Baked Won-Ton Wrapper Chips

To go along with my previous post, baked won-ton wrappers are an EXCELLENT alternative to tortilla chips which as we know are much worse for you than the cheese in which you dip them. Baking won-ton wrappers is super-easy and you can season them however you want! These are GREAT with the pico de gallo recipe that you can find on our humble little blog. :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 package of won-ton wrappers
Cooking spray
Whatever spices/salt/pepper you want

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place won-ton wrappers on cookie sheet and bake for 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven, turn over, and spray with cooking spray. Season with spices or dried/fresh herbs of your choice. Return to oven for 4-5 minutes until they are bubbly and as crispy as you want them.

Serve with pico de gallo, other salsa, or just by themselves!

Grilled Chicken and Key Lime Salsa

I've taken a break from posting for awhile - mostly because I am now eating healthfully and so many of my previous recipes no longer qualify as something that I can eat on a regular basis. Sad, but true. However, this new healthy initiative has enabled me to find some truly delightful recipes that taste good and are much better for you. For example, this delicious grilled chicken with salsa. I was even surprised at how awesome the salsa was. In fact, I would recommend just making this salsa and eating it on chips. Or baked won-ton wrappers. Anyway, enjoy the party in your mouth!

GRILLED CHICKEN AND KEY LIME SALSA
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 C Worcestershire sauce
3 T fresh lime juice from Key limes (or if you are lazy, from the plastic lime bottle)
3 medium oranges, sectioned, with pith and seeds removed
2 T scallions, chopped
1 T cilantro, chopped
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tsp chopped green chiles or more to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine Worcestershire sauce, 3 T of lime juice and chicken in a Ziploc bag. Refrigerate up to 4 hours.
2. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in a medium-sized bowl to make salsa. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.
3. Preheat grill or broiler. Grill or broil chicken until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side. Serve chicken with salsa.

Kira's Notes: No, I did not buy Key limes to juice for this recipe. Because I am (1) lazy and (2) cheap. And guess what? It tasted amazing with lime juice from the lime-shaped bottle. Also, I think I may have added more scallions and cilantro than the recipe called for. I also used cayenne pepper for heat in the salsa instead of the chopped green chiles because again, I am lazy. Marinating this for 3-4 hours would probably be perfect. I only had time to let mine marinate for an hour or so and it was good, but the flavor wasn't as good as it would have been with more time in the sauce and lime juice. I also cut up the orange slices into smaller chunks.

Cranberry Salsa

Although my rule is that I have to actually make something before posting, I am breaking that rule for this delightful cranberry salsa that my Aunt Joan made for Thanksgiving this year. I am GOING to make it, probably this week, but since the recipe is still in my wallet from Thanksgiving and I'm avoiding work, I will go ahead and post anyway! I have already shared this recipe with like 50 people - I actually passed it around at my YMCA Group Exercise training last week. Yikes!

This is awesome with tortilla chips and I think it would also be delightful paired with pork roast or potentially even baked chicken (depending).

CRANBERRY SALSA
From Joan Hill

Ingredients:
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 C sugar
1 C water
2 jalapenos, diced (seeds are optional, only if you want to bring the heat)
2 bunches green onions, sliced
1 t cumin
1 T lime juice
2 T diced cilantro

Directions:

Cook berries with sugar and water until skins pop. Add remaining. Mix it up until it looks like salsa. :)

UPDATE: I have now made this and I can say FOR SURE that it is ridiculously easy to make. And it's pretty! Enjoy.

Pico de Gallo

This summer, desperate for a twist on my super-easy pico de gallo (4 ingredients, you know what they are) I started looking for a slightly different take on the traditional pico. But I didn't want it to be TOO different. None of that "made with basil" pico garbage. I ended up finding my recipe in a WONDERFUL cookbook by Mark Bittman - How to Cook Everything. He isn't kidding about the everything. If you need a reference cookbook, it's a great choice. I need a reference cookbook because anytime I go outside of my chicken comfort zone, I have no idea what I'm doing. Mark helps me through those trying times.

I served this pico for the first time at our annual 4th of July party. It was gone in about 3 minutes, so I'm guessing that meant it was good? Anyway, it's not too tough - although the chopping scallions part is rough on eyes - but the reward is worth the onion trauma! I wish I had a picture because this stuff is gorgeous. Maybe next time I make it I will take one - if I don't eat it all first.


PICO DE GALLO
from How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman

Ingredients:

2 C cored, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped tomatoes
1 C minced chopped scallions (preferred), onion, or a combination
1/2 t minced garlic
2 T freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 stemmed and minced jalapeno or hot red chiles, or to taste, or cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes to taste
1/2 C minced fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

1. Combine first six ingredients, then taste and see whether you want to add more salt, pepper, or chiles. Stir in about half of the cilantro, then set aside for 1 hour, or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.
2. Taste and adjust seasoning, garnish with remaining cilantro, and serve.

Kira's Notes:

I used Roma tomatoes - I like them better. I would also go with the scallions - it sucks to chop them all up but don't worry, it's totally worth it in the end! I go a little longer on the garlic than Mark indicates. The first time I made this I think I used not jalapenos. But it was still very tasty...basically, you just can't screw up this pico. So throw in whatever you like.