Recipes and Snow

Today is a snow day.  That means that we won't even leave the house.  It snowed yesterday and for once the weather forecasters were right.  We got a fair amount of snow and the temperature plummeted from 30 yesterday to -11 this morning.  As I look out my window I see everything white and the snow igloo Jim and Carolena were working on before the temperature dropped to low to make it stick together.  Hopefully, they will be able to finish it this week. 

I was sure that I had posted the recipes for a couple of my New Year's Eve menu items, but as I looked at that post today I realize I somehow didn't get them posted.  Not sure where they went as I know I typed them out.  So, I'm going to include them here.  I was hoping to take pictures, but they all got eaten, so that didn't happen.  Here are the recipes:

Egg Rolls
1 pkg wonton wrappers
1 lb. sausage
1 small head of cabbage
1 can mushrooms
1 small onion
1 can water chesnuts
3 T soy sauce
3 T corn starch
1/3 cup water

Brown sausage.  While sausage is cooking chop up cabbage like for cole slaw. I used my little Ninja food processor.  I also chopped up the mushrooms, onion and water chestnuts in the Ninja.  When sausage is cooked, add chopped items to skillet.  Allow the cabbage to cook until a little soft.  Combine soy sauce, water and corn starch and pour over mixture stirring to thicken.  Remove from heat and let cool.  When mixture is cool roll up in egg roll wrappers or wonton wrappers.  For our party, I use the wonton wrappers and make small egg rolls, but you could make regular size egg rolls as well.  For the wonton wrappers place about a teaspoon of filling in the center and fold the wrapper up like an envelope sealing sides on three sides, then roll it over the open side again using water to seal the edge.  Fry in hot oil until golden brown. You can serve with sweet and sour, duck sauce or a hot mustard sauce.

The other recipe I was going to provide was my recipe for cheese puffs.  This recipe I adapted from a cookbook. I think the original recipe started with feta cheese, but I have adapted it to use other shredded cheese.

Cheese Puffs
1 pkg phyllo dough
1 stick butter
2 cups grated cheese of choice I use mozzarella, Colby jack or cheddar (not mixed)

These amounts are approximate, you may need a little more or less cheese and butter to do the entire roll of phyllo dough.  I open one of the inner pkgs of phyllo dough and be careful to keep the part you aren't working with covered with a dishcloth so it doesn't dry out. Unroll phyllo dough and cut a strip off the short side about 2 inches wide.  Roll remaining dough up and cover.  Take a spoonful of cheese and place on the one end of the strip of phyllo dough. Pick up about 3 sheets and fold the dough into a triangle end over end (like folding a flag) until you reach the end of the strip.  This will close off the edges.  Dip into melted butter and place on baking sheet. (If you want less butter, you can just put them on the baking sheet and then brush them with butter. I just find this easier in the long run) Continue until you finish all the sheets in the stack.  (These are pretty forgiving if you get 4 sheets, no big deal.) When you finish the stack cut another strip and continue until you have used up the entire roll of phyllo dough.  Place baking sheet into 350 oven and bake until golden brown.  The cheese may ooze out of the corners a bit. 

My family loves both these recipes and these are things I generally make only the one time each year.

So, what did I come up with for goals? I know you are asking, but I haven't finalized my goals yet.  I will be doing that this week.  The snow days have altered my plans slightly.  Carolena is out of school today and tomorrow still and I have to finish up the one course I'm taking for my master's program this week. So, hopefully, I will get to finish up my goals this week. I'm not in a rush as I have the entire year to work on these goals.  I don't think there will be any playing in the snow with wind chills at around -40 not really a safe thing to do.  But hopefully, later in the week, we will have weather that allows for snow play.  Today I'm just going to stay inside and stay warm and  work on dishes.  Nothing exciting there.  Maybe make up another batch of cocoa.  I thought I had published this earlier, but realized when I went in today to do the next post that I had failed to publish it.