The Hubby's Favorite Meal-Potstickers

So my husband is my guinea pig when it comes to trying new recipes. Several years ago I experimented with making homemade Potstickers (got the recipe fro Everyday Food Magazine). It was time consuming, but fairly easy. A perfect amount of salty, crunch, and oh so savory goodness! This resulted in being my hubs favorite meal, which I don't fix often, because like I said, it is time consuming! So this ends up being a birthday meal, celebration meal, bribery meal, and a "make my hubby happy" meal.
So here are some step by step instructions on how to make a husband happy! Note: this recipe makes approximately 24 potstickers
Step 1
Place a 1/2 Cup of finely chopped Napa Cabbage in a bowl with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Mix and let stand for 10 min.

Step 2
Place cabbage in a tea towel or a double layer of paper towels and squeeze out excess liquid. Note: I'm cheap and therefore my paper towels are cheap.  Cheap paper towels tend to tear and you don't want to pick wet paper towel off your cabbage

Step 3
Return cabbage to bowl and add
6oz. of ground pork
3 scallions, finely chopped (or about a half cup of diced onion)
1 Tablespoon of finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger  (or about 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, but fresh is soooo much better)
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of totasted sesame oil
And then get messy and mix it all up, hands work the best!

Step 4

Working with one won ton wrapper at a time, spoon a rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper.  With dampened fingers, wet the four edges of the wrapper. Fold one half over, making a triangle. Seal the edges over the filling. Transfer to an oiled plate and cover with a damp towel to keep moist.

Step 5

In a non-stick skillet with a tight fitting lid, heat 1 Tablespoon oil over med-high heat. Note: Using a stainless steel pan ensures that your potstickers WILL stick! If you are opposed to using non-stick because of icky chemicals, a well-seasoned iron skillet will work. Add half the wontons and cook, turning once, until lightly browned. About 1 minute per side.

Step 6

Carefully add 1/2 cup of water to pan, cover and steam until slightly translucent & just cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Be careful, it will splatter!!!  I can only fit 8-10 potstickers in my pan so I only add about 1/4 cup of water.

Step 7

Remove from pan dip in soy sauce and enjoy!!!

Freezing

I usually make a double batch of the filling when I make the potstickers, just because it is time consuming.  I have tried making the potstickers and freezing them uncooked. The problem is the corners tend to break off and they don't cook up very well.  So I freeze the leftover filling in a freezer bag and the leftover wrappers in a separate bag. This works very well.

Girls Weekend!

I just got back from a wonderful, fun, and relaxing extended weekend with some of the women in my family.  Every year in October, my mom's side of the family has an Aunts and Nieces get-together.  My mom's aunts and cousins all have a dinner with yummy food and hilarious conversation!  My mom and I hosted this year at my Granny's. We also had a Tea Party birthday breakfast for my cousin's little girl who turned 4. Here are a few pics from our Girls Weekend!

Fall Garden Prep/Raised Cedar Garden Bed

Now that we live in Nebraska the weather is a little more permitting for a garden. Well, you can have a garden in Oklahoma, whether it lives or not is the question. We have wanted to build a raised garden bed for a while and found a cheap and easy pattern from www.Ana-White.com.  Here is the link to the project plan. (http://ana-white.com/2010/05/hack-natural-rustic-cedar-raised-beds.html)

In a short Sunday afternoon we (well mostly the hubs) built one 18" x 72" raised cedar garden bed.  The great thing about this project is it cost about $12!  We used (6) 1"x6"x6'.  I won't bore you with the details because if you really want to make this you can find the instructions at the above link.

 Who can resist a man with power tools?

The finished Product! Pretty cool, huh?

 Just had to show our little helper. We cracked the garage door for a little breeze, and Ruger just had to see what was going on outside.

A Little Introduction

Well, for about a year I've been saying I should start a blog. So this is me following through. It might have taken me forever, but here goes nothing....

We've had a few BIG changes in our lives the past year.  In November we went from being Oklahomans to Nebraskans (even though in my heart I'll always be an Okie) and I went from being a full-time interior designer to being a stay-at-home wife. The reason? My hubby got a new job!  This was an answer to our prayers!  This also enabled me to stay home full time.  And I love it!!!  Most people ask me, don't you get bored? Believe it or not, I stay pretty busy taking care of our home, cooking, gardening, running errands, and now running my new Etsy store. (gracefullyrenewed.etsy.com) All of these changes have been good, brought us joy, new adventures, and of course growth in our faith in the Lord.

Stay tuned for posts on our Midwestern adventures, cooking experiments, and home remodeling shenanigans.