TURKEY WONTON DUMPLINGS

Have you ever seen that segment on the Rachael Ray Show where one grocery trip or one bag of groceries provides ingredients for a week's worth of dinners?  It never fails to blow my mind.  You can use the kale for a salad AND for a chicken dinner?  Some of the potatoes can be mashed one day and then used for soup on a DIFFERENT DAY?!  If I have to purchase a unique (or even standard) ingredient for just one recipe, I'll probably end up wasting whatever is left of it.  HOWEVER, I did get super crafty this week.  Not as cool and prepared as a TV show host, but close.  Remember these?  Whenever I buy wonton wrappers, I use them for one meal then throw them out once they've expired.  Remember these?  I used way too much ground turkey and had tons of leftover meatball mixture. Raw meat doesn't stay safe for long.  I decided to jazz up the filling and make wontons!

I added some soy sauce and sliced green onions to the meatball mix.  It was already pretty flavorful, the direction of the flavor just needed to shift a bit.  Note: I also tried out a few with already cooked meatball chunks.  Not so great.  The meat really needs to be raw, otherwise it tastes crumbly, dry and overcooked.  Go fresh, for sure.

Whenever we order takeout, I NEED pan fried dumplings.  Sure, the steamed variety are healthier, but they are slimy and gross.  These dumplings are made with NO oil, so they are a lot healthier for sure.

Start with these fabulous little things.

Add a teaspoon of filling to center of wonton, then spread water around the edges with your finger.

Lift a corner and pull it over to the opposite corner.  Pinch HARD to seal all around, eliminating any gaps.  Keep package of wontons and constructed dumplings covered with a damp towel while assembling.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Spray generously with nonstick spray once it's hot.  Add dumplings in a single layer, flat side down.  Let cook for 2 or 3 minutes without touching.  Spray tops with cooking spray, then flip.  Once browned, flip back.

Add 1/4 cup water and a few splashes of soy sauce to pan and cover.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer and steam until most of the water has evaporated, less than 5 minutes. 

So, so good.  Try not to eat 10 of these in one sitting. 

Pack leftovers in the container your usual Chinese food is delivered in.  Your coworkers will assume it's leftover delivery.  You can then blow their minds by bragging that you not only made dumplings, but also fried rice!  Stay tuned for that recipe.

To cook the dumplings, I used this recipe as a guide.