Bite Size Mango Salsa Delights

 Ingredients:  Mango, Cucumber, Onion, Garlic Cloves, Tomato, Dried or Fresh Cilantro, Red Wine Vinegar, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Salt, Pepper, Cream Cheese, 100 Calorie Bagel Thins

*Pineapple would be a great alternative if you don't live in Haiti and have an endless mango supply! :)

Chop all the ingredients.  Try to have the same amount of tomato and mango, and a smaller amount of onion.  Add minced garlic, about 2 cloves for the amount pictured.  Add a dash or two of crushed red pepper flakes, dash of salt, dash of pepper, dash of cilantro and spoonful of red wine vinegar.  Stir and let marinate in that flavoring for as long as you can!  It's still good after about 30 minutes. 

YES! THESE ARE 100 Calorie Everything Bagels, toasted in the oven and broken into pieces! Toast in the oven at 350 degrees until golden brown.  Let cool before you break into pieces.

Spread a small amount of cream cheese and top with the mango salsa! Delicious!  This salsa is also great just served with tortilla chips!

Mardigan's Recommendation:  Stay awake and engaged! The mango or cucumber might tumble! Be ready! I love me some mango.

Fried Philly CheeseShroom (or steak) Rolls

This is a great use for those WonTon/Spring Roll wrappers that can always be found by the Tofu and produce area.  We will definitely be using them more often, we love them!

 Ingredients: Mushrooms (or steak), Onions, 1 Clove of Minced Garlic, Salt, Pepper, 3 Spoonfuls of Soy Sauce, Penzey's Chicago Steak Seasoning (or any steak seasoning you enjoy),Wonton/Spring Roll Wrappers, Mozzarella or White Cheddar Cheese

 -Saute chopped mushrooms/meat and onions in spoonful of olive oil.
-Add one clove of minced garlic.
-Salt and Pepper to taste.
-Prepare the wrappers by laying them out. Have a small bowl of water out to seal the edges after you fold.
-Place enough of the meat/onions and a narrow slice of cheese in the center of the wrapper.
-Fold diagonally like an envelope. Then fold the sides and wrap upwards.  I like to use a little bit of water as a 'glue' to ensure that it won't open.

-Coat a large skillet with cooking oil.  Heat until it is cracking.  It should be hot enough that the oil sizzles.

-Place the rolls fold-side down.

-Cook each side for one minute, until golden brown. 

-Remove and let cool.

-Serve with marinara or au jus (easy to make)! Delicious!

 Jonathan's Recommendation:  You can put anything in these things! Lets do a grilled cheese inside of these! *I don't know about THAT idea, but you should expect other wonton/spring roll recipes.

Mardigan's Recommendation:  Steady! Steaddddy! The cheese is goopy and delicious! Stare down at your paws and something will magically appear! 

Open BEGGsalad Sandwich

This egg salad is a healthy twist on the traditional sandwich.  Add some homemade pickles to this sandwich and you will immediately love egg salad.

The secret weapon to a great egg salad is a little sugar!  Next I will make 1/4 size little sandwiches for a party - 1 pickle on each and 1 spoonful of the egg salad will be a hit!

Ingredients: Hardboiled Eggs (6 eggs), Greek Yogurt, Dash of Salt, Dash of Pepper, 2 Spoonfuls of Sugar, Italian Seasoning

-Chop the eggs. I used an awesome 3-in-1 egg slicer that I bought with a close friend shopping for our consumables at 1am. It is definitely a must have in the kitchen! Just google it and you will want one.
-Add the rest of the ingredients.  Add enough greek yogurt so it is a consistency that you prefer.
-To arrange the sandwich, take a half of  piece of bread or cut up the bread.  Add a layer of lettuce or spinach.  Add homemade pickles and then top with the egg salad.  Garnish with a little bit of paprika!
Delicious!

*For these homemade pickles I used Cucumbers (obviously) in Vinegar, Hot water, and Penzey's Pickling Spice! I added a little extra Coriander and Dill for flavor and let sit for at least 24 hours!

Mardigan's Recommendation: YUCKKK! The pickles are too tart! Go for the messy stuff! The humans won't care because they will be glad you are cleaning it up for them when it falls!

Parmesan'ed Eggs

These deviled eggs are a great twist to the traditional! And they are more healthy!

Ingredients: Eggs (Hardboiled), Greek Yogurt, Garlic Salt, Pepper, Dried Rosemary, 1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

-Cut the hardboiled eggs in half and reserve the yolks.  *If you are making many, it is helpful to have a cup of water to dip the knife in after a few slices.
-Smash the yolks with a fork. Add garlic salt, pepper, dried rosemary and shredded Parmesan cheese.
-Stir in Greek yogurt by the spoonful until it is a a thick consistency.
-Spoon the yolk mixture into the whites.
-Garnish with shredded Parmesan or paprika.

Mardigan's Recommendation: Watch out when the humans shred the cheese! That is when you will get the pay off!

Baked Cheese Crisps

Having a Wine and Cheese night? Try serving these easy-to-make Cheese Crisps. Do you often buy Brie and bake it in the oven to impress your guests? Well this is cheaper and more creative! Each crisp has the same amount of calories as 1 cheese cube, so why not!?

Ingredients: Shredded Cheddar Cheese

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

-Spray your baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

-Place shredded cheese on baking sheet in little circles *as if you were baking cookies, see image before cheese is melted, the cheese will expand

-Bake for approximately 10 minutes or when the edges of the crisps are darker brown

-Remove from oven and take a fork and gently remove each crisp from the baking sheet and place on the edge of a plate to cool *see image with plate

-Cool for about 3 minutes, serve with dips or fruit.

Great paired with wine and fruit! We will be adapting these and experimenting with different flavors and adding spices.

Jonathan's recommendation: Let your husband sample them immediately after they cool to make sure they can be served :)

Mardigan's recommendation: Someone will definitely drop something. Remain calm.

Gingoy Shrimp Wontons

Ingredients: De-veined Shrimp, Wonton Wrappers *found in the produce area at most grocery stores, Cream Cheese, Dried or Fresh Ginger Root, Parsley, Soy Sauce, Salt, Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, 1 Garlic Clove, Old Bay Seasoning

-Heat oil in large pan. Add one clove of minced garlic. Add the shrimp.  Add about 1/2 spoonful of Crushed Red Pepper, 6 dashes of Soy Sauce, Salt, Pepper, Old Bay Seasoning (about 5-6 dashes).

-Shrimp are finished when pink and firm to the touch.

-Chop the shrimp into very little pieces.

-In mixing bowl combine 1/2 package of cream cheese *let sit out to be at room temperature, Shrimp *they can still be warm, not a problem, about a spoonful of Parsley *fresh or dried, about a spoonful of Ginger *either dried or grated from the root, salt, pepper

-Taste the mixture to make sure it has enough flavor and spices. Use your judgement and decide what else it needs!

-Clear off an area of the counter or a table. Recruit your husband or kids to help out with this part. Each person gets a bowl or cup of water. Place the Wonton wrappers out on the table. Add a spoonful of the mixture to the center of each wrapper. Dab water around the edge of the Wonton wrapper *generously and pull opposite corners together.  Once all 4 corners are together twist gently so that the wrapper does not break.

I have made these a day in advance and placed them on a baking sheet with water in the bottom and damp paper towels resting on top to keep the Wontons moist.

To cook: Heat a large pan with a tablespoon of oil.  Fry the Wontons in the oil for about 2 minutes then pour water into the pan *on high, it will sizzle, just a spoonful of water. Cover quickly and let steam for 1 minute.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauces! Enjoy!

Jonathan's Recommendation: Have sushi afterwards.

Mardigan's Recommendation: Just stay focused. It is worth your time, even if it is just for one crumb!

Dad's Recommendation: Eat five, less soy!

Not Really Irish Nachos

Fast and amazing snack when people come over! Only four ingredients!

Ingredients: Kettle Cooked Potato Chips, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, BBQ Sauce (make your own!), Scallions

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

-Place 1 bag of kettle cooked potato chips on baking sheet.

-Dump BBQ sauce all over the chips. *however much you think you will like, too much will make the chips soggy

-Top with shredded cheese and sliced scallions. *One entire bunch of scallions is enough, including white part

-Bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Jonathan's recommendation: Must be Kettle Cooked Chips!

Berryhill Barbeque Sauce

You can make a lot of BBQ sauce at once and keep it in the refrigerator. It does not need to be kept in bottles. (This was for a Christmas gift).  Disclaimer for making BBQ Sauce - be ready to taste over and over and over again! Have a salty or sweet snack out (or glass of wine) to cleanse your palette. From my experience as the process went on my tastebud's could not tell the difference, so I recommend to you to have a palette cleanser nearby!

Ingredients: 1 unopened container of Ketchup, Dijon Mustard, Worcestershire Sauce, Onion, Garlic, Molasses (Old-Fashioned), Brown Sugar (Have EXTRA in case you add too much or doesn't taste right), Apple-Cider Vinegar, Liquid Smoke (Optional), Coarse Black Pepper, Salt

-Saute about half of one minced onion (as small as possible) and about 3 cloves of minced garlic.  Next dump the ketchup, 2 counts of 3 of the Dijon Mustard *say, "1...2...3...", add about 1/4 cup of Apple-Cider Vinegar *this will make the shelf-life longer!, about 2 spoonfuls of Worcestershire Sauce, start with 1/4 of the molasses and 2 cups of brown sugar. Add a dash of liquid smoke (optional), salt and pepper to taste. *If it doesn't taste just right/a little sour add more molasses and brown sugar, play with those two ingredients first.  All of these measurements are most likely inaccurate because I continuously move in the cuisine and play with ingredients. Have confidence to be free with this recipe! Make it your own! Add unique flavors...

These are some flavors we have made:

-Haitian Mango - Added Caribbean spices, Cumin, Hot Sauce, Creole Seasoning, Asian Mango dipping sauce, dash of Cayenne Pepper

-Coffee Chipotle - Canned Chipotle Peppers (chopped finely), Hot Sauce, Coffee Grounds (after it has cooled)

-Chocolate Coconut - Melted Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Sweetened Coconut Flakes

Jonathan's Recommendation: Eat with our favorite MorningStar Farms® Chik'n Nuggets or on our Berryhill's Irish Nacho's (RECIPE to come soon). AND he reminded me that it is GREAT to have a taste-tester, as I have tried many BBQ flavors and they have failed and he has let me know! Oh well!