Super Bowl Fondue

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Last night was the Super Bowl...I'm sure most of you readers knew that...but for those who live under a rock, yes, last night was the Super Bowl.  In the Miller household we usually watch the game and snack on...well, snackies.  (That's what we like to call hors d'oeuvres.  I know, we're just not the cultured family you thought us to be!)  So for the past week, I've been trying to come up with some yummy snackies, and not just the usual things like smokies, smokies with bacon, veggies/dip, bean dip, etc.  But something different.  And I thought... and thought... and thought...  and thought...  and thought...  You get the picture.  And then I had a great idea!  Fondue!  Something different, something yummy, something fun!  I mean, come one...fondue is FUN!  My menu consisted of cheese fondue, homemade bread and meatballs, chocolate fondue and fresh fruit and then French onion dip and chips and assorted veggies.  Yummy, right?

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I don't know if I've mentioned this or not...Jeff is kind of...well...picky.  The cat's out of the bag.  Jeff is a picky eater!  I knew I needed a fondue recipe that didn't include wine or beer, which most cheese fondues include.  So I scoured allrecipes.com and found a few yummy looking cheese fondues that didn't include wine or beer as an ingredient.  I combined some ideas and created my own cheese fondue.  I thought it was good, so did JP.  However, it earned a TLS rating from Jeff.  It was thick, cheesy, but not stringy.  Great flavor, I thought.  But anywho... a TLS (Tastes Like Sh**)  But that's not the point of this post.  The point is, I made an awesome chocolate fondue!

Diane

A little over a year ago, a friend and I went over to a coworker's house for an evening of KState football and dinner.  My coworker, Diane, made fondue and it was fabulous!  And fun!  The chocolate fondue was to die for!  So I asked her for the recipe...which I followed, but then modified (there are very few things that I made that I follow the recipe exactly!)  The chocolate fondue was FANTASTIC and it didn't earn a TLS rating.  It was thick, creamy and chocolaty without being overly sweet.

 Chocolate Fondue
2 cups Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 squares (2 oz) unsweetened baking chocolate
1/4 c. sugar
1 cup half and half
1/2 t. vanilla

Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan.  Over low heat, melt together.  Stir often to combine.  Keep warm and serve with fresh fruit, marshmallows, angel food cake, etc.  (I just used fruit...fresh pineapple, oranges, apples, grapes and bananas.  I didn't use fresh strawberries, although they would have been great had they not been half moldy and $3.99 for a small box!  The pineapples and oranges were the best!)  Enjoy~

And so it was a great evening (even if the cheese fondue flopped!)  The Packers won and the Chocolate Fondue was a hit!  :)

http://www.packers.com/media-center/photo-gallery/Super-Bowl-XLV

Egg Rolls

They look good, don't they??

 JP and I decided to have sushi (aka California roll) and egg rolls tonight for supper.  I love egg rolls.  They are so yummy, but oh so loaded in fat and calories.  But not these!  They are made with turkey and are baked!  They taste a little different from ones that are fried, but they are very good in their own right.  I'm not going to post the recipe I used for the California roll.  The picture looks better than they tasted.  They were very bland and chewy, not at all like what we buy in the store.  Almost a TLS recipe but not quite.

On to the Egg Rolls!  This is not a quick recipe...it will take 30-40 minutes to make them, and another 10-14 minutes to bake.  But don't let that stop you!

Baked Egg Rolls

1/2 pound ground turkey breast
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 inch piece of ginger, grated
4 green onions, thinly sliced (use the white, pale green and some of the green part)
1 can of bean spouts, drained or 8 oz. fresh bean sprouts
1/2 bag of shredded cabbage (made for cole slaw) or 1/2 head of cabbage, shredded
1 small bag of shredded carrots or 4 carrots, shredded
2 T. sesame oil
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. fish sauce
2 T. oyster sauce
1/4 t. pepper
2 T. corn starch
2 T. cold water

1 package egg roll wrappers
1 small dish of cold water


In a large pan, brown the turkey.  The meat needs to be in small pieces, so break up any large pieces.  Add the cabbage, carrots, green onions, garlic, ginger and pepper.  Cook for 3 min on medium heat.  Stir the soy, fish and oyster sauce together.  Add the corn starch and water and mix well.  Push the meat mixture to one side in the pan.  Pour the liquid into the free area of the pan.  Stir well until thickened.  Turn off the heat and stir all of the thickened liquid and meat mixture together.


Preheat the oven to 400*.  Spray a baking pan with cooking spray.  Moisten 2 paper towels with cold water.  You will use 1 moistened paper towel to cover the egg rolls you make, and the other one will cover the stack of egg roll wrappers.  This will keep the egg roll wrappers pliable.  


Follow the directions on the egg roll wrapper package to fill the egg rolls.  You will need to use a scant 1/3 cup of the filling for each egg roll.  Use the small dish of cold water to seal the egg rolls.  


One they are all rolled, remove the damp paper towel and spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray.  Place in the oven and cook for 10-14 minutes.  The egg rolls should be lightly browned.  Enjoy!

What's Cooking at Jen's House?

I've decided to create a new blog...as if I don't have enough on my plate right now...oh wow, my first pun. Get it? Plate? Cooking? Smile if you get it! Anyways, why start a new blog?? Well, I love cooking, reading cookbooks, finding new recipes and experimenting with recipes. Some recipes have become family favorites, but others...well, Jeff likes to call those recipes TLS. Yes, TLS. Tastes Like S***. But this blog isn't about TLS recipes, it's about good recipes. Every time I take food someplace...a potluck, a BBQ, Bunco night, work, family get-togethers...you get the picture, well, someone always asks for a recipe. So I thought I'd share my recipes, my kitchen stories and the craziness I call my life.

Enjoy the recipes, the stories and the fun you have...whether you make the recipes or just read my adventures. Savor the experience. Oh, and there's the second pun of the blog. :)

Enjoy~