Cheese Sticks Two Ways

I had been seeing people making cheese sticks by wrapping string cheese in wonton wrappers for quite awhile. It took some time, but I finally got around to trying it. I'm so glad I did!!

I've seen them both ways, fried and baked. So I tried both!



Cheese Sticks
String Cheese
Wonton Wrappers
oil for frying (if you're frying!)
Dipping Sauces

Cut each string cheese into thirds.
Roll into wonton wrappers.

Now either fry in oil heated to 350F until golden.

Or...

Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, spritz with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and bake at 400F for 15 minutes or until golden.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauces.

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First you need these...


Cut the string cheese sticks into thirds


Place a wonton wrapper on plate or cutting board in front of you as shown below.

Moisten the tip of your finger with water and trace around the edge of the wonton wrapper.

Place a piece of cheese near the bottom of the wonton wrapper.


Fold up the bottom of the wrapper over the cheese.


Fold in the sides.


Roll it up tight.


Repeat until you run out of cheese or wrappers or until you have as many as you'd like.



Now for baking, lay them out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Spray them with oil olive. Then sprinkle with kosher salt. Or whatever salt you like!


Into the oven, preheated to 400F for 15 minutes. Turn them half way through.

But pay attention to them, they might leak a little.


Enjoy with your favorite dipping sauces!


Now if you're frying... heat your oil to 350F and fry a few at a time.

Be sure to not overcrowd the pan.


Drain on a paper towel



And serve with your favorite dipping sauces!


At first I was thinking that the baked ones would be really lame.

But both were really good!!

Fried of course is amazing, because everything is really good fried. They're crispy and melty and gooey. Totally delicious!

But the baked one were also wicked good. They're chewy and salty and creamy. So good!

The kids swarmed on these and devoured both kinds in a matter of minutes.

Try them both ways and see which way your family prefers!

Hot Dog Pepperoni Pizzadilla

So this is probably one of Bob's favorite things to eat. It's the Hot Dog Pepperoni Pizzadilla.

Many of you will be horrified by this concoction. But I know some of you... ok... probably not many people who actually 'read' my blog... but some of them will know a teenager who would LOVE this!



Hot Dog Pepperoni Pizzadilla
1 burrito sized flour tortilla
1 cheese dog, sliced
20 pepperoni slices, or enough to cover your tortilla
a big handful or two of shredded cheese

Sprinkle enough shredded cheese for a generous covering on the tortilla.


The kind of cheese I use varies by what I have in the house. I always have a variety of cheddars, colby, pepperjack, mozzarella and provolone. But there could also be any other kind of cheese I have on hand too... swiss, parmesan, asiago, romano.. actually I usually have all of those too... I just depends on what's already grated!

Place pepperoni slices over cheese.


Then add sliced cheese hot dogs.


Sprinkle a little more cheese over the top.


And into the microwave for 2 minutes.


A few quick cuts with a pizza cutter. I always use a large round plate with no ridges, so it's easy to cut with the pizza cutter. But you could use kitchen scissors too. =)


I was out of hot dogs the other day, and asked if he wanted a keilbasa dog on it in addition to the pepperoni. He said yes, but as it turns out, pepperoni and keilbasa don't go very well together, at least according to Bob.

Anyway... this is definitely one of Bob's favorite snacks.

I've never actually tried it. Hmmmm... now I'm thinking I should make him one and try a slice.

Holding off on the post to give this junk food a try!

Hey I'm back!

Ok... I stole half a slice of Bob's pizzadilla... I was really surprised that I kinda liked it. But I think it really is more teenager/college kid kinda food.

Anyway... Spryte's Place is just "what's going on in my kitchen" and this is going on in my kitchen a lot!

Mashed Potato Tacos

This recipe showed up in my inbox from Allrecipes.com.

I didn't really follow the recipe... so I guess just the idea came from Allrecipes.

Anyway... this is perfect for leftover mashed potatoes.

There are no exact measurements.



Mashed Potato Tacos
Mashed Potatoes
Green chiles, diced
Grilled corn
Pepperjack cheese, shredded
Corn tortillas or taco shells
Taco sauce

I made creamy yukon gold mashed potatoes. Then stirred in diced green chiles, grilled corn kernels, and lots of shredded pepperjack cheese.

Then into tortillas if you like them soft or taco shells if you like them crunchy.

I made pretty much almost every kind.

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Stir corn kernels & green chiles into your hot mashed potatoes...
And you stir whatever you like into your mashies... other leftover veggies, meat, whatever...



Add some shredded pepperjack cheese, or whatever cheese you like.


Mix well.


Now into your favorite taco shell.

If you put some wadded up foil inside your taco shells when you heat them, they don't close up.


A pair of crunchy


The soft and crunchy combo


Oops... Bob doesn't care for mashed potatoes... so he had Spaghetti Tacos


But my FAVORITE way to have these was Mashed Potato Rolled Tacos!




Into some oil heated to 350F.


Turn.


Drain.


Top with more cheese and DEVOUR!


All the versions were tasty... but I could eat my weight in Mashed Potato Rolled Tacos!

So next time you have leftover mashies, make tacos! Don't even wait for leftovers, just make some and make tacos! And I'll bet mashed sweet potatoes would be just as good... or any mashed veggies! Oooohhhhhhh.... mashed celery root & parsnip tacos?? I think I'm gonna add those to the list of things to make!!

Seriously! Make tacos!

Nectarine Mango Salsa

A long time ago I had some peach mango salsa and really liked it! I've been trying, without much success, to find some that I liked ever since... until now.

This is adapted from a recipe I found on Winner Dinners,, while browsing tastespotting.com.

This was wicked good!! It's a good thing too, because I had a good bit of drama while making it!!



Nectarine Mango Salsa
1-1/2 C fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
3 ripe nectarines, chopped
1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
3/4 C red bell pepper, chopped
1 C onions, chopped
1/2 C cilantro, chopped
4 TBLS jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 TBLS apple cider vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
2 TBLS sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
tortilla chips

Peel the tomatoes by dropping them into boiling water for about a minute and then running them under cold water. The peels should come off easily.
Chop the tomatoes and place in a medium-sized bowl.
Chop the nectarines and mango and add to the bowl.
Chop the red bell pepper, onions, and cilantro and add to the bowl.
Chop the jalapeno and mince the garlic and add to the bowl.
In a separate small bowl, combine the tomato paste with the apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Stir well and then add to the larger bowl.
Mix again and serve with tortilla chips.

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This is what you need... well.. the produce anyway...


Next peel the tomatoes.

I had never done this before... it's so easy!

Boil a pot of water... drop in the tomatoes...


Let them boil for 1 minute. Rinse under cold water.


The skins pull right off!


Who knew it was so easy??

Ok... chop those and put them in a bowl.

Chop mango and nectarines.


That part took me awhile. They're so slippery!! Plus I was watching Ahmed Hassan on Yard Crashers while I was chopping... He's a little... distracting... *swoon*... anyway...

Then I started chopping jalapenos.


Around that time Jon had missed the last bus to his friend's house. It's not too far away, but it was a gazillion degrees out, so I said I'd give him a ride. (We only have one car, and I needed it later) So I was still in my jammies, no bra... no shoes, my hair probably wasn't brushed. I figured, I'm just running down the street, I'll be right back... no one will see me.

We jump in the car... I drop him off... I'm just pulling away from his friend's house and I wiped my eye with the tip of my finger.

See the pic above?

It doesn't look ominous does it?

Well let me tell ya, instant BLINDING searing pain in my eye... Did I mention I was driving??

Both eyes slammed shut!

So I was trying to pull over... I knew there were cars parked beside me and I was vaguely aware of a few pedestrians.

I very slowly creeped the car over to the right and was able to get out of the street without hitting anything or anyone.

I was in my car, bent over the steering wheel, swearing, eyes burning and running, barely able to open them, hair a mess, in my jammies, no bra, no shoes, and I hear a tap at my window.

I kinda squint in that direction, because I'm still only barely able to open my untouched eye a little bit and roll down the window.

There was a guy there and he said, "My wife noticed you had a really hard time pulling over and she wanted to make sure you're ok"

I told him I was fine, just stupid and that I had just rubbed fresh jalapeno juice into my eye.

He chuckled a bit. I thanked him for checking on me and he went about his day.

It took me a few more minutes before I could actually see enough to drive.

I guess it's a good thing I wasn't on a highway!

So... let this be a lesson to you.

If you're cutting hot peppers, WASH YOUR HANDS... then wash them again!!!

Or wear gloves.

Thank you for checking on me kind strangers!!

Ok... back to the salsa.

Chop the jalapeno, onion, red pepper, cilantro, and garlic and add them to the tomatoes, mango and nectarines.


Gently stir until mixed well.


In a separate small bowl whisk together, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper.


Add the sauce mixture to the fruit/veggie mixture


Stir gently until well combined.


Now it's ready to serve with tortilla chips!


We enjoyed this on the porch with some Peachy White Zinfandel Sangria... stay tuned for that recipe!!


It's a very flavorful salsa, sweet, a little spicy, a bit of crunch from the onions & peppers, yummy cilantro. Definitely a winner... well... unless like Jon, you don't care for cilantro. But I LOVE this! And I'm happy that my search for nectarine (peach) mango salsa has ended.

This makes a huge batch of salsa! So invite over a bunch of friends. Or put some in pretty jars to give to your neighbors. But it also keeps well in the fridge for a few days, so you can keep it all for yourself too!