“Fake” Chinese Night!

Happy Friday all!  Today’s guest poster is one of the most inspirational Weight Watcher Friends I know ~ Tracy of Tj’s Test Kitchen!  She has lost a ton of weight by learning how to “healthify” her favorite foods and still enjoy everything she eats.  Today she is sharing one of my FAVORITE things ~ Chinese!!! 

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Hi Everyone! First I wanted to thank Danica for asking me to guest post for her while she is on vacation. I am slightly jealous I did not get asked to GO on vacation with her, but I will settle for a souvenir. Just teasin! hehe 🙂

I grew up getting take out Chinese on a regular basis. I loved passing those cute to-go containers around, and then in my later years eating directly out of them. lol Now when I crave Chinese I try to FAKE IT at home. I love making meals that I enjoy out healthier at home. Here are a few of my favorite Chinese inspired dishes. These can be combined for a full meal or enjoyed on their own. If you decided to make any of these stop on by my blog to let me know how you liked it! 🙂 I would love to hear from you!

www.tjstestkitchen.blogspot.com

Fake Chinese Night! 

Tj’s Won Ton Soup

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

ANY pre-packaged frozen pot stickers-I used Trader Joe’s chicken (14 total )
2 whole carrots-peeled and sliced thin at an angle
handful of sugar peas
handful of fresh mushrooms- cut in 1/2
2-3 green onions-diced
couple of handfuls of bok choy-chopped up
1 inch piece of fresh ginger-peeled and cut in half
chicken bouillon

INSTRUCTIONS

I guess you can see how EXACT I am with measurements! lol Ok so I used 5 cups of water-adding 5 teaspoons of chicken bouillon to that. Tossed in the fresh ginger to also flavor the broth. Boil broth for 15 minutes to flavor. This comes out tasty! Then I added the carrots-boiled till cooked slightly-then fished those out. I cooked the mushrooms the same way-separately. Then in a microwave safe dish I cooked the pot stickers per directions on package- put those aside. Bring broth back to a boil- remove ginger pieces (throw away) add in bok choy, sugar peas, and green onions. Let boil a few minutes, then shut heat. I like all of the veggies still a little crisp- but you can cook them to your liking. Once bok choy is slightly cooked add in (cooked) mushrooms and carrots. Stir in cooked pot stickers. I serve mine with hot chinese mustard. ENJOY!

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Tj’s Fake "Fried" Rice

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup egg beaters
green onion-diced
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies-defrosted
splash (or two) of soy sauce
1 clove of garlic-pressed
2 teaspoons olive oil
splash (or two) rice vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large skillet or wok add oil, garlic-toss in rice and stir to mix & coat rice with oil/garlic. Add veggies and cook until heated through. Make a hole in middle of pan; add egg beaters and scramble until cooked. Stir entire pan, mixing egg into rice. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, and green onion. 🙂

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Tj’s cream cheese stuffed won tons

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

10 THIN won ton wrappers (Stats for the kind I buy are CAL120/FAT1/FIBER7)
2 & 2/3 ounces cream cheese- 1/3 reduced fat (or use Fat Free!)
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped water chestnuts 

DIRECTIONS

Mix cream cheese, onions, water chestnuts in a small bowl. Lay out 10 wrappers on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Spoon cheese mixture evenly among all 10 won tons-place in the center of wrapper. Have a bowl of water close by to dip finger in and wet 2 edges of the square. Fold over won ton and press with your fingers. Spray with PAM and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes- Keep an eye on these! Might need more time- They go from not ready to burnt FAST! 🙂 Serve with sweet and sour sauce.

Thanks TJ for making me crave Chinese food again…next time, come make it for me instead of showing me the pictures 😀 Be sure to stop by TJ’s Test Kitchen for more recipes like this and a lot of inspiration 🙂