spicy chicken dumplings

Years ago, I was blessed with the opportunity to visit Chicago, courtesy of Kenmore.

And… with that trip I was able to take a culinary tour with two of my best food blogging friends, and we went to Chinatown and had Dim Sum.

Ever since that trip, I crave those little tasty morsels on occasion pretty much every day.  So, when there is an occasion for bite sized foods (Superbowl, New Years Eve..) you can bet I’m making some sort of Dim Sum.

These were filled with a mixture of ground chicken breast, green onions, ginger, garlic and chilli pepper flakes for a slight kick.

Dipping them in a citrusy tamari  sauce flatters the filling like a string of pearls and the perfect black dress.

I made these using a bamboo steamer, and one pound of chicken, and spices I had on hand…add the $1.69 wonton wrappers and a grand total of $4.78 produced 36 dumplings. Bargain!Perfect for a party. Or a light dinner with soup.

Steaming these makes them way healthier, although you can also give them a bath in hot oil for a crispy fritter like dumpling. I prefer the steamed, chewy, figure friendly variety personally though.

Another thing, is the filling cooks as they steam so make sure you are very clean with the process and don’t cross contaminate surfaces. My advice is to assemble all of the dumplings and place them on a tray. Steam in batches and place the cooked dumplings on a different tray. Of course most of you know this already, but… to be on the safe side, I figured I’d remind you. Raw chicken is nasty before it’s cooked.

but, of course you knew that… speaking of raw chicken. I had come across a sushi cookbook awhile back, and they had a sushi roll made with seared chicken breast.  Seared as in, still raw in the middle.

Ummm… thanks, but no thanks . I’ll stick with tuna.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these tidbits.  Speaking of tidbits,  here’s the latest family news: (insert nightly news music)

My husband did the sweetest things ever this valentines day. ..this is the guy that used to say it was a hallmark holiday,  but now hes all in. Lucky me!

So, he surprised me with matching tattoos of our wedding date… lets see ….

And, a baby American parakeet or budgie,  (and yes there is more than one type). Personally I’m  hoping this is a boy mainly because:

a. Boys talk

b.I  have two girls already

…..so hopefully  in a year or so we can breed them. These birds are amazing when they are hand fed, they are just little lovers.

Add a steak dinner and I’m  a happy girl.

But just to prove that things aren’t  always steaks and parakeets…i have so e bad news as well, because this wouldn’t be a real news segment without a bit of draaaaamaaaa.

My stepdaughter is on strike from visiting us for no apparent reason… which, in turn makes me depressed since I was her full time “mom” for close to eight years of her life. People keep saying, she’ll come around. Which I am sure she will, but will I even “know” her by that time?

There is an awful cold/flu going around my daughters school, and as y’all know I am a major germ-a-phob, add in the fact I work at the school two days a week, equals lots of vitamins and hand sanitizer. Maybe even a green drink. And a face mask. Just kidding on the face mask. It’s not that I am scared to be sick, heck- there are times I feel a cold coming on and I’m slightly joyful because it’s the only legitimate excuse I can come up with to stay in my lazy gear all day and read magazines on the couch.

But, with a birthday coming up, I am really opting out of being sick this week at least..

Back to dumplings:

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