I am a huge fan these crispy, restaurant-style wontons. They’re such a fun treat for dinner, and so easy to whip up at home. Here’s one of our favorite recipes for hot, lightly fried wontons stuffed with a cheesy southwestern ranch filling. Hope you enjoy these!

Here’s one of my secrets to make weeknight dinners quick and hassle-free. I keep frozen, diced vegetables on hand so they’re easy to grab and a cinch to throw into recipes. Here’s what I normally have on hand at all times: bell peppers, carrots, celery, zucchini, white onions, red onions, and corn. There’s also usually okra, edamame, peas, and broccoli, but I wouldn’t hyperventilate as much if I ran out of those.

Whenever I’m dicing vegetables, I use whatever I need for the recipe, then throw the rest in a Ziploc bag to keep in the freezer for the next time I need it. Makes things so much easier on me knowing I can just grab pre-diced vegetables from the freezer and whip something up!

All right, let’s put these vegetables to work. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add 1/4 cup diced onions and cook for about five minutes until they’re starting to turn golden.

Then add 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper and cook five more minutes until softened. Add 1 clove of minced garlic, and stir for about 1 minute.

Immediately add the frozen corn kernels and canned black beans, 1/4 cup each.

Next you’ll need about a cup of shredded chicken. Here I used leftover rotisserie-style chicken from this Brown Butter Ravioli with Toasted Walnuts and Crispy Sage, perfect for this execution!

Add the chicken to the vegetables and beans, stir to heat everything up, then move everything to a bowl, like the one above.

Season with a little pepper…

Add some cheese, about 1/2 cup.

And cover with about two tablespoons (1/2 package) of dry ranch dressing. Love this cool, tangy flavor boost.

Stir everything to combine.

At this point we can start heating the oil for the wontons. Rinse out the skillet used for the vegetables, (I could’ve done a better job of that here!) dry it completely, and fill with about a 1/2 inch of canola or vegetable oil. Begin heating over medium heat.

While that’s heating up, it’s time to break out the wonton wrappers. I found this brand at Publix and I’m really partial to it. Unlike some other brands I’ve tried, these are nice and thick, so they don’t stick together when you’re trying to pull them apart, and they don’t rip when you’re stuffing and sealing the wrappers.

Scoop about a teaspoon of the chicken and vegetables into each wrapper.

Rub some water onto two sides of the wonton and fold over to seal, making sure to press out any extra air pockets in the wrapper.

Repeat for the remaining wonton filling. Here’s my assembly line!

By the time you have all your wontons stuffed and sealed, your oil should be good and hot. Set up a plate lined with a paper towel for draining, then go ahead and add about 6 wontons to the oil.

Or less, if you have a smaller skillet. You don’t want to crowd the wontons.

When they’re lightly golden (about 1 minute) flip to the other side. When both sides are perfectly golden and crisp, remove to the paper towel to drain and repeat with the remaining wontons. By the way, save that oil when you’re done, you can use it again next time. You’ll definitely want to make these again. :)

Lovely! I just want to take a big crunch out of these.

We also love stuffing these wontons with our favorite taco fillings or pizza toppings. They’re great for using up leftovers, because pretty much anything is delicious when stuffed in a wonton and fried.

You know what’s also cool about this recipe? After the wontons are sealed and stuffed, instead of frying you can place on a baking sheet and freeze overnight, then move to a Ziploc bag for long term freezing. Then when you’ve got guests you can whip these out for a quick and easy appetizer, no need to even thaw!

This recipe makes about 24 wontons, and if you’ve got a few extra wrappers leftover, hang on to them because I’ve got another recipe coming at you next week for a fun way to use them up.

© kevinandamanda.com, 2011. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!

Homemade tortilla chips = Yum. Yum yum yum yum yum. Homemade tortilla chips that are this delicious need a dipping sauce that is equally extraordinary – something that can step up to the plate and match the taste “WOW factor” – bite for bite. That’s where Mighty Meaty Nachos come in…

The ingredients: 1 lb breakfast sausage (can use regular or hot), 1 lb hamburger meat, 1 small jar of salsa, 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles (can use mild or regular… if you can handle the heat ;)), 1 can cream of mushroom soup and 32 oz velveeta cheese.

For the tortilla chips: small, “fajita sized” tortillas (about 6″ in diameter), 3-4 cups vegetable oil & kosher salt

About 2 hours before serving time, slice the Velveeta cheese and place in a crock pot that has been sprayed with Pam. (Keeps it from sticking to the side. Um, yeah. I forgot to do that.) Melt cheese over “High” heat. About 2 hours later, it should be melty and bubbly- like this. :)

Turn the crock pot to Low and put the lid back on. Now it’s time for the Might- I mean the meat – of this recipe. In a large skillet (this one’s 12″), brown, then drain the hamburger and sausage.

Now it’s time to get serious. Go back to all that melty, cheesy, Velveeta-y goodness in the crock pot. Stir in the meat, Rotel, cream of mushroom soup and the small jar of salsa. Now I never know what a small jar of salsa is, so normally I just buy whatever size I can find, then fill my empty (10 oz) Rotel can with salsa and use that amount.

Note to all the mushroom haters out there: Yes, you can leave the cream of mushroom soup out. I do it sometimes too. I wouldn’t touch mushrooms with a 10 foot pole- I can’t even stand the smell of them. The cream of mushroom soup just makes the dip… Creamier. Not mushroomier. :D

Ok YAY! My favorite part! The tortilla chips! :) These are so fun and your friends will be so impressed. :) Fill a small (10″) skillet with about 1″ of vegetable oil (about 3 cups, but I don’t measure).  Begin heating over medium to medium high heat for about 10 mins.

Meanwhile, lets make chips. :) Grab a stack of tortillas- for the 2 of us, 10 tortillas is just about right. Cut into 1/4′s to make perfect little chips.

After about 10 mins the oil should be hot enough. We’re going to make the chips in 4 batches, so take one stack of chips and place them in the oil, one at a time.

Flip one over and check on it after about a minute or so. My first batch usually takes a little longer because the oil isn’t as hot yet. But as soon as one side starts to get golden, flip them over.

When both sides are brown and golden, immediately remove from oil (with tongs! :)) and place in a bowl lined with a paper towel. Immediately sprinkle with a healthy pinch of kosher salt.

Repeat the process for the rest of your chips.

They are usually golden, bubbly and perfect after cooking about 1 min on each side.

Sprinkle with a pinch of salt after each batch

Now, the really cool thing about flour tortillas is that that are golden and crispy on the outside, but when you bite into them it’s like a wonderful surprise- they’re kinda soft and flakey!! Definitely different from your average tortilla chip, but OMG. So good. Now if you prefer a more traditonal tortilla chip you can use corn tortillas. They have the traditional taste and crunchiness that you’re probably used to. Kevin prefers the corn tortilla chips, but I’m a flour tortilla kinda girl. I just cannot get enough of these chips. :D

Dip them into the Mighty Meaty Dip and it’s Nacho Perfection. These will be the hit of any party- the dip makes a *lot*, but I never bring home leftovers. :D

© kevinandamanda.com, 2009. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!

We love Antipasto Squares as a meal, but this recipe was originally supposed to be an appetizer… hence the name Antipasto Squares! They’re delicious when hot, bubbly, and fresh from the oven.

Here are all the ingredients BEFORE…

And when it comes out of the oven!

This recipe definitely deserves a page in the Recipe Scrapbook.

© kevinandamanda.com, 2008. | Link to this post | Comment on this post | Stumble This Recipe!