Sunday, December 4, 2011

.tangy wonton tacos.

oftentimes, there are nights where i feel like my creative dinner juices are more dry than a sleeve of crackers. i'll find myself going towards a staple dish like pasta or enchiladas. however, i prefer trying something new whenever i can, a dish to add to the nighttime repertoire. hence, the beauty of searching for internet recipes provides me that chance.


this recipe i found for wonton tacos is a keeper. not only is it a unique dish, but it is low calorie and really simple to make. i think you're going to like this one too.


i've discovered that keeping a pack of wonton wrappers in the fridge is an excellent idea for all of the different purposes it can serve. so, i started by pulling out 8 of them, draped them over a baking dish into two triangles and turned them a little crunchy in the oven. doing this forms the taco to fill with the yummy stuffings.

while the original recipe calls for chicken, i had some tofu to try out. hey, i can hear you gagging! just stay with me here. even though i'm a long time vegetarian, i can count on my hand the number of times i've actually bought tofu. mainly, i just can't seem to cook it as well as restaurants can and the texture always bothers me. i decided to try again with this recipe by pan-cooking it in a wee bit of cooking spray on the stovetop. i flipped the pieces of firm tofu i'd cut up back and forth until they had a bit of a crisp to them. now, if you are still gagging, feel more than welcome to use chicken like the original recipe suggests.


in a separate microwave safe dish, mix the cole slaw mix and asian dressing and then nuke for about a minute. this will soften the crispy cole slaw a bit and make it mesh well with the dish.


while the mix is microwaving, go ahead and mix your tofu (or chicken) with the bbq sauce. spray a baking sheet and place your eight wonton tacos on it. stuff them with the bbq mixture and top with the asian dressing mixture. you'll only need to bake them for about 5 minutes and ta-da- you're done!


a little extra crunch is something i will never turn down. so, i topped mine with crunchy chow mein noodles. if your goal is a low calorie recipe, you probably should skip this step.


see, i promised you it would be easy. not only are these little buggers simple to make, but they are oh so very good. they have a nice variety of flavors in every bite and you don't even feel guilty when you're finished. i served up four to both my eye guy and myself. i wish i had one ready right now to pop in my mouth. only one way to satisfy that craving...

wonton tacos
adapted from hungry girl

Ingredients
8 small square wonton wrappers (usually stocked with the tofu in the refrigerated section of the market)
1 cup dry coleslaw mix
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro (i omitted)
2 tbsp. Newman's Own Lighten Up! Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing (i used kraft low fat asian sesame dressing)
4 oz. cooked and shredded (or finely chopped) skinless lean chicken breast (i used tofu)
2 tbsp. BBQ sauce with about 45 calories per 2-tbsp. serving
1/3 cup chow mein noodles

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray the inside and outside walls of a deep square or rectangular baking pan with nonstick spray. Evenly drape the wonton wrappers over the pan's walls on a diagonal, making triangle-shaped "shells." (Use two pans, if needed, to keep wontons from overlapping.) Bake until just crispy enough to hold their shape, about 3 minutes.

Remove pan from the oven, but leave oven on. Carefully remove wontons and gently open to form "taco shells." Set aside.

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine coleslaw mix, cilantro, and dressing. Mix well. Cover and microwave for about 1 minute, until slightly softened. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine chicken with BBQ sauce; mix well and set aside.

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute the BBQ chicken among the shells, followed by the slaw, about 1 tbsp. of each per shell. Lay the filled shells gently on their sides on the baking sheet.

Spray the shells lightly with nonstick spray. Bake until warm and crunchy, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly and then serve!

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

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