Steamed Shrimp & Vegetable Dumplings

Merry (belated) Christmas everyone! Hope you all had a fabulous holiday break even if it was just a day or two. My sister-in-law, Kathy, was my secret santa this year & part of my present that she got me was a bamboo steamer! Like the food nerd that I am I couldn’t wait to try it & I did. I love it. I don’t know why I never felt the need to get one before but now I’m so glad I have one - Thanks Kathy! It makes me feel healthier just thinking about it (- hello 2015 resolutions)!

I usually buy the veggie gyoza at Trader Joe’s & sometimes the shrimp ones. I love them & probably will continue to buy them & stash them in my freezer but I wanted to try my hand at making my own. After perusing the inter webs for a dumpling recipe I collected my findings & an inventory of what I had on hand to come up with this light but tasty recipe. 

Do you have a bamboo steamer? If so, what do you make in yours?

Veggie Lasagna

My grandmother only makes lasagna on Christmas because my dad will be there to eat it. Lasagna is a labor of love & reserved for very special loved ones.  My friend Ashley was up visiting from Texas this past weekend. She is a lasagna worthy friend.  I even whipped up some homemade lasagna pasta sheets to make it extra special. You can of course skip the homemade pasta part & use the boxed lasagna noodles but whatever you do, make this for someone you love sometime really soon, preferably on a lazy Sunday when you have just as much time to make it as you do eat it in really great company.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Last week, Chris was battling the inevitable change-of-season-virus, so it was chicken soup to the rescue. Except I didn't want to make chicken noodle soup because that for some reason smells like body odor to me - don't ask but that's what I think it smells like - so I spiced it up with help from The Pioneer Woman's tortilla soup recipe to make some sinus clearing chicken tortilla soup.

Happy weekend before Christmas!