I had some canned salmon on hand that I had absolutely NO idea of what to do with.   I'd never really eaten it before, so wasn't really sure how you were suppose to prepare it, or what you were really even supposed to do to it.    So, I went online to search of course!   I found this recipe at Cooks.com.  I adjusted it to use the ingredients I had on hand, and to suit my taste buds. 

The base mix tasted like it might actually be pretty good as it was, on a warmed roll or bread perhaps.  Or even as a dip for crackers.  So I'll have to keep that in mind for the other can of salmon I have in there!


Ingredients:

for the cakes:
1 can of salmon (mine was about 15oz)
1 egg
1/4 cup light sour cream
1-2 tablespoons minced onion (or 1 small onion, minced- I was too lazy to cut one up)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

for the breading:
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used Progresso's Italian flavor)
1 teaspoon dill


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F.

Combine all of the cake ingredients in a bowl.  Mix well.  Form into small cakes- it should make 8 small cakes. 

Combine the bread crumbs and dill in a shallow bowl.  Mix thoroughly.  Roll the cakes in the crumb mix, or hold the cake in your hand and liberally sprinkle the mix over the cakes (which is what I did).  

Place on a baking sheet.  If it is not a non-stick pan, coat with a thin layer of cooking spray.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden.

  I love this mix.  It was super easy to make (once you melted the chocolate right), and can be adapted to fit ANY holiday or occasion. Simply add color!   It says you can melt the chocolate in the microwave, but this did not work for me.  It was too clumpy to drizzle.  I melted it on the stove and it was fantastic. 

For Christmas, I used Christmas themed M&Ms, and green and red food coloring.  Adapt candies and colors to suit the current holiday or theme.  One of these I saw even substitued red hots for the M&Ms!   Be creative!


Ingredients:

8 cups air popped popcorn (plain)
2 cups (approx.) pretzels (can be twists or sticks)
1/2 cup M&Ms or desired candies
1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts (or any nut of choice)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate or milk chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
milk as needed
Sea salt
food coloring in desired colors
sprinkles as wanted


Directions:

  First off, I dipped my pretzels in melted chocolate and rolled them in sprinkles for added festivity.  You can do this step, or not.  It's totally up to you.  It was fun for the kids. 
  Melt chocolate over low heat on stovetop.  If using the white, you can add food coloring or leave it white.  Once melted, dip half of the pretzel into the chocolate.  Place on wax paper lined baking sheet.  If desired, cover with sprinkles.  Do this while chocolate is still sticky!  Let dry. 

Layer a wax-paper lined baking sheet with popcorn.  Sprinkle evenly with roasted nuts and candies.  Melt chocolate chips over low heat on stovetop.  I had to add a bit of milk to mine to get a thin enough consistancy to drizzle.  Drizzle over popcorn mix.  Do the same with the white chocolate, adding food coloring if desired.  Drizzle over popcorn mixture.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  If desired, add sprinkles and colored sugar. 

Once the chocolate drizzles have hardened, break the popcorn mix apart and add coated pretzels.  Store in an airtight container.

For today's post, I am going to share with you my most raved about recipe from Christmas dinner.  For those of you who have never watched South Park, you may not find the name nearly as humorous as some of us.  They are not at all what he describes, though one of these days I'll have to try those, too...

When I was making the colored ones, I did not have enough white chips, so I used a small handful of butterscotch chips, too.  It was awesome. 

The video, by the way, is not at all appropriate for work.  Or little ears.  Or around people who might be insulted or disgusted by it.  But it's funny, because he's talking about food... but he's not...

Chocolate Salty Balls

1 1/2 C pretzels

1/2 C creamy peanut butter  (I used about a large, heaping, humongous tablespoon more...)

1 Tbsp butter, softened

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3 Tbsp powdered sugar

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

For this round, I also used

white chocolate chips

red and green food colorings

and

various sprinkles

·         Crush pretzels into small bits.  I did this by putting them into a ziploc baggy and then pounding the crap out of them with a mallet.  I imagine a chopper would work, too...

·         In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and salt. Stir until all ingredients are completely blended and smooth.

·         Add pretzel bits to peanut butter mixture and mix thoroughly.  Add powdered sugar and mix again.

·         Prepare a chilling tray--a dinner plate covered with waxed paper works well.

·         Take about a teaspoon of the peanut butter pretzel mixture into your fingers and gently pat it into a ball with your fingertips.  If they start to stick to your fingers too much, run your hands under some cold water.  It helps.

·         Place the peanut butter balls onto the plate. When you have rolled all the balls, place the entire plate into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

·         After the peanut butter balls have chilled, prepare your chocolate. Pour the chocolate chips into a small microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. If needed, microwave for another 10 seconds and stir again. Continue until the chips are completely melted, which means they stir easily into smooth, fluid chocolate with no lumps.  If wanting to do colored balls, do it the same way, but with the white chips.  Drop food coloring into it a little at a time until desired shade.   I did some of each.

·         Place one peanut butter ball into the melted chocolate and gently roll it around with a fork until completely coated. Remove from the bowl with the fork and place back on the waxed paper plate. Repeat for all other balls.

·         Once all the peanut butter balls are coated in chocolate, return the plate to the refrigerator and chill another 30 minutes.

  A while back I had bought a package of gyoza wrappers.  They had been sitting in my freezer, and I happened upon them while going through looking for something-or-other.   I decided it was high time to use them, since I was currently in supply-o-plenty of cream cheese and spinach.  I already knew what I wanted to do with them- which, if you hadn't guessed- was fill them with cream cheese and spinach.  But, I wanted to bake them instead of fry them.  I hate frying stuff.  It's too greasy for my tummy.

  They turned out fabulous, by the way.  I had actually originally planned to serve them as appetizers during Christmas, but they were so good that my boyfriend and I scarfed them down as our breakfast instead.  A new tradition, maybe?  


Ingredients:

• an 8-oz block of cream cheese
• about 8-oz of spinach (mine was a 10-oz box of frozen, but I didn't use all of it)
• a couple of bunches of green onions, the whole thing chopped
• olive oil
• gyoza wrappers (I'm sure you could easily use wonton wrappers, as well)

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 375*F.
2.   Coat a baking pan (like a cookie sheet) with a very thin layer of olive oil.
3.   Saute spinach over medium heat until just wilted and heated through. 
4.   Combine cream cheese, spinach and green onions in a medium bowl and beat until well-combined.
5.   Place about a teaspoon of cream cheese mixture in the center of gyoza wrapper.  Moisten edges and press together.  Place on oiled sheet.
6.   Once baking sheet is full of gyozas, brush them with another very thin coating of olive oil.   Bake for about 10 minutes, then flip them over and bake for about another 10 minutes.  They should be browned and slightly crisp.

 

I got about 20 or so gyozas from this.  They taste much better when they are still warm, though they are still good when cooled (but still warm.. I can't see them being as tasty cold) as well.  These are super easy to make, and I will definitely whip them up again (and again and again).   If you like to use dipping sauces, you can.  I don't prefer them, so I didn't make one to go with them, so use your best judgement as to what kind of sauce would work with them.  One site suggested rice vinegar and chili garlic sauce.