chicken wontons

chicken wontons. say that around my family or friends, and it’s probably a 100% chance they will have had these – and love them. i got this recipe from my mom, who got it from…someone. between the two of us, this recipe has been made a bajillion times (thereabouts). if you make no other recipe from me except one, please make this one. it’s easy and always, always a hit (and almost always guarantees a ‘can i have that recipe?’ request).

chicken wontons

¾ lb. boneless chicken breast, cooked and diced

½ c. ranch dressing

1 c. finely shredded taco cheese

1 t. chili powder

1 pkg. wonton wrappers

preheat oven to 350. insert wonton wrappers into cupcake tins. bake for 5-10 minutes (varies by oven) until lightly browned (make sure not too brown as they go back in). mix chicken with ranch dressing. put a spoonful of the chicken mixture into each wonton wrapper (still in cupcake tin). mix cheese with chili powder. top each wonton with cheese (about a tablespoon or so) and bake for approx. 5 minutes, until cheese is melted. devour.

(i don’t even use a recipe anymore, which is very very rare for me.  i usually cook 2-3 chicken breasts, dice and then squirt on some ranch until pretty moist – don’t skimp as you want to taste it, but don’t drown the chicken. same goes for the cheese – i just throw a large handful in a ziplock bag, sprinkle some chili powder on it and toss around until mixed. you can’t really go wrong with chicken, ranch and cheese.)

these can also be prepped in advance. bake  the wonton wrappers and store in a tupperware or ziplock. mix the chicken with the ranch in a tupperware, and the cheese with the chili powder in a ziplock, and simply assemble when ready on a sheet pan, and bake for 5 minutes as directed above.

{these are wonton wrappers. they also come in larger squares labeled ‘egg roll wrappers’. both work the same. just cut the egg roll wrappers into quarters.}

{place the wrappers in the tins so the sides stand up and make an open pouch}

{perfect finger food}

the superbowl is this weekend, a perfect excuse to make these. or you can just have them for dinner, like we do from time to time. enjoy!

{justine}

 

linked to remodelaholic

oh canada {part two}

{read part one here}

after 5 days/nights in whistler, we took another long bus ride back to vancouver. i wasn’t feeling well for some reason, but the gorgeous views of water, mountains and even glaciers helped take my mind off it (a little). luckily i was feeling better when we got there so i could fully enjoy the two days we had. after we got situated in the hotel, we explored a bit of what vancouver had to offer. we had lunch overlooking the harbor and then took a short bus ride to stanley park where we took a walk to see the totem poles. since it was cold, that was about all we spent time sightseeing in the park, but i can image stanley park is amazing in the summertime. per the recommendation of a local, that night we had dinner at vij’s – amazing. the next day was spent shopping around granville island, in the rain. if you go to vancouver, this is a must-go. there are so many cute, unique shops and the food at the market is pretty to look at but also good. we then took the aquabus, which was the cutest little boat ever, from the island to yaletown where we had refuge from the rain in a starbucks (so touristy, i know) and then enjoyed our last dinner of the trip at rodney’s oyster house, per another local’s recommendation. i don’t eat oysters (and can’t), but everyone else was raving on and on about their quality, freshness and taste. the next morning we bid adieu to the great city, which i imagine is even greater without rain and cold.

{ryan’s favorite: a hotel pool and hot tub}

{granville island market}

{all soap}

{you can’t really tell, but this boat is tiny}

{i’m on a boat…or aquabus}

{shucking fresh oysters right at the bar}

it was a great week-long trip, and i discovered that canada is cold (though i already knew that) and beautiful, and the people are extremely friendly.

have you ever been to vancouver? i definitely recommend it, though in the summertime where you can really experience all the city has to offer (without rain and coldness).

have a great weekend.

{justine}

it’s a ….

we had our 20 week (!) ultrasound this morning. everything is looking good, and we’re still on track for our  june 15th due date. finding out that our little nugget is healthy and developing was our number one goal, but we were also thrilled to find out that we’re having a…

boy!

ryan and i are very very excited to meet this little man in 20 weeks. 20 weeks! it seems so far away though i’m sure it will fly by.

now the planning can begin! there’s so much to do. choosing a name! the nursery! sewing projects! painting! shopping! oh, and finding child care – i feel like i’m already behind on that one. expect my pinterest account to be very active, especially with nursery ideas. first on the list is a crib, and then the color scheme. i will keep you updated, of course

(how adorable is that nose!)

happy happy wednesday! (this may be a record use of exclamation points)

{justine}

 

oh canada {part one}

we are back from our week-long trip to canada. being on vacation is great, but it can feel so nice to just get home – especially to reunite with your dog who you missed every day (seriously. are we pathetic? how will we ever leave our human child?).

of course i took tons of photos, so i’ll split up the description of our trip and photos into a couple posts.

we flew to vancouver saturday morning on a four+ hour flight, then took a three-hour bus trip through gorgeous scenery to finally reach our destination – whistler.  our hotel/condo was in the best location of the village – it was directly at the base of the mountains, a 30 second walk from the lifts. the views were incredible, from the top of blackcomb and whistler mountains all the way down to the base. we enjoyed some skiing (the same mountains olympians skied on in 2010), walks and shopping along the adorable village  and good old fashioned relaxing (i read a total of 4 books for the week-long trip!).  the downsides of whistler were the extreme coldness (it was in-the-negatives cold, colder than normal), some pain from crappy ski boots and only so-so food that was marked up a ton. overall whistler was a gorgeous place with great skiing – and it was great spending all the time with my sister-in-law, sarah, and her husband, mike.

{view from room}

{hotel on right, gondolas and mountain directly behind}

{view during lunch}

{the peak 2 peak gondola route. it’s the world’s longest and tallest, from blackcomb mountain to whistler mountain. eeek – but amazing views. and convenient.}

{it even looks as cold as it was}

{frozen}

{ryan trying snowboarding}

gorgeous, right? you don’t see those views every day.

oh! i also took a couple videos. the first is ryan snowboarding the last hill of the mountain, and the other was taken while skiing (down a almost level run).

i’ll be back with more pics and highlights from our stay in vancouver.

have you ever been to whistler? where’s your favorite skiing? or do you prefer a beach (like me, not gonna lie)?

{justine}