonton soup this winter.

Filed Under: appetizers, chicken, finger-foods, Product Review, soup, Various Cooking Styles Tagged With: , , , ,

Recipe: Low Fat Baked Potato Soup

February 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Low Fat Baked Potato Soup

4 large russet potatoes
2 tsp. salt
4 slices of bacon (cut into 1″ pieces)
1 cup low fat sour cream
8 tbsp. butter
2 2/3 low fat 1 % milk
Pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
Scallions (thinly sliced for garnish)
Shredded 2 % Milk Cheddar Cheese

Peel, rinse and dice the potatoes into small cubes and add them to a large pot. Cover the potatoes with water, sprinkle in 2 tsp. salt and bring to a boil; reduce heat and cover; cook for 30-45 minutes. Cook the bacon in a pan until crispy and drain oil from the bacon. Drain the potatoes and add back to the pot; mash the potatoes until smooth. Add in the sour cream and butter; stir until fully combined. Add the milk, pepper and salt to the pot and bring to a slight boil. Garnish with scallions, cheese and bacon. Serve hot.

*Johnna’s tip: Ok, we are officially about to bust. After two hefty bowls of this soup, our eyes are glazing over this post, but we were determined to make it happen. Recently, we began focusing on recipes that are easy and to the point without a lot of clean up post-cooking. This is how we came across this recipe and it is truly the easiest two pot meal that we have met this month. The hardest or most time consuming part is peeling the potatoes (*what did people do before the invention of the potato peeler??) but everything else is a breeze. Serve with nothing. It is fine all by itself.
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Filed Under: health concious, main dish, soup

Recipe: Soup Joumou

January 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Soup Joumou

1 lb. corned beef or beef stew meat water
1 1/2 lbs. pumpkin (peeled & diced)
2 turnips (diced)
1 small onion (finely chopped)
1 sprig parsley
1 sprig thyme
3 garlic cloves (crushed)
1 cup milk
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. butter
3/4 cup rice, washed (uncooked, not instant) salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
2-4 tsp. butter

In a saucepan, cover beef generously with water and boil over medium low heat, partially covered for 1 hour. Drain and chop beef into bite-sized pieces. In a saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil; add pumpkin, turnips, beef, onions, parsley, thyme, and 2 cloves garlic. Simmer until pumpkin is tender (15 minutes). Discard parsley and thyme. Transfer pumpkin to food processor with 1/4 cup stock and puree. Return to saucepan and heat through. Add milk, nutmeg, butter, and rice; cook until rice is tender (15-20 minutes). Season with salt and pepper, and mix in remaining garlic. Serve hot with a little butter in each bowl.

*Johnna’s tip: Thanks to Cuisinivity for this recipe. Cuisinivity, like many of us in the U.S., was deeply impacted by the devastating earthquake that occurred in Haiti just under two weeks ago. Cuisinivity, however, had a more personal connection to Haiti then we (JKGF) did. Cuisinivity posted this recipe (Soup Joumou) which was inspired by the two years they spent in Haiti and often requested this dish for dinner. Soup Joumou is a dish commonly served during the Haitian New Year but Cuisinivity said it was so good, they requested it many times while in Haiti. Get the full story here. Kind of reminds us of a thicker, hardy chicken noodle soup.

Picture source

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Filed Under: main dish, soup

Top Five Wednesday: Five Soups You Should Make

January 13, 2010 By 4 Comments

After the last Food Blogger Happy Hour/Potluck, we have been infatuated with soup. All kinds. Thrifty DC Cook is responsible for this. She made probably one of the top five best soups we’ve ever tasted (*It was a seafood soup in a spicy, lemongrass broth). The recipe for that is coming soon and we will fill you in when we get the details. If you haven’t figured it out by now, we are cold and trying to stay warm under these conditions hence we’re making soup. Today’s “Top Five” are the top five soups you should be making this January. Soup is sooo easy to make and sooo delicious. Typically, soups are not that fatty either because the base of the soup is usually a light broth or another light ingredient. Now, there are those soups that bring out the naughty side of eating but we hope these soups will help you stay warm and stay within your new years resolution. Check it:

1. Tomato soup- The Arugula Files recipe is simple and matches perfect with a grilled cheese…gotta love the classics.

2. Crab and Corn Chowder- This is our show stopper recipe. Serve this one when you’re have a few guests over and you want something comforting.

3. Middle Eastern Lamb Stew- Super easy because the slow cooker does all the work. Just drop in the ingredients and 3 hours later you have a feast.

4. Maryland Crab- This is an art. Well in these parts anyway. Around this area, Maryland crab is the staple soup and must be done right. This is a great time to practice.

5. Miso Soup- Love this one pot soup. Our favorite additions to the typical seaweed and tofu are carrots, broccoli and mushrooms. Delish.

Click the links above to retrieve the recipes and Enjoy!
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Filed Under: Crock Pot, Food.Fun.Stuff., main dish, seafood, soup

Recipe: Creamy Tomato Soup

December 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Creamy Tomato Soup

1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
28 oz. chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Fresh Basil (Chopped)

In a pot, heat the tomatoes and broth over medium-high heat. When bubbling, add in the heavy cream and reduce heat to low-medium heat. Add in salt (to taste) and pepper (to taste) and simmer for 20 minutes; stir. Add in about 1/2 cup of the basil and stir. Ladle into your favorite soup bowls and garnish with remaining basil. Serve.

*Johnna’s tip: Easiest soup known to mankind. With temperatures in the 40′s today, it is obvious why we felt the need to post about something that will keep you warm. Pair with a grilled cheese, a warm Snuggie and you have the absolute cozy winter night.

Picture source

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Filed Under: soup, vegetarian
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