Super Bowl Food

OK - so we didn't watch the Super Bowl or have a party but this is what we had for dinner last night. I got the recipe from Family Fun Magazine. I decided to make some Lettuce Wraps to go with it - a recipe that I got from another blog (sorry can't remember which one). I was sure my soup was going to be better than the lettuce wraps cause I knew they couldn't stand up to P.F. Changs. I was wrong! The soup was good but the lettuce wraps were great! I assumed that my kids would turn their noses up at the lettuce so I just dished them up a pile of rice and meat. When CMH saw how the adults were eating, with the good stuff all wrapped up in a big lettuce leaf, he was intrigued and wanted to give it a try. He loved it! Wow - I was shocked. It actually ended up being a very kid friendly dinner. And the lettuce wraps are a seriously low fat meal!

Here are both recipes. Have your kids help you fold the wontons - they'll have so much fun. Enjoy.

PS - the beautiful bowl in the picture is one in a set my MIL got for me last year when she went to Japan. I love them.


Wonton Soup

For the soup:
5 C chicken broth
2 C water
4 thin slices of fresh ginger
5 bok choy leaves (I don't love bok choy but this is mostly for color - it doesn't taste strongly at all cut thinly in this soup)
pepper

For the wontons:
1/2 lb. ground pork
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 Tb. fresh minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tb. plus 1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cornstarch
35-40 wonton wrappers

Combine the broth, water and ginger slices. Cover and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat and let it sit. Wash the bok choy and cut into thin slices, set aside.

Combine all ingredients for the wontons, except the wrappers. Mix well (I used my hands). Remove wontons from their package but keep covered so they don't dry out. To assemble the wontons: with your finger, wet all 4 edges of the wrapper. Put a teaspoon of the filling in the center and fold it over to look like a triangle. Make sure edges are sealed no air is left inside. Take the two bottom corners and pinch them together with a little water. Put finished wontons on a cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap until you are ready to use them.

Bring your broth back to a boil. Add the wontons a few at a time, keeping the broth at a low boil. Cook for 7 minutes. Open a wonton to make sure the meat is cooked through. Add the bok choy and cook for another 3 minutes. Add pepper to taste. When serving, remove the sliced of ginger from the broth and discard.


Lettuce Wraps

1 lb. ground turkey
1 Tb. soy sauce
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
(I added a splash of rice vinegar and about 2 Tb. brown sugar)

Cooked rice - white or brown
Lettuce leaves

Optional veggies (diced or shredded):
carrots
green onion
cucumbers
avocado
red bell pepper
radishes

Heat up your skillet and add turkey. Add your seasonings and brown a little. At this point I added chopped crimini mushrooms. You can also add chopped water chestnuts if you like - but I would put them in at the end.

To serve, take a lettuce leaf and spoon in some meat, rice and any veggies that you like. drizzle with the dipping sauce (or you can dip it) and eat. Watch out - it gets messy! But it's so yummy.

Diping sauce #1
1/3 C soy sauce
1/3 C water
3 Tb. lemon juice
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tb. ginger root (fresh or dried?)
1 tsp. sugar

Dipping sauce #2 (I used this one from a P.F. Chang's knock-off recipe)
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C water
2 Tb. soy sauce
2 Tb. rice wine vinegar (is rice vinegar the same? That's what I used)
2-3 Tb ketchup
1 Tb. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tb. hot mustard(I used regular and was just going to add Tapatio if it needed it)
1-2 tsp. red chile past with garlic - this is good stuff!
Dissolve the sugar in the water and then add all of the rest of the ingredients - putting in the mustard last. (Mix a liitle of the sauce with the mustard and then add it so it doesn't just stay in clumps in the sauce.) It will be very thin. I added a little more of this and that to my taste - you can do the same.