No "crab" rangoons

Ingredients:


I love crab rangoons. I could absolutely eat them once or twice a week but my jeans wouldn't fit! I created this version to help feed my craving! I'm not a fan of imitation crab meat, so I left out that ingredient. If you like it, add it in!

- 8 oz of fat free or 1/3 the fat cream cheese
- 2 wedges of laughing cow cheese (I used the French Onion kind)
- 1/2 of a medium white onion diced
- 2 Tablespoons of sugar
- Pinch of garlic powder and onion powder
- 1/2 bunch of scallions sliced thin
- 1 tsp of low sodium soy sauce 
- 1 package of nasoya wonton wrappers per batch (you can find them in the tofu section of the grocery store)


 Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients except the wontons in a bowl and let it sit out until soft (about an hour). Mix well. Preheat oven to 375.

Lay out a wonton wrapper and fill it with 1/2 tbsp of the mix. 

Wet the edges and seal them together to make a triangle.Make sure you have a tight seal so that the filling doesn't pour out while cooking.

Fold over the edges.

Continue for the rest of the wrappers. Spray a cookie sheet with pam and lay down the wontons. Spray the tops with pam so they can get crispy.

 

Place in the oven for about 12 minutes or until crispy. Be sure to flip them 1/2 way through so they can evenly get crispy. Enjoy!

Asian Beef Stir Fry

I love any type of Asian inspired meal! This makes for a great weeknight meal. Most of the work is done in the prep the night before.

Ingredients:

1 lb of flank steak
1 orange pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
1 vidalia onion
1 bunch of green onions
2 cups of instant white rice
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of stir fry seasoning or sauce
3 tablespoons of your preferred Asian inspired salad dressing or marinade ( I used archer farms lemon ginger sesame salad dressing)

Directions:

24+ hours prior to cooking:

Chop up your peppers and onion to desired size. Place them in an air tight tupperware or large ziplock bag. Add the sesame oil and stir fry seasoning. Mix well. Set aside in the refrigerator for marinating for 24+ hours. Next, thinly slice the steak to your desired thickness. Place in an air tight tupperware or ziplock bag. Add the 3 tablespoons of Asian marinade and mix well. Set aside in the refrigerator for 24+ hours.

Next day:

Most of the work was done yesterday, so now lets cook up this delicious meal and enjoy! Set the oven to 400 degrees. Place the vegetable mixture in a casserole dish and place in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through. Next, fire up the grill. Allow it to warm up for about 5-10 minutes. While the grill is heating up, slice up the green onions for topping and set aside. Now that your grill is warmed up, place the steak on the grill and allow it to sear on one side. Flip when the steak is about 80% cooked. Now everyone has different ways they like their steak cooked, from rare to well done (in my opinion, why even eat steak if you're going to have it well done - but that's a different story!) Anyways, cook it the way you like it based on the thickness of your steak. When it is finished cooking, set aside. Your vegetables should be just about done by now. Cook the minute rice according to the instructions. I use the minute rice cups (I'm lazy but whatever). Plate up the rice. Top it with the vegetables, steak and top with the green onion. Yummy!

Thai Coconut Curry Chicken with Jasmine Rice

This is one of my easiest, most delicious recipes! I just gave the recipe to my friend and she loved it! The good part is, it is just as delicious re-heated so it makes for a good lunch for work. The pictures don't do this meal justice. Just trust me it's amazing!

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons of yellow curry sauce

1 can of coconut milk

1 tomato

4 garlic cloves

4 tablespoons of butter

1-2 lbs of chicken thighs

Green onion for garish

Your choice or rice to serve it over ( I used Minute Jasmine Rice)

Red pepper flakes for garnish if you want a kick

Directions:

You will need 2 separate frying pans, 1 medium and 1 large. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the medium frying pan and 2 tablespoons of butter to the large frying pan. Put both on medium heat. While the butter is melting, chop up your garlic cloves into small pieces along with the onion. Add the garlic and onion to the medium frying pan and stir well. Next, take the curry sauce and coconut milk and add them to the large frying pan. Stir well. Bring this to a boil. While this is warming up, cube up the chicken thighs into 1 inch by 1 inch sized pieces. Also be sure to trim off any unwanted fat. Chop up your tomato. At this point, the onion and garlic should be well cooked. Add this mixture to the large frying pan with the curry mixture. Next, add the cubed up tomato and chicken. Keep this covered at a low boil for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve over your favorite rice (I used minute rice because I work full time!) Garnish with chopped green onion and red pepper flakes in the picture below. Enjoy!

Japanese Ginger Salad Dressing

This may sound lame, but my favorite part of going out for hibachi is the salad! The homemade ginger salad dressing is delicious and refreshing! I am a slow eater and always feel rushed with hibachi. I've experimented several times to make this dressing and finally found "the one"! It needs to set for a few hours so I find it best to make it on a work morning so that way, when I get home from work all I have to do is prepare the salad.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of minced onion
3/4 cup of peanut oil
1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons of water
3 tablespoons of fresh minced ginger root
3 tablespoons of minced celery
3 tablespoons of ketchup
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of white sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of fresh black pepper

Directions:

Ready for this? Take all of the above ingredients, plop them in the blender on high for 30 seconds or until it is at a smooth texture. Place it in a container and place it in the refrigerator. Let it sit for at least 3 hours. Make sure to shake well before serving. Drizzle over a salad. I served mine with my Asian Rice Noddle Soup and it made for a great dinner!

*Side note - you should eat this within 3 days or so of making it. It does not have any preservatives in it so it will go bad quicker than store bought salad dressing.

Asian Rice Noodle Soup

The pictures say it all :Yum! I love Asian Noodle soup! It costs about $5 a bowl at restaurants though and that can definitely add up! I made this little creation and I love it! It made about 10 bowls of soup and the ingredients are very inexpensive!

Ingredients:

- 1 package of rice noodles (I choose the thin kind)
-1 bunch of green onions
- 1 lb of thinly sliced steak
- 1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger root
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 10 cups of beef broth (I prefer the "better than bullion" beef base stock)
- 1 container of fresh mushrooms

Directions:

In a large pot, pour in the beef stock, garlic minced ginger, chopped green onions and sliced mushrooms. Place on high heat and allow to boil. Once it hits a boiling point, reduce to low-medium heat. In a separate large pot, fill half way with water. Place on high and allow the water to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the rice noodles and lower to medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Allow the noodles to cook through (about 8-10 minutes.) Drain the noodles. Coat a medium sized pan with EVOO and place on low-medium heat. Gently fry the steak, flipping half way. Do not over cook your steak, it is thin and will remain cooking once you have set it aside.No one wants tough chewy steak in their soup!Chop up the cooked steak into bite-sized pieces.

Now for the presentation I like to keep all of my ingredients separate for a couple of reasons. One is so that the rice noodles don't get soggy in the broth and the other reason is in case someone doesn't like an ingredient or wants to add extra of an ingredient, they can. I like to add the broth to the bowl first, then place the other ingredients on top.


Feel free to be creative with this recipe and mix things up! Try chicken broth instead of beef broth, shrimp or chicken instead of steak and onions instead of mushrooms!

*UPDATE* - I made this soup again last night and substituted the steak with shrimp and it was just as delicious!

Asian Pasta Salad

My grandmother used to make a dish similar to this and it was one of my favorites! It's a mix between pasta salad and Chinese food - two of my favorites! Feel free to add chicken to this. Sometimes I do but was in the vegetarian mood today!

Ingredients:

- 1 can of diced water chestnuts
- 1 bunch of green onions
- 1 box of bow-tie pasta
- 1 Cup of low fat mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce

Directions:

Cook pasta as per instructions on box and drain. Slice up scallions and water chestnuts and place in a large mixing bowl.

 In a small mixing bowl, combine mayo and soy sauce and mix until smooth.

Combine the pasta, sauce green onion and water chestnuts in a large bowl and mix well. Let sit in refrigerator for 3 hours and serve cold. Easy enough right?

Nutrition Information for 1 serving - This recipe should make about 10 servings at 1 cup each

Calories - 216
Carbs - 31
Fat - 7
Protein - 7
Sodium - 409
Fiber - 3

Asian Chicken Wings

Who doesn't love chicken wings? Check out this twist on Chinese Chicken!

Ingredients:

-1 tablespoon of soy sauce (low sodium)
-1 tablespoon of brown sugar
-1/4 cup orange marmalade
-1/4 cup of Asian sesame salad dressing
-2 Lbs of chicken wings

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450. Mix together the soy sauce, brown sugar, orange marmalade and Asian sesame dressing. Once the oven is preheated, line a baking sheet with tin-foil. Place the chicken wings on the sheet so that they are not touching. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, flip over the chicken wings and brush with the mixture. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Serve with your favorite dressing or eat plain!


Nutrition Information (for 1 chicken wing - this recipe should make about 13 chicken wings total)

Calories - 122
Fat - 7
Carbs - 6
Protein - 9
Sodium - 100
Fiber - 0

Thai Lettuce Wraps - 317 Calories

This is a favorite in my household. We make this at least every other week because its so delicious and so easy to make!

Ingredients:

- 1 Lb ground turkey
- 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup of roasted peanuts (you can also substitute with cashews)
- 2 tablespoons of peanut sauce
- 1/2 cup of shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup of shredded chives
- 4 Large lettuce leaves for wrapping

Directions:

Cook up the ground beef until cooked through. Chop up the chives and carrots and mix together with the peanut butter, peanuts and peanut sauce. Once it is well mixed, add to the frying pan with the ground turkey. Stir well and cook on low for 1 minute. Distribute mixture evenly throughout the 4 lettuce wraps. And that's it! Easy huh?

Nutrition Information - This recipe makes 4 servings, nutrition information is for 1 serving

Calories - 317
Carbs - 9
Fat - 20
Protein - 27
Sodium - 287
Fiber - 2

Vegetable & Shrimp Fried Rice

Trader Joe's helped me out with this dish. It is great if you are in a rush and don't have a lot of time to cook dinner. Warning: the rice is addictive, so just make what you can eat! Left overs can be tempting!

Ingredients:

- Trader Joe's vegetable fried rice (1 cup per serving - pictured below)
- 4 oz shrimp (I used shrimp cocktail since it cooks faster)
- .5 tablespoon of EVOO

Directions:

In a medium frying pan, add the EVOO and 1 cup of rice and place on medium heat. Cook until the rice is fully cooked (about 5 minutes). Push the rice to the side of the frying pan. Chop up the shrimp into bite sized pieces. Add the shrimp the the frying pan and cook for about 1 minute. Since I used shrimp cocktail, it is already pre-cooked and doesn't take long to warm up. Mix the shrimp and rice together and serve!

Nutrition Facts (for 1 cup of rice and 4 oz of shrimp)

Calories - 255
Carbs - 35
Fat - 9
Protein - 6
Sodium - 688
Fiber - 1

Chinese Style Pot Stickers and Vegetable Lo Mein

Whenever I go out to eat at a chain restaurant, I always look at the nutrition facts before I go. They usually scare me away because of the high calories or high fat. T.G.I. Friday's is a somewhat new chain restaurant in my hometown, and I somehow always end up there. The only thing I get there is the Asian Zen pot stickers at 500 calories and 10 grams of fat per order, which isn't too bad seeing as I make it my meal. The only issue I have is that at around $10 with tip every time I go there is a little steep for an appetizer, I mean come on, I'm a broke college student! Top the night off with a few coors lights and we're already at around $20. So I began researching how to make lower calorie pot stickers that were affordable. I was able to put T.G.I Fridays to shame by cutting their calories and fat in half, along with making 5 batches for the same price as one order there. Another great thing about this recipe is that it actually calls for you to freeze them before eating, so it's a quick meal from the freezer to boiling water. Dinner in about 5 minutes, once you've done all of the prep work. The main recipe I'm focusing on here is the Pot stickers, since the Lo Mein is so easy - Whole wheat pasta, sliced scallions, cooked diced carrots and onions, throw it all together with some sesame seeds, soy sauce and teriyaki sauce and there ya go!

Ingredients:

- 1 pack of wonton wrappers (I buy the nasoya brand which is located in the tofu section of the grocery store.)
- 8 oz of ground turkey
- 1 cup of small diced carrots
- 1 cup of small diced onion
- 1 cup of small diced celery
- 1 tbsp of light sodium reduced soy sauce for recipe and additional if you want to use it as a dipping sauce.

Directions: 

For filling- heat up the ground turkey in one frying pan and cook until there is no pink left. Add the tbsp of soy sauce and set aside. In another frying pan, heat up the diced carrots, onion, and celery until the onions are transparent looking, or until the veggies are fully cooked. Once those are done, combine it with the ground turkey mixture. Mix all of the ingredients well, and you have your filling! Now to make the pot stickers. Take one wonton wrapper and lay on a flat surface. Spoon in about 1/2 tbsp of the mixture into the center of the wonton. Wet the edges of the wonton wrapper with water by using your finger tip. Seal the edges together in an accordion fashion for design. If this part is too tricky, just crease them in half. They'll taste the same, just won't have the design look to them. Repeat for all 40 wontons. Once you are done, place them on a cookie sheet with wax paper sprayed lightly with pam. Place entire cookie sheet in the freezer. Wait about an hour or until they are completely frozen. Take out only what you want to eat since the rest need to stay in the freezer until boiled. Take a large cooking pot and put a steamer inside (like you're boiling broccoli.) Fill up with water just under the edge of the steamer. Make sure to spray the metal part of the steamer with pam. Place on high and wait until the water is boiling. Once the water is boiling, place your desired amount of pot stickers in the steamer and cover with a lid. It only takes around 3 minutes or so for them to fully cook. You will know when they are done when the wontons look clear and the centers are mushy. Thats all! I usually also use soy sauce as a dipping sauce for them.

Nutrition facts for 4 pot stickers (This recipe should make around 40)

Calories- 132
Carbs- 18
Fat - 2
Protein- 9
Sodium-  335 (without dipping soy sauce)
Fiber- 2

Sweet and Sour Chicken and "No-Crab - Rangoons"

Looks good right??? It tastes even better!

When people think of a traditional Chinese food meal, the first thing that may come to mind is high fat, MSG, tons of calories, deep fried goodness, etc. Chinese food is by far my favorite type of junk food, the only problem is that when ever I eat it, I somehow wake up the next morning 3 pounds heaver. In my case, I want to lose weight, but there's no way that I am willing to give up my favorite food. So I moved to the next possibility :  making Chinese food healthy. A traditional meal of sweet and sour chicken paired with crab rangoons is well over 1,000 calories and 40 grams of fat. I don't know about you, but if I ate that, I wouldn't have enough calories to eat for the rest of my day! I'm going to break down the two recipes in-case you want to make them separately. In this picture, I heated up some brown  rice to pair it with, I hope I don't need to give you instructions for the 90 second uncle ben's brown rice!


Sweet and Sour Chicken


Ingredients:

- 1 lb of raw chicken cut up to desired size
- 12 oz sweet and sour sauce
- 14 oz of fat free chicken broth
- 1 onion diced up
- 1 yellow pepper diced up
- 1/2 cup of shelled frozen edamane (soy beans)
- 2 table spoons on brown sugar
- 8 oz can of pineapple chunks

Directions:

Combine everything in the crockpot and place on high for about 2-3 hours, or until the chicken and vegetables look cooked through. That's it!


Nutrition Information for 1 serving (1 cup) - This recipe should make 8 servings


Calories- 164 
Carbs- 24 
Fat- 1
Protein - 14
Sodium - 532
Fiber - 2


No-Crab Rangoons - (I got this recipe from hungry girl except I took out the crab because imitation crab just creeps me out for some reason... but feel free to use it if you're daring enough!)

Ingredients:


- 1/4 cup of fat free cream cheese
- 2 wedges of laughing cow cheese (I used the French Onion kind)
- 1 garlic clove diced small
- Pinch of garlic powder and onion powder
- Scallions sliced
- 1 tsp of low sodium soy sauce 
- 16 nasoya wonton wrappers per batch (you can find them in the tofu section of the grocery store)


 Directions:


Combine all of the ingredients except the wontons in a bowl and let it sit out until soft (about an hour). Mix well. Preheat oven to 375. Lay out a wonton wrapper and fill it with 1/2 tbsp of the mix. Wet the edges and seal them together to make a triangle. Continue for the rest of the wrappers. Spray a cookie sheet with pam and lay down the wontons. Spray the tops with pam so they can get crispy. Place in the oven for about 12 minutes or until crispy. Be sure to flip them 1/2 way through so they can evenly get crispy. Enjoy


Nutrition facts for 4 Rangoons:
Calories- 152
Carbs-20
Fat-1
Protein- 11
Sodium - 659
Fiber - 1