Chicken Wonton Tacos

Chicken Wonton Tacos
I love finding new ways to recreate classics- even mixing different ethnic foods to make a hybrid.  I was at an Applebee's and tried one of their newer menu items called "Wonton Tacos."  The picture of the dish looked tasty so I thought, "Why not?  Half off Apps."  They turned out great and it got my wheels turning.  It took awhile to think of the best ingredient combination but I think I nailed it.  Wait!  I did nail it!  (Haha, sorry to toot my own horn)  Baking the wontons for a healthier choice, the sweet and spicy taste of the chicken, and the homemade Asian vinaigrette creates so many different flavors in each bite you'll notice your eyes widen with surprise.  These are great as an appetizer or a main food item.  Enjoy!

Ingredients
-  8 Wonton wrappers
-  2 Chicken breasts (cubed)
-  1/4 Cole slaw mix (Confetti slaw)
-  Thai style sweet chili sauce
-  2 Green onions
-  1/4 Red onion
-  Crushed garlic
-  Ground ginger
-  Crushed red pepper flakes
-  Peanut oil
-  Sesame oil
-  Soy sauce
-  Rice Vinegar
-  Sugar
-  Cooking spray
-  Salt and pepper

*Note:  I don't measure ingredients when I cook.  I will do my best to estimate but use your judgement.

Prep
1.  Cut chicken breasts into small cubes.  Place chicken into a gallon size plastic freezer bag.  Pour in about 1/2 cup peanut oil over the chicken, plus 1 tbsp crushed garlic, 1 tbsp ground ginger, and some black pepper for taste.  Close bag and mix around with your hands.  Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to marinate.
2.  Asian Vinaigrette - 1/2 cup peanut oil, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 2 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp crushed garlic, 1 tbsp ground ginger, 1/2 cup sugar, salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk and set aside.

3.  Preheat oven to 425˚.





Cooking
1.  Lightly spray wonton wrappers with cooking spray.  Lay over a deep baking pan with corners pointing down (see picture).  Place into preheated oven and cook for 12-15 minutes or until wontons are light brown in color.

2.  In a large wok pan, cook chicken on medium-high heat until chicken is cooked all the way through. Add in a little soy sauce towards the end of the cooking process (1 tbsp).  Once chicken is cooked, lower heat, add in chopped green onions and stir.  Pour in some Thai chili sauce over the chicken and mix.

3.  Put cole slaw in a separate bowl.  Add in diced red onion to cole slaw mix (keep onion count even between green onions and red onions, about 1:1).  Remix vinaigrette and pour over cole slaw mix.  Pour in a little at a time, mix together and taste to make sure it is dressed lightly.

4.  To serve, place chicken in in bottom of wonton then add cole slaw on top.

(Makes 2 Servings)

Homemade Dipping Oil

Homemade dipping oil for bread

Great for dinner parties, gifts, and any occasion!

Ingredient list:
-2 sprigs parsley (left unchopped for aesthetic appearance)
-1/2 T balsamic vinegar
-8 medium basil leaves, chopped 
-1/2 t dried thyme + 1 whole sprig thyme (fresh or dried) for accent
-1 t crushed garlic
-1 t oregano, chopped
-1 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
-Oil of your choice - I used extra virgin olive oil and canola oil
-1 bottle with cap (I used a cleaned Mike's Hard Lemonade bottle, but you can buy bottles at any craft store or reuse old clear bottles)

Note: I used a combination of fresh, frozen, and dried herbs. I use freshly picked from an herb garden if at all possible, but you can use whatever combinations you have.  Also, you can experiment with different amounts of each ingredient; mine are roughly measured.

After preparing all of the ingredients, place the herbs in your bottle except for the parsley sprigs and thyme sprig.

 Pour in oil using a funnel. I used 3 parts olive oil, one part canola oil.Place lid tightly on bottle, shake to mix ingredients thoroughly.  Let the herbs settle to the bottom for an hour or so, then add the parsley and thyme sprigs.  I decided I didn't like the whole basil leaves, so I fished them out, chopped them up, and put them back in.

Cover the lid with fabric, ribbon, whatever you want to accent. I used a bit of crumpled paper bag.  Secure with rubber band, twine, hemp, ribbon, ect.   I added a tag with the date and the ingredients listed on the back.  

Let the mixture age for better flavor, then break out the next time you want to impress guests.  Pour into shallow dipping dish; pair with a loaf of freshly baked bread.  Enjoy!

Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

This recipe is, in my eyes (and taste buds), the best dish I've made in the two years I've been cooking as a hobby.  Kabobs are a great meal whether using chicken, beef, fish or whatever.  The way all the flavors marry together and make your taste buds jump off your tongue.  This Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs recipe I cooked on an electric griddle but would work even better cooked on a grill.  If using wooden skewers on a grill, I would suggest soaking the skewers in cold water so they don't burn or char when on the grill.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

- 2-3 chicken breasts (cubed)

- Lawry's Teriyaki marinade

- 1-2 green bell peppers

- 1 white onion

- 1 can pineapple cubes

- garlic salt & pepper (to taste)

- skewers (wooden or metal)

*Note: I don't measure ingredients when I cook, so I will try to estimate how much I used in the cooking directions below.

Preparation

1.  Take thawed chicken breasts and cut them into cubes.  Mine were roughly 2x2in. cubes but size is up to you.  Try to keep the chicken cut at the same size so cooking time is even.  Place cubed chicken into a gallon sized plastic bag and pour teriyaki marinade over chicken.  I used about 1.5 cups of marinade; just enough to barely cover the chicken.  Seal the bag and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (the more time the better).

2.  While chicken is marinating, cut your green peppers and onions into about 1x1in. squares.

3.  Once the chicken is done marinating it's time to "stab" your food.  This is the part where you can get creative with the order of the food.  Some people might evenly distribute the ingredients, I did mine randomly.  However, there are equal number of chicken on each skewer.  Use the image as a guide if needed.

Cooking

1.  Season kabobs to your taste with the galic salt and pepper. (I don't add extra salt because I am conscious about sodium intake, so the garlic salt is enough sodium for me.)  Place kabobs on griddle/grill on medium to high heat.  Rotate kabobs as needed; cook chicken until no pink in the middle.

*Note: Since I used an electric griddle, after about 5 minutes of cooking I realized that the kabobs weren't going to evenly cook because not all of the items were touching the griddle.  I decided to take a large brownie pan to cover the kabobs.  This creates a steaming effect that helps distribute the heat evenly among the kabobs.  Also, keeps the chicken moist.

2.  Add extra marinade if desired during the cooking process.  Once chicken is cooked through, plate and serve.

The Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs were great on top of white rice and a side of cooked green beans (with olive oil and salt and pepper to season).

(Makes 2 Servings)