Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
Adapted from Real Simple Magazine
Makes 4 Servings

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 pound chicken thighs, bone/skin removed, diced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
10 wonton wrappers, sliced into 1/2 inch strips
2 tbsp juice squeezed from one small lime
Cilantro leaves, for garnish

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger; cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add chicken and cook until browned, 7-8 minutes. Add mushrooms and salt (to taste). Cook 3 minutes. Add broth, fish sauce, soy sauce and 1 cup water to the saucepan. Bring to boil. Add wonton wrappers, reduce heat, and simmer until tender, 2 minutes. Stir in lime juice. Serve garnished with cilantro.

Nutritional Information: 244 calories, 14 carbs, 13 fat grams and 21 protein grams.

Review: VERY good - love the broth, the fun use of the wonton wrappers and the chicken thighs went great in this. Yes, the calories are a little low for a full meal, but you can easily up the meat or wrappers, or take it down to 3 servings. Or, just leave it at 4 servings, but serve it alongside a simple salad of lettuce, carrots and Asian salad dressing. Great, easy soup that's quick to put together and super yummy. If you use ground pork, it ups the calories significantly!

Caprese Breakfast Cups

Caprese Breakfast Cups
Makes 4 Servings (12 cups/3 cups per serving)
Recipe adapted from Cooking with Mel

12 Wonton Wraps
2 oz. (56 grams) reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded (divided)
5 eggs
½ tbsp garlic powder
½ tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
¼ cup fat-free milk
24 slices turkey pepperoni, quartered
12 grape tomatoes, quartered
12 tsp parmesan Cheese, shredded
4 tbsp fresh basil, diced

Preheat oven to 400. Spray nonstick spray into muffin tins. Add one wonton wrap to each muffin cup and add all of the mozzarella cheese at the bottom (14 grams of cheese for each 3 cups/serving). Bake for 5 minutes. Combine eggs, garlic powder, minced garlic, Italian Seasoning, salt, pepper and milk. Whisk together.Carefully pour egg mixture evenly across each cup. Quarter tomatoes and add to egg cups along with basil and pepperoni. Use a spoon to ensure that toppings are covered with egg mixture. Top each cup with parmesan cheese. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (or until the eggs are set).

Nutritional Information: 253 calories, 15 carbs, 12 fat grams and 18 protein grams.

Review: LOVED. Great little breakfast bites and I loved that you got 3. The caprese taste really came through - definitely use fresh basil! And they reheated wonderfully the next day at work. I'll definitely have these again, would even consider dipping in a side of spaghetti sauce! The calorie count is a bit low, so definitely consider a side of fruit or a healthy bar to have before lunchtime. These were TOO easy - next time I'm going to make 2 batches and try freezing half - I have a feeling they'll reheat from frozen very well!

Taco Bites

Taco Bites
Makes 4 Servings
Recipe adapted from Emily Bites

16 oz. chicken
1 packet taco seasoning
24 wonton wrappers
12 tbsp salsa, divided
2 oz. Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 can Black beans, drained and rinsed
6 tbsp guacamole, divided (we used wholly guacamole)
Cilantro, to garnish

Preheat oven to 375. Heat a pan over medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray, and add chicken, taco seasoning and 1-2 tbsp water. Cook until no longer pink, then shred with two forks. In the meantime, spray a 12-whole muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Push a wonton wrapper into each muffin tin. Spread no more than a tsp of salsa in each, then top with 1/12 of the chicken and beans. Top with a bit more salsa and a bit of cheese, then cover with another wonton and top with remaining salsa and cheese. Bake for 18 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes, then each with 1/2 tbsp guacamole and a few cilantro leaves.

Nutritional Information per serving (3): 435 calories, 49 carbs, 7 fat grams and 41 protein grams.

Review: Great little guys! Loved the crunchiness and the idea that I get 3! I will say that the chicken/bean mixture fills up those cups, so definitely consider  using half of the beans, which would take down the calories, too! I thought it was plenty of cheese, loved the layers of the bits of salsa and the guacamole topper (we used Wholly Guacamole) was perfect! I'll definitely make these again, too easy not too, and am still loving those wonton wrappers!

Southwest Chicken Wontons

Southwest Chicken Wontons
Recipe inspired by Picky palate
Makes 4 Servings

1 tbsp olive oil
½ cup white onions, finely diced
½ red bell pepper, finely diced
1 tbsp minced garlic, jarred
1 12 oz. can chunk chicken, drained
¼ cup packed fresh cilantro, finely diced
¼ cup salsa (green or red)
2 tbsp light ranch dressing
32 wonton wrappers (half of pack)
1 egg white whisked with 2 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 375. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions and bell pepper for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic for 1 minute and remove from heat. In a large bowl (or food processor), add onion mixture, chicken, cilantro, salsa and ranch. Mix (or process) until well combined . Lay out all 32 wonton wrappers on wax paper. Place 1 tablespoon chicken mixture in center of each wrapper. Dig fingers in egg white wash, fold over filling and press edges together firmly, forming a triangle. Repeat with remaining wontons. Lay each on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Brush tops with remaining egg white wash. Bake for 10 minutes, flip each over (brush with egg white wash again), then bake for 5 – 10 minutes or until crispy. Serve with salsa or ranch if desired.

Nutritional information (for 8 wontons not including dips): 311 calories, 37 carbs, 7 fat grams and 24 protein grams. To freeze, prepare as stated above (even cook them). Place wontons in freezer bag and freeze. To prepare after freezing, bake from frozen at 350 for 15 minutes.

Review: Um, YUM. I’m a huge fan of wontons of course, so these didn’t disappoint. I used my processor to mix the whole filling into a spoonable dip, and then spooned it on to each one, dipping into a tbsp of ranch. Fabulous! We each had 8 for the serving, then froze the last 16 to test the freezing. It froze wonderfully and tasted just as good as the first time. I’ll be making these again! Love that all 8 make a little meal, but you could also serve as an appetizer of course!

Before folding!

Italian Wonton Bites

Italian Wonton Bites
Makes 12 Appetizers

12 wonton wrappers
24 turkey pepperonis
12 tbsp reduced fat spaghetti sauce (3/4 cup)
56 grams reduced fat mozzarella cheese (for inside cups)
28 grams reduced fat mozzarella cheese (for on top of cups)
4 tsp fresh, shredded parmesan cheese
Fresh basil, diced, as garnish
Red pepper flakes to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Spray nonstick spray into muffin tins. Add one wonton wrap to each muffin cup and add 14 grams of cheese for each 3 cups/serving. Bake for 8 minutes – checking frequently to make sure they don’t burn. Remove from oven, add 1 tbsp sauce and 2 pepperonis to each cup. Top with final ounce of cheese across each cup, 1 tsp of parmesan across each set of 3 cups and sprinkle each with basil.

Nutritional Information (per cup): 55 calories, 9 carbs, 2 fat grams and 4 protein grams.

Review: Yummy! These were saucy, so they were a tad messy! I'd suggest using less sauce to make them a little bit easier to manage, or doubling up the wontons so they can hold it better. Other than this, I'd make them exactly the same - great little bites, fun appetizer and flavorful. Good bites - LOVING making recipes with wontons!

Buffalo Chicken Wontons

Buffalo Chicken Wontons
Makes 28 appetizers

12 oz. raw chicken
4 tbsp Frank’s Red Hot Wings Sauce
60 oz. Cabot 50% reduced fat jalapeno cheese (if you can't find this subbing for regular reduced fat cheese should be fine but this adds an extra kick!!)
4 tbsp Fat-Free Ranch Dressing (Hidden Valley)
2 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese
28 Wonton wrappers (Nasoya)

Boil water. Once rolling, add chicken and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 7-8 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink. In the meantime, add hot sauce, cheese, ranch and parmesan to a bowl. Stir together. Remove chicken from water; drain any excess water on chicken until mostly dry. Add chicken to bowl and, with two forks, shred chicken finely while blending into sauce. Stir well. Refrigerate for 2 hours until mixture is thick. When ready to prepare, heat oven to 375. Lay out sheets of wax paper, and spread wontons across the surface until all are out. Using your hands, add clumps (about 2 tbsp) of chicken mixture onto each until all have the same amount. Roll each up (to roll, turn into diamond shape with point facing you; fold point over to other point, tucking in mixture; tuck sides in and flip over). Use small bowl of water to seal each with your fingers/water. Lay all on baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Once all are on tray, spray tops with cooking spray. Cook for 18- 20 minutes until crispy.

Nutritional Information: Whole recipe – 1,332 calories, 153 carbs, 19 fat grams and 122 protein grams. 7 wontons each (for 4 people to split) – 334 calories, 38 carbs, 5 fat grams and 31 protein grams. Each single wonton – 47 calories, 5 carbs, <1 fat gram and 4 protein grams.

Review: LOVED. These were great, came together pretty quickly and went FAST. The boys loved them, and us girls had a couple, too, and they’re great. I told the boys they were low-fat/fat-free and they laughed. I don’t think they quite believed me. Oh well. These were great baked, still had a ton of flavor with the hot sauce/ranch and didn’t require dipping since the ranch was inside (still could have served with dip/fat-free dressing if you wanted to). I will absolutely be making these again – great bite-size poppers. Just note: they are SUPER hot out of the oven and need about 5 minutes to cool down. And yes, I will get a picture of the inside next time - sorry!