Sides Recipes

Chinese Dumpling Recipe
Dumplings, also known as potstickers, are traditional fare during Chinese New Year. These tasty little pockets, filled with meat and veggies and doused in a savory sauce, are a fun way for older children to practice their culinary skills—like measuring ingredients, chopping vegetables and handling food safely. Folding up the filled wrappers is an especially entertaining challenge for younger cooks, and the final product tastes delicious!

What You Need:
1 lb. ground pork or chicken
1 cup napa cabbage, finely shredded
¼ c shredded carrots, finely shredded
¼ c. mushrooms, finely minced
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. canola oil
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 egg
1 package square wonton wrappers
Vegetable oil for cooking
What You Do:
Combine all ingredients except the wrappers and vegetable oil in a large mixing bowl.

Pour some water into a small bowl and set it near your workspace.

Scoop a spoonful of the mixture onto a wonton wrapper.

Dip your finger into the bowl of water and trace the edge of the wrapper to wet it.

Carefully fold the wrapper in half diagonally to form a triangle. Press gently where the edges meet to seal it closed.

Repeat the process until all the wrappers are filled!

Pour a small amount of vegetable oil into a large frying pan and heat over medium heat.

Place the filled dumplings in the pan and cook until they are browned, about 2-3 minutes. Use tongs or a spatula to turn the dumplings over and brown the other side.

While the dumplings are browning, place a vegetable steamer basket inside a pot of water, making sure the water level is below the steamer basket. (A colander resting on the rim of the pot will also work if you do not have a steamer basket.)

Heat the water until boiling and carefully place a single layer of dumplings in the steamer basket. You may need to steam them in several batches if your steamer basket is small.

Cover and steam the dumplings until they are soft and the meat is cooked through, about 10-20 minutes.
Serve with soy sauce for dipping and enjoy!

Serve your dumplings with rice and veggies and you have a complete meal!

Raspberry Hot Chocolate
This chocolate is white hot – in a good way! Mix things up and share a mug of this homemade cocoa and whipped cream with your kids. Whole raspberries pink things up for a sweet Valentine’s Day.

What You Need:
1 8-ounce container of fresh raspberries
3 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 cups milk
2 cups cream, divided
6 ounces (1/2 bag) white chocolate chips, found in the baking section of your grocery store
What You Do:
In a small saucepan over medium low heat, stir together the raspberries and 1 tablespoon sugar and cook until the raspberries burst and the sugar dissolves in the berry juices!

With a strainer set over a bowl, pour the mixture into the strainer; use a rubber spatula to push against the wire mesh to release as much liquid as possible. Set aside.

To make the hot chocolate:

In another saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and one cup cream. Remove from heat immediately upon reaching a simmer and whisk in the white chocolate chips until melted.

Add 1-2 tablespoons of the raspberry puree to flavor the hot chocolate.
To make the whipped cream:

In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the remaining one cup cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 3 tablespoons of the raspberry puree and whisk on high until medium peaks are formed.

Divide the cocoa into 4-6 mugs and top each with a dollop of whipped cream.

If you make this for Valentine’s breakfast, consider refrigerating some of the whipped cream to top on brownies later that evening for Valentine’s dessert!

Ghoul Guts Squash Soup
Stringy orange ghoul guts are actually a healthy and gross-looking appetizer for your child’s Halloween party. The recipe calls for a cooked spaghetti squash, tomato sauce and raisins to create the perfect texture of horror. When mixed together and served in clear glasses they can be gobbled down in one delicious slurp!

What You Need:
Spaghetti squash
Tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce
Raisins
What You Do:
Cook the spaghetti squash in your oven or microwave. If using an oven, cut the squash in half and lay flat on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cook at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until you can easily puncture the skin of the squash with a knife. This is a great time to show your child how to set a timer.

Allow the squash to cool.

Warm up the tomato or spaghetti sauce in a pan.

Scoop out the seeds from the center of the spaghetti squash and discard, or roast the seeds just like pumpkin seeds for another treat! Fork out the “spaghetti” strands into a bowl.

Mix several tablespoons of the sauce into the squash. The squash texture should be stringy and not too saucy.
Sprinkle in a handful of raisins and mix together.

Scoop out the “ghoul guts” into a glass and serve! Devilishly frightening!