Birthday Treats

I can't believe I forgot to mention one of my favorite things from the sidekick birthday weekend. Friday night my husband was working, so I decided to make something I like and my sidekick loves...grabgrabgoon. You may know it as crab rangoon, but our sidekick has forever changed the dialect in our house :)  She likes to cook and I thought she would get a kick out of making this treat. I was trying to wrap them the way the restaurants around here do...like this.

from Dinner, Then Dessert

It didn't quite work out that way. We tried two different methods (see picture). The ones on the right are cuter, but the left is much easier. They were both delicious!

This hasn't been the exercise week I was hoping to have. I will definitely get some in this weekend. I tell you otherwise you have my permission to scold me in the comments next week....just be gentle :)

Between fried treats I did eat some good things....

Yummy sweet potato/spinach hash.

Egg salad sandwich with a side of grapes.

Stir fry - sadly, I am now out of snow peas and mushrooms again. I am not sure when I will make it back to my new favorite store.

Thursday was my oldest niece's 24th birthday. I decided to make her egg rolls. These are a family favorite that we learned how to make back when I was in high school. My brother was dating a Cambodian girl and her mother was a cook for the King of Cambodia before the Khmer Rouge took over in one of the world's worst cases of genocide. Her father was killed because he wore glasses...the sign of a learned man. The rest of her family later escaped to the United States. Her mother shared this recipe for egg rolls with us. I don't have it written down. Exact measurements are really not that important. I have made it so many times I just eyeball it. The filling is simply ground pork, cabbage and carrots. 

Chop carrots and cabbage. Don't feel guilty about snacking on the raw veggies as you chop.

Brown the pork, then add carrots and cabbage. This will seem odd, but also add about a teaspoon or so of sugar. Cook until slightly softened.

These are my favorite wrappers...super thin. I buy the ones that are pre-separated. The ones you have to peel apart yourself always end up a shredded mess when I try to separate them.

In addition to the pork/veggie filling, we add a little bit of cellophane noodles. The are also known as glass noodles and are made from starch (mung bean, potato or tapioca - I think mine were bean). Sometimes, I see them in the grocery store, but I always stock up at the international stores (much less expensive). Just don't confuse them with rice noodles, which look similar. Soak the noodles in warm water for a few minutes to make them pliable.

Ready to assemble.

A scoop of filling and a few noodles. (I've also heard the noodles called bean threads).

Start rolling away from you tucking the filling into the wrapper.

Then fold in the sides and continue rolling.

24 egg rolls and ready to celebrate my 24 year old niece :)  I gave them to her uncooked, since they are best freshly fried. You can also brush them with a bit of oil and bake...not quite the same as fried, but still delicious.  I wanted her to have extra to freeze for a later meal too.

I also made her a jar of this sauce...love that stuff. It is fish sauce, water, vinegar, sugar, salt and chopped garlic.

The whole recipe is super easy. I spent about 15 minutes making the filling the night before. Then the next morning about 15 minutes to roll them up and make the sauce.

Wrapping up this post with a shot of our pathetic pup living her difficult life in a pile of pillows. This might be payback for my husband letting her sleep on my pillows :)  

I am SO ready for the weekend...what are your plans?