Thai Crab Rangoon Bites

I made these delicious Thai Crab Rangoon Bites for a party that we attended last weekend. When I saw the recipe in the newest edition of Pampered Chef's "Season's Best", I knew immediately that I would try it. It's a pretty appetizer that is easy to prepare (although it presents like it took more effort to make than it actually does) and it combines the Thai flavors that I love so much with yummy crabmeat. It was definitely a hit at the party! I took home an empty plate and have been answering email requests for the recipe.

I prepared the filling a day in advance and toted it in a cooler to my in-laws house in Indiana where we were spending the weekend. I definitely recommend this make-ahead approach for speedy assembly on the day of a party.

I began by grating a lime with my awesome Microplane Grater.

Then I halved, seeded, and chopped a serrano pepper. These peppers may be tiny, but they can really "pack a punch", hence the removal of the seeds.

I started the filling by combining ingredients in a bowl: the chopped pepper, some chopped green onion, the grated lime, soy sauce, and Thai Red Curry Paste or Thai Red Curry Rub.

Then I added in a can of drained crab meat and a block of softened cream cheese (I used the reduced fat version). Stir until everything is completely blended. If making this ahead, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Place 30 frozen prepared mini phyllo shells on a baking sheet and then divide the filling evenly between the tiny, fluted cups.

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees and then top with cilantro. You can drizzle with sweet and sour sauce if desired OR serve the sauce on the side for dipping.

So easy and so good!

Oh, and if you're counting calories, 1 Crab Rangoon Bite is just 40 calories! Gotta love that....

Thai Crab Rangoon Bites adapted from The Pampered Chef Spring/Summer 2011 Season's Best recipe collection

Ingredients:
2 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1 serrano pepper
1 lime, zested
8 oz (250 g) reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), softened
1 tbsp (15 mL) Thai Red Curry Rub
1 tsp (5 mL) reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 can (6 oz/175 g) crabmeat (with leg meat), drained and patted dry
2 pkg (1.9 oz/54 g each) frozen prepared mini phyllo shells (30 shells total)
fresh cilantro and Sweet & Sour Sauce (optional), for garnish and drizzle/dipping.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Thinly slice onions using Utility Knife. Finely chop serrano using Food Chopper. Zest lime using Microplane® Grater(Set aside lime for another use.) Combine cream cheese, onions, serrano, zest, curry rub and soy sauce in Classic Batter Bowl; mix well using Small Mix ‘N Scraper®. Gently fold in crabmeat.
Arrange phyllo cups on Large Bar Pan. Divide filling evenly into shells using Adjustable Measuring Spoon (about 2 tsp/10 mL per shell). Bake 8–10 minutes or until filling is hot. Remove pan from oven to a Cooling Rack. Sprinkle cups with finely chopped cilantro and drizzle with sauce, if desired
Yield: 15 servings

Nutrients per serving: (2 appetizers): Calories 80, Total Fat 5 g, Saturated Fat 2 g, Cholesterol 20 mg, Carbohydrate 6 g, Protein 3 g, Sodium 180 mg, Fiber 0 g

Cook’s Tips: Use the smaller Adjustable Measuring Spoon to help portion the crab filling into the phyllo shells.

© 2011 The Pampered Chef used under license.

Crock Pot Arroz con Pollo

While my post for Arroz con Pollo (Spanish for "rice with chicken") coincides with Cinco de Mayo, I hadn't actually planned this post for the holiday. It just happened to be dinner last night.  Arroz con Pollo is a dish that is popular throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, but not necessarily in Mexico. So while this probably wouldn't count as a traditional Mexican dish, the flavors were on par with our Mexican food favorites. This accidentally turned out to be a timely meal for the date...

While I have had my share of Mexican dinners and perhaps a Corona or two in the past on the 5th of May, I'd never bothered to find out the details of the celebration. I always thought that Cinco de Mayo was Mexican Independence Day. I was incorrect in this assumption. This day in Mexican history commemorates their army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The "real" Mexican Independence Day is celebrated on September 16th. Of course, had the Mexican army been defeated on that May 5th in 1862 they would have become a French colony, so the date is quite important to Mexico's independence. From what I've read, Cinco de Mayo is only celebrated in certain regions of Mexico, opposed to here in the United States, where the celebration is widespread and used as a marketing ploy to draw large margarita-seeking crowds to dine in (or on the patios of) Mexican restaurants. Not that I'm complaining...any excuse to eat Mexican food is fine by me. I'm certainly a fan!

Speaking of being a fan, my whole family enjoyed this meal. I have wanted to try Arroz con Pollo for some time, but when I found this crock pot version on the Ladies Home Journal website, I knew that this was the time to give it a try! I'm certainly not an expert on Arroz con Pollo, but I would guess that this version does take some creative liberties, thus deviating from the traditional dish. Since I'm not a stickler for tradition when it comes to cooking,  I thought that this meal was delicious! My family even  happily polished off the leftovers for lunch today. That's a victory, for sure!

Here's how it came together:

I began with about 4 pounds of bone-in, split chicken breast halves.

I mixed together the recommended spices: oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. In addition to "regular" chili powder, I also stirred in some Ancho chili powder. I sprinkled half of the spice mixture onto the chicken.

Then, I heated some oil in a skillet and browned the chicken on both sides.

While the chicken browned, I pureed a can of diced tomatoes (I used Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles), an onion, garlic, a chipotle chili in adobo sauce, and the remaining spice blend using my immersion blender. A regular blender or food processor would work great for this too. I just prefer my Cuisinart CSB-76BC SmartStick 200-Watt Immersion Hand Blender, Brushed Chrome...less mess!

I placed the browned chicken breast halves into the crock pot, topped them with the sauce, and poured on some chicken broth. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 hours on low or 2 to 2-1/2 hours on high.

Then stir in 1-1/2 cups of instant rice. Cover and cook on high for another 30 minutes. (I let this cook an extra hour and the rice came out on the mushy side).

Before serving, stir in some frozen peas, un-plug the crock pot, and let it sit, covered for another 15 minutes.

Serve the dish with halved cherry tomatoes, cilantro, and lime wedges. I completely forgot to slice the limes for this, but it definitely would've been great with a little squeeze of lime. I especially loved the cozy, slightly spicy flavors in this dish with the fresh bites of tomato and cilantro. Chicken and rice = Arroz con Pollo = comfort food!

Arroz con Pollo (Slow Cooker version) from LHJ.com

Makes: 6 servings

Prep: 25 minutes
Start to Finish: 6 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients
6 small skinless bone-in chicken breast halves (about 4 pounds)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 small onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 garlic cloves
1/2 chipotle chile (from canned chipotle in adobo sauce)
1 can (14 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 cups instant rice
1-1/2 cups frozen peas
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro lime wedges, for serving
Directions
1. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Combine oregano, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle half of spice mixture over chicken and rub in with fingers; set remaining aside.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add chicken and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker.

3. Place canned tomatoes, onion, garlic, chipotle and remaining spice mixture in a blender. Cover and blend until almost smooth; pour over chicken. Add broth.

4. Cover and cook, 4 to 5 hours on low or 2 to 2-1/2 hours on high. Gently stir in rice, cover and cook on high, stirring once, 30 minutes. Turn cooker off, stir in peas, cover and let stand 15 minutes.

5. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and toss with cilantro; serve over chicken and rice with lime wedges on the side.

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 6 servingsCalories380, Total Fat (g)5, Saturated Fat (g)1, Cholesterol (mg)110, Sodium (mg)650, Carbohydrate (g)31, Fiber (g)3, Protein (g)49, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Notes: I used Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles in place of plain diced tomatoes and added in some Ancho chili powder with my "regular" chili powder. It yielded a "spicier" rice, which my family enjoyed.

Instant rice was a great quick-fix for this recipe, but I see no reason why you couldn't add "regular" long grain rice or brown rice at the beginning of the recipe for the same result.

Candy Bar Cookie Cups

Luckily, my weekend visit to Indiana coincided with the monthly dinner club meeting. I posted HERE about dinner club last summer. A group of our college friends formed this club that meets for themed dinners in which each couple contributes a dish or two. Once a month, our friends gather together to catch up, reminisce, swap stories about our growing families, pour drinks, sample the recipes, and laugh into the night. My husband and I live too far away to make a regular appearance so it's always a treat when we can make it back for one of these parties.

I realized that no one was bringing a dessert to this meeting around the time my car crossed the Indiana State Line on Friday night. While I am usually happy to make one more recipe, I knew that Saturday would be a busy day filled with preparing for a scheduled Pampered Chef party, presenting the cooking show, cleaning up, and making the two appetizers that I had already planned to bring to dinner club. I needed to find a recipe that was quick and easy, yet spectacular. These decadent cookie cups certainly fit the bill!

I adapted this dessert from a recipe for Secret-Center Cookie Cups that I had seen on the Pillsbury website. Using prepared cookie dough, bite-sized candy bars, and frosting from a tub, these were so fast and simple to make!

First, I unwrapped 24 bite-sized Snickers bars. You can use any bite-sized, chocolate-covered nougat and caramel candy bar for this recipe. Then, I divided a tube of prepared peanut butter cookie dough into 24 pieces. I pressed the candy into the cookie dough in the palm of my hand, then rolled the dough between my hands to cover the candy bar and form a ball.

I dropped the dough-covered candies into my mini-muffin pan and baked for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Remove the muffin pan from the oven and place on a cooling rack. While still warm, use a mini-tart shaper to make an indentation in the top of each cookie cup. Then take the cookie cups out of the tin and place on a the rack to cool completely.

To finish, I used my Easy Accent Decorator to pipe prepared chocolate fudge frosting onto the top of each cookie cup.

Candy Bar Cookie Cups adapted from Pillsbury.com

1 roll refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough
24 miniature milk chocolate-covered nougat and caramel candy bars (about 1-inch square), unwrapped (I used Snickers)
1 container (1 lb) chocolate creamy ready-to-spread frosting

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 375°F. For each cookie cup, wrap a heaping teaspoonful cookie dough around 1 candy bar, enclosing it almost completely and forming a ball. Place the cookies in a mini muffin pan. Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until golden brow. Gently press a shallow well into the center of each cookie cup using a mini-tart shaper. Cool 1 minute. Remove to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes. Spoon about 3/4 cup frosting into an Easy Accent Decorator or a pastry bag with a star tip. Pipe frosting on top of each cookie cup.

The Meal Plan and Grocery List 5/2- 5/8

I am having the hardest time keeping this blog updated lately! Between Pampered Chef parties (you can shop my personal website HERE), teaching evening cooking classes, writing a weekly food column for a local publication, my daughters' activities, and yard work I can barely find the time to type a post. So this week, I'm recycling this meal plan from last May. That's right! It's May! Hooray! Let's just hope the weather starts acting like it....

This week I am going to try a new Arroz con Pollo recipe in the crock pot, plus I hope to post the recipes for Thai Crab Rangoon, Cantonese Dim Sum Rolls, and some "Secret Center" cookie cups that I made for a party over the weekend. Stay tuned for those recipes soon.

In the meantime, here's the plan!

Monday May 2nd

Crock Pot Beef Tacos

Tuesday May 3rd

BLT in a Bowl Soup
Texas Toast

Wednesday May 4th

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Leftover BLT Soup or Taco Soup

Thursday May 5th

Chicken Divan

Friday May 6th

Bacon Onion and Mushroom Pizza

Saturday May 7th

Beef on a Stick
Fried Rice

Sunday May 8th

Leftovers


Grocery List

Produce
Lettuce
Tomato
6 oz. bag baby spinach
Lemon
Garlic
3 onions
Mushrooms
Flat leaf parsley
Ginger

Meat
3-4 lb. beef roast
Bacon
2 1/2 lbs. Boneless, skinless
chicken breast
1 boneless beef top sirloin
steak
3 oz. deli ham

Dairy
shredded cheese for tacos
Flour tortillas
Grated Parmesan
American cheese singles
Butter
6 oz. white cheddar
11 oz. French bread dough
3 eggs

Canned Goods
2 cans tomato soup
Banana pepper rings
1 can cream of chicken soup
Mayonnaise
1 jar salsa
Soy sauce
Rice vinegar
Hoisin sauce
Oil
Honey
Cider vinegar
Worcestershire sauce
Toasted Sesame Oil

Dry Goods
3 packets taco seasoning
Bread (for grilled cheese)
Curry powder
Bread crumbs
Brown sugar
Corn meal
Jasmin or basamati rice
Sugar

Freezer
6-8 oz. cheese tortellini
Garlic bread or Texas Toast
10-16 oz. broccoli cuts

I hope that you all have a wonderful week!

Jalapeno Popper Cups

I found this twist on the standard, deep-fried jalapeno popper on the Pillsbury website. These Jalapeno Popper Cups turned out to be a huge hit on the appetizer table at the Easter dinner that we attended. Guests snatched them all off of the plate within 20 minutes of our arrival at the party. Next time, I will double the recipe....

This recipe was really simple. It came together in 15 minutes or less.

To begin, mix the filling ingredients: diced green chiles,shredded cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, bacon, and dried minced onion. I stirred the ingredients all together with my Pampered Chef Mix n' Scraper. I love this multi-purpose tool. It's perfect for both stirring and scraping. No need to wash both a spoon and a rubber spatula when you've got a Mix n' Scraper!

Then pop open a tube of Pillsbury Grands Jr. Golden Layer Biscuits. (The smaller-sized Jr. biscuits happen to be the perfect size for a mini-muffin tin.)

Separate each biscuit into halves.

Press each half into a mini muffin tin using your fingers or a mini-tart shaper.

Fill the cups with a heaping teaspoonful of the filling.

Then top each cup with a slice of jalapeno pepper.

Bake at 375 degrees for 13-19 minutes. Remove from the muffin tin and cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. And that's it! A no-fuss, crowd-pleasing appetizer in minutes!

Jalapeno Popper Cups from Pillsbury

INGREDIENTS:
1 can (12 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Jr. Golden Layers® refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles, drained
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)
1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 tablespoons cooked real bacon pieces (from 3- to 4.3-oz jar or package)
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
20 Old El Paso® pickled jalapeño slices (from 12-oz jar), drained

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 375°F. Separate each biscuit into 2 rounds. Press 1 round in bottom and up side of each of 20 ungreased mini muffin cups.
In small bowl, mix remaining ingredients except jalapeño slices. Spoon heaping 1 teaspoon mixture into each cup; top each with 1 jalapeño slice.
Bake 13 to 19 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from pan to serving platter; let stand 5 minutes. Serve warm.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft):
Bake 16 to 22 minutes.

Nutritional Information:
1 Serving (1 Appetizer)Calories 100(Calories from Fat 60),Total Fat 6g(Saturated Fat 1 1/2g,Trans Fat 1g),Cholesterol 5mg;Sodium 290mg;Total Carbohydrate 8g(Dietary Fiber 0g,Sugars 1g),Protein 2g;Percent Daily Value*:Vitamin A 0.00%;Vitamin C 2.00%;Calcium 0.00%;Iron 4.00%;Exchanges:1/2 Starch;0 Fruit;0 Other Carbohydrate;0 Skim Milk;0 Low-Fat Milk;0 Milk;0 Vegetable;0 Very Lean Meat;0 Lean Meat;0 High-Fat Meat;1 Fat;Carbohydrate Choices:1/2;*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

* Instead of pre-prepared bacon, I used 2 bacon strips, fried crispy and crumbled.