Free Recipe Wednesday! (Sausage Wonton Stars)

It's that time of the week.  Free Recipe Wednesday is here!  Today's recipe is for Sausage Wonton Stars.  These are delicious and simple to make.  The picture below is some that I made without any of the veggies in it.  They're good both way.  A co-worker brought these to one of our monthly "food days" and since then I've made them for several family get-togethers.  They're a big hit that I get requests for a lot.  Give them a try and you'll see what I mean!  Enjoy!

Coming soon: Thai Xpress Review (Shrimp/Crab fried rice and Thai Sweet Iced Tea)!

Sausage Wonton Stars

• 1 pkg (12oz) Wonton Wrappers
• 1 lb Bulk Pork Sausage
• 2 cups (8oz) Shredded Colby Cheese
• ½ Medium Green Pepper, chopped
• ½ Medium Sweet Red Pepper, chopped
• 2 bunches green onions, sliced
• ½ cup Ranch Salad Dressing

Lightly press wonton wrappers onto the bottom and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes or until edges are browned.

In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in cheese, peppers, onions, and salad dressing. Spoon a rounded tablespoonful into each wonton cup. Bake for 6-7 minutes or until heated through. Yield: about 4 dozen.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (3 each) equals 215 calories, 14g fat (5g saturated fat), 27mg cholesterol, 384mg sodium, 14g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 8g protein.

Free Recipe Wednesday! (Mexican Corn Dip)

Over the years I have collected many recipes.  Some are recipes I've found and tried, some are recipes I've found but have yet to try, and some are recipes of dishes that co-workers have brought in to work that I really enjoyed.

With that being said, starting today I will be adding a new feature to my blog which I am calling "Free Recipe Wednesday".  If everything works according to plan I will be posting a new free recipe every Wednesday.  If I happen to have a picture to go along with it I will post that as well.

Today's recipe is a Mexican Corn Dip that I discovered in a community newsletter years ago.  I made this dip for our monthly "food day" where I work and it's been a big hit.  I get requests for this often and it's so simple to make.  This is a great "picnic" or "family reunion" type of dish but is great for all occasions.  Enjoy and please let me know what you think if you make it!

Mexican Corn Dip

• 36oz corn, drained (about 2 ½ cans of corn)
• 1 can chopped green chilies
• 1 or 2 whole jalapenos, seeded and chopped
• 10 oz Sharp Cheddar (or American) cheese, shredded
• (NOT the finely shredded stuff)
• 6 thin green onions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 cup sour cream
• ¾ cup REAL mayonnaise
• Optional: 1 cup chopped walnuts (this is from the original recipe – I’ve never tried it)

Combine all ingredients well in a large bowl. The dip is better if chilled overnight or for several hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

Deep Fried Goodness!

So not long ago I was watching a show on Food Network - I believe is was a Unique Eats episode - and they were talking about this restaurant that deep fried everything.  They even talked about some of the things they have tried to deep fry in the past that weren't so successful.  After watching this I began to wonder just what types of deep fried foods are out there that I haven't tried.  I knew there was probably a lot but I was surprised and some of the uniquely odd deep fried foods I found.  Below are some pictures of what I found.  Some I have heard about and tried before and some I hadn't.  Some that sound intriguing and some not so much.  If you've ever tried any of these or have tried some interesting deep fried food that I don't have listed here, please comment and let us know.

The popular fair favorite Deep Fried Twinkie

Deep Fried Cheeseburger

Deep Fried Cadbury Creme Egg

Deep Fried Guacamole

Deep Fried Mac and Cheese Bites

Another fair favorite Deep Fried Oreos

Deep Fried PB&J Sandwich

Deep Fried Pizza

Deep Fried Hot Dogs (AKA Rippers)

Deep Fried Snickers

Deep Fried Spaghetti

Deep Fried Pickles

Deep Fried Sausage Wrapped Egg

Deep Fried Coca Cola

The Taco Wagon

If you're a lover of food, or happen to live on the west coast, you're probably familiar with the new Food Truck craze.  For those who are unaware, these are mobile trucks that travel to different locations to bring the food to the customer and serve it right from the truck.  Out west in California there are tons of these trucks that serve a great variety of food from all nationalities and they use Twitter or other social networking sites to post where they are going to be serving food that day.  Now here in Missouri it's not quite that popular but slowly catching on.  Here in Springfield we have one such truck called The Taco Wagon and my wife Laura and I decided to try it for the first time last night.  I ordered a large quesadilla (seen below) with Pastor in it.  Now this was my first time trying Pastor and I'm glad I did.  Pastor is basically shredded pork that has been marinated and cooked in seasonings and has small chunks of pineapple in it as well.  It's delicious and very unique. The quesadilla was massive and reasonably priced ($4 + $2.50 for the meat) for what you get.  The large quesadilla was huge and probably consisted of 8-10 "wedges".  I recall getting to the bottom and thinking "OK, this has got to be the last one" and then sure enough there was another wedge hiding underneath that one.  Now I'm a big 6'2" guy that can put away some serious food but this thing was a lot!  I think next time I'll probably just have the small quesadilla.

My wife decided to play it safe and ordered a small chicken quesadilla and a "walking taco".  Now I think this "walking taco" (seen below) is an ingenious idea.  Basically they take a small bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, open it up, and add whatever meat you want plus cheese, onions, sour cream etc and serve it to you that way.  Now I've made my own taco salads using Doritos before but never directly in the bag.  It's super convenient and not to mention it's a great way of portioning food for those who might be watching their waistline. The price for the small quesadilla was $1 less that the large I ordered and the "walking taco" was $2.50 which I think is the perfect price.

Overall we both enjoyed the food a lot and also enjoyed the unique experience of ordering food from a food truck.  In addition to what we ordered they also have regular tacos and burritos as well as beverages including Mexican imported Jarritos soda.  We will definitely be going back to The Taco Wagon again and I think I'll go for the burrito next time.

Welcome!

Welcome to my food blog!  I know there are a lot of these food blogs out on the internet. The main difference between my blog and most of the others is that rather than focusing on one aspect of food - such as critiquing restaurants, posting recipes, etc - my blog will cover anything and everything food related.  One day I might post pictures and thoughts about a certain dish I tried at a restaurant and the next day I might post a picture and/or recipe of something I've made myself.  As a big fan of smoking meats, you're likely to see posts about my smoking experiences... especially since it's that time of year again.  Chinese food is another favorite of mine.  I live in Springfield, Missouri - where Cashew Chicken was invented - and we have a large number of Chinese restaurants as well as an ever increasing number of Japanese restaurants and a few Thai restaurants.  I have also started growing my own vegetables and this year I'm going to attempt growing jalapenos along with my tomatoes so I'll likely post about that experience as well. In general, I'm a lover of just about every kind of food imaginable so who knows what I might post.  There are multiple methods to subscribe to my blog (to the right) so please subscribe and keep updated. Thanks for visiting!