Recipe: Cream Cheese Wontons!

Over the past week I have been craving Chinese food. And not just any Chinese food... Specifically, Cream Cheese Wontons. They have them at the Chinese buffet we eat at, they have them at the quick Chinese place I sometimes swing into if I'm in town... but it's out of the way to ask my husband to pick some up on his way home from work, and for the two to three dollars it costs for a serving of six wontons, it's not worth the drive all the way there and back. So I did a bit of research, and found out how to make them at home! It turns out to be cheaper to make them than to buy them. And it's soooooo easy. Here's what you'll need.

Wonton wrappers
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 Tbsp green onions, sliced thin
Oil

Prep time: ~5 minutes
Cook time: ~1 minute

If you have a deep fryer, you can cook them in your deep fryer. Otherwise, fill a pot on the stove with about 2-3 inches of oil or shortening. Heat the oil to 350 F. If you are heating it on the stove, use a thermometer to make sure the oil is at the right temperature. (I made mine in the deep fryer.)

In a small bowl, cream the green onions into the cheese. Put about a teaspoon of the mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper. Fold the wrapper diagonally and press the edges together (rubbing a little water on the wrapper can help it stick together if needed). Pressing the edges together firmly is what keeps the cheese inside the wrapper and stops it from leaking out. Then take the two furthest corners and press them together. I took all three corners and twisted them together, but however you do it will just determine the shape of your wontons.

To test if your oil is ready, simply drop a small piece of a wonton wrapper into it. If the piece seems to bubble up, it's ready.

Drop a few wontons at a time into your oil. They only cook for about a minute, until they start to brown. Once they are a light brown, remove them from the oil. The longer you leave them in, the darker and harder they will get, and they have a higher chance of the cheese leaking.

Put them on a plate and enjoy!

My first batch of wontons ♥ I made 12, which is 2 servings from a restaurant, and I only used about half of the cream cheese!

~

Note:
Not all stores seem to carry wonton wrappers. But not a problem! You can make them at home and they are super easy!

To make your own wonton wrappers:

1 egg
3/4 Tsp salt
1/3 - 1/2 cup water
2 cups flour (more as needed)

Prep time: ~45-60 minutes

In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg and salt together. Add 1/4 cup of the water, mix well. Sift the flour into a larger bowl. Add the liquid mixture to the flour. Slowly add the rest of the water, a little at a time, until it forms into dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes, adding more flour as necessary, until it becomes smooth and workable. Cover and let it rest for about 30 minutes.

Lightly flour your surface again, then roll out the dough into a thin layer (I made mine less than 1/8 inch). Cut it into 3.5 inch squares. You can stack them with a piece of wax paper in between them so they don't stick together. They are now ready to use, though they can be refrigerated or frozen until needed.

My homemade wonton wrappers, in two stacks, with wax paper between them. One batch made me enough wrappers for over 2 dozen wontons!

I Love You

I love you.
It's not just something to say.
I mean it.

I tell you I love you before we go to bed each night because I want it to be the last thing you hear each day.
I tell you I love you before you go to work each morning because you never know what can happen, and I want to make sure you know.
I text you throughout the day and tell you I love you because I am thinking about you.
I tell you I love you every time we get off the phone because I don't want to hang up.
I tell you I love you when I'm sad because I don't want to lose you.
I tell you I love you when I'm scared because I need you.
I tell you I love you after an argument because I want you to know that even when we disagree on something, I still love you.
I tell you I love you when we laugh together, because you are amazing.

I don't tell you I love you just because there's a lull in conversation.
I don't tell you I love you because it's routine.
I don't tell you I love you to get you to do anything.
I don't tell you I love you  because I want something.
I don't tell you I love you in front of other people so they know you are "mine."
I don't tell you I love you just because we are together and I feel obligated.

I love you.

So what if we argue?
So what if we don't always agree?
So what if we don't like each other every minute of the day?
So what if we get mad at each other?
So what if I storm out of the room?
So what if you don't talk to me for a few hours?

Since when does that mean I don't love you?

We might not always get along, we might not always agree. We will always have our differences, and we will always have our similarities, both of which might drive us crazy sometimes. There will be times we get caught up in each other's eyes, there will be times we don't want to look at each other. We have our ups, and we have our downs. But through it all, good times and bad, WE HAVE EACH OTHER.

I love you.
It's not just something to say.
I mean it.

I love you. ♥

2012 Garden Update, Mid-May

My garden has been planted (the second time) since the end of March. I am happy (and thankful) to say that this time, Mother Nature has allowed it to grow, and grow it has! The only thing that didn't work out this time was the eggplant, and I can't say I'm broken up about that. Anyways, onward to pictures!

 

Here's a picture of the full garden, from one corner to another. You can see obvious rows on parts of it, and what looks like a wide open space in the center. That should begin to form more obvious rows over the next few weeks, both as plants grow and fill out, and as I remove the weeds. The next 5 pictures are views down the rows, and what they are.

The Vines (Pumpkin, Cucumber, Watermelon, Cantaloupe)

The Peppers (Hot peppers and Bell peppers)

The Tomatoes

The Corn and Sunflowers

 

 

 

The Squash

Okay, so now let's take a closer look at each one. First, we'll start with the vines. Pumpkin, Cucumber, Watermelon, and Cantaloupe are all growing SO well. There are still a few weeds between them, but the vines themselves are taking over them and using them to spread out, so I only want to pull the ones with thorns. I didn't really think much about spacing when I planted these apparently, because they are creeping into each other's rows, and I foresee swimming through vines and discovering cucumbers in the pumpkin row and cantaloupe in the watermelon row... but in the end, they're all so healthy that no matter how I have to harvest them, they do seem to be growing well.

Note to self: Next year, plant the cucumber on an outer row, since they will be harvested much more often.

Cucumber

Pumpkin

Watermelon

Cantaloupe

 Then we move on to the peppers. I'm not sure how I ended up with four rows of them, but that's what I have. I know there are assorted bell peppers, and I believe I also have Habanero, Banana Peppers, and a Hot mix. Honestly, I don't remember. The pepper plants are still much smaller than the other plants in the garden, as they were last year as well. Part of this is because the pepper rows are riddled with weeds (I can't say that 5 times fast) and part of it is our nightly visitor.

I'll get you, you pesky wabbit! (See the rabbit tracks in the mud?)

However, the the plants themselves do seem healthy and a very pretty shade of green, even if they are small. It's still only May, they have plenty of time to grow up and start producing yummy peppers.

Bigger pepper plants (8 inches tall)

Small pepper plants (4 inches tall)

Pretty and healthy Tomato plant

Next in line, we have the tomatoes. There are two rows, although it's hard to tell since the squash plants are spreading into them. They are still pretty small as well, some of them are about a foot tall right now, but I will say the same thing I did about the peppers. They have plenty of time still to grow. Part of the problem is our nightly visitor, a rabbit who comes and eats their leaves. Now, I don't know if it's just one rabbit or multiple bunnies sneaking into the garden, but they're going to stop pretty quickly. A few days ago my dog was prancing around the yard showing off a brand new cottontail she had caught (and killed).






Squash! This is the section that you are just not going to believe.

The squash TOOK OFF for me this year. I don't know what I was thinking, planting two full rows of it. I think my thought process was something like, "I should probably use up all these seeds, otherwise it will have been a waste of money. Oops, I'm out of space in this row. Oh well, I'll just make another." Whatever brought it on, I now have two rows of overflowing, waist-high squash plants.

 The picture on the left here is a top view of the squash. This is what you actually see when you look at it. The picture on the right is when you move the leaves aside and look at the base of the plant. Large orange flowers and lots of growing veggies!

This is what you will find on every single squash plant, in both rows. Flower buds and an abundance of tiny veggies. They will be large enough to pick within a week.

Hm. This one is the perfect size to be picked now. I'll give it another day though, since I already have 6 squash in my kitchen that I have yet to do anything with. It's just not fun eating squash with dinner every night in a week, you know?

 Side note: Mom, I hope your kitchen is ready. I don't know how many different ways there are to cook squash, but I have a feeling you are going to try them all with the amount of squash I'm sending you. I'm just waiting for next paycheck to send it, and from the above pictures, they'll be perfect size for you by then! =)







The corn is the furthest along in the garden, mainly because they survived from the initial planting, along with the sunflowers, making them a few weeks older than everything else. The entire row has an average of 2-3 ears of corn forming on every stalk.

 

The Sunflowers are so much fun to grow. I love how tall they get, and how big and beautiful the flowers are. Right now, I have Sunflowers in all different stages.

 This sunflower in particular is one I'm paying very close attention to. I honestly don't see that it will survive, bloom, or produce any flowers or seeds... but I really hope that it does, because it will be one amazing sight to see.





 
I have nicknamed it "Gemini."

You can see in this picture that this one sunflower stalk has split off into two sections, and each section is growing it's own flower. That's rare enough as it is, having two flowers on one plant.

Here's where it gets even more rare. Not only are there two flowers on the stalk, but each flower is actually TWO flower buds, sharing the same stem. It's kind of hard to tell in the picture, but on the stem I'm holding up, there is one head on the left and one head on the right (if you look at the direction the small pointy green leaves are aiming, it helps. They surround each flower head).

If you look a bit more closely lower down on the stalk you can see that it appears to be two plants that are fused together. Or perhaps, one that never fully seperated.







My theory is that it's a genetic defect in the plant cells that is doubling everything. They are forming two of everything, but never seperating. Two main stalks, not seperated. Two flower stems, two flower buds on each stem, two leaves on opposite sides when on a typical sunflower plant there would be only one... I love when nature makes a mistake, because often times it turns out to be even more beautiful than the normal ones. I really hope Gemini blooms.

I tried to make this picture extra large so you can see, but this is how my watering system is set up. On the far side, there are two sprinklers mounted up on posts. There are also two more on the near side, but one of them is too far to the left and out of view. The sprinklers are each aimed at the garden and set to spray 180 degrees (that's a half circle). That means each quarter of the garden has it's own sprinkler. The advantage to having it set up this way is that there is only two hoses running through the veggies, I don't have to worry about moving sprinklers and adjusting them so they reach everything, and they are tall enough to spray over the top of everything, so nothing blocks the spray from reaching other plants. Due to water pressure we can only run two sprinklers at a time, but it's really not a big deal to switch them, since all four are connected to a single connector with easy to turn knobs for each hose.

As if this isn't already a long enough post... there is still more! You see, I can't have just planted the entire garden twice and have it all go flawlessly. There have been a few... "oops" plants. For example...

The cucumbers that had been planted previously have sprouted and are growing in their own row, running perpendicular to the current layout of the garden, and growing over the ends of the tomato and pepper rows.

At the edge of the tilled land, runs an entire row of cantaloupe. All growing with pretty yellow flowers blossoming all over the place.

A single HUGE pumpkin plant, fondly referred to as "daddy pumpkin". Have I mentioned he's HUGE?!

We're almost done here, but now I want to show you the fruits of my labor. Literally. I should mention, I'm not much into sports, but to give you some idea of the size of these melons, I used ball sizes.

Cantaloupe a bit larger than the size of a softball.

Cantaloupe the size of a baseball.

Cantaloupe the size of a tennis ball.

Cantaloupe the size of a marble. ...Is that not a sport? It should be. There are lots of these little ones scattered throughout the plants.

 
 Daddy Pumpkin has been growing balls too. I mean, pumpkins. Is a pumpkin a vegetable? Anyways, The one on the left is the size of a softball, and the one on the right is already nearly the size of a bowling ball. I like that it's starting to have orange shades to it! That's so exciting.

 And we will end this evening off with the smaller experimental outgrowth of the garden, the herbs. I didn't have anywhere in the ground I could plant them and still be able to distinguish exactly what was what (considering a lot of herbs look coincidentally like the weeds) and I also didn't have any small peat pots, so instead I used some styrofoam cups I had in the kitchen, filled them with freshly tilled soil from the garden, and planted some seeds in each cup, writing what I planted on the outside. I have two cups each of chives, lavender, parsley, basil, oregano, catnip (for my kitties), cilantro, sage, and rosemary. The rosemary didn't actually seem to do anything... there are two small plants growing in one of the rosemary cups but sadly I think they are just weeds. I don't have the heart to toss them and then later find out that was in fact rosemary, so I may be taking care and love to a common nuisance plant that I would have otherwise pulled up by the roots. Time will tell. In the meantime though, I'm getting them accustomed to full sunlight, a few hours at a time during the day, so I can transplant them to a raised bed I have in the back yard.

From left to right: chives, lavender, catnip, rosemary, sage, parsley, basil, oregano, cilantro.

Well, I think that has been MORE than enough this update. Hopefully the next time you see my garden, I can show you larger peppers and tomatoes, and harvested fruits and veggies! =)

This Week

I feel like I've started using this blog as more of a diary than anything. Nothing I've said lately seems to be helpful to anyone at all, but instead just records my thoughts and day-to-day activities. Then again, it's MY space, so does it have to be helpful to anyone else?

I didn't think so.

Anyways, I was scared for this week at first. Monday and Tuesday I had the worst migraines EVER. It started out as a light throbbing and over the course of a half hour, I had pounding in my head, sensitivity to light and sound, and tilting my head in any direction, however slight, only worsened the problem. I had to spend most of Monday and Tuesday in bed, medicated (not that any medicines were working), and attempting to sleep through the pain. The kids were left to destroy the house as they saw fit, and so long as they did it quietly I left them to it.

Wednesday morning comes around and we're up early. Took the kids to my mother-in-law's house, and headed off to town for a day of appointments. Of course, it's not till I'm already in town that I realize I forgot to bring the information about what doctor I'll be seeing Friday, that I was supposed to bring to my therapist. And the information as to who my dentist is and where he's located. Smart move, Crystal.

I get to my therapist's office, and somehow remembered the doctor's name, though I got home and looked and saw that I did give her the wrong appointment time. Oh well, I was off by 20 minutes. Not a big deal, she has my name and my doctor's name, she'll get it worked out. I did talk about my video game a lot, but it's a big thing going on in my life right now. Bright side to it all: I convinced my hubby to come with me to an appointment next month! I'm excited for that, even if all he does is tell my doctor all the bad things about me. That's fine, because this IS about me. But that's a full month away, so we'll see how that goes when it gets here.

Then I found myself with 2 hours to spare before my dentist appointment. I used the internet on my phone to look up local dentists and recognized the one I had scheduled the appointment with, and found the address. I planned on being there at least half an hour early, but I still had way too much time on my hands. On the way to the office (just to make sure I could find it okay) I saw Barnes and Noble bookstore on the corner and decided there was no better place to relax, alone, and pass the time. I caroused the isles for a good hour, spending most of my time in the science fiction / fantasy section. I tried to remember book suggestions my friends had recommended. Just as I was about to check out with another book, I found one. ♥ So I set aside my original book in exchange for The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Five Novels and One Story. I love how the back cover says "DON'T PANIC" in big friendly letters. So far I'm on page 6, and it's going to be an amazing book, I can already tell.

I went to the dentist, got my insurance approved almost instantly, and was taken back for X-Rays. Even though I was only there for an exam and to see what work I needed, they informed me that their hygienist just had a spot open up, and if I wanted a cleaning, it was free on my insurance. Well SURE! So I got a free cleaning. Then I saw the dentist, and he informed me that I only had one cavity, but that it had spread between two teeth. One was just a small part that could be easily solved with a filling, but the other tooth was just not salvageable. I was TOTALLY surprised, I expected SO much worse than that. To find out that my only problem is essentially one tooth... He gave me a few options on how to replace it with a new permanent one, and referred me to an oral surgeon (the best one in town, actually) to be examined to see if an implant is an option. So, I go to that examination this afternoon. In about 3 hours, actually.

Yesterday hubby did surprise me... with a date! When I got out of my dentist appointment, he asked me to meet him in town, and we got to go out to our favorite little Italian restaurant in town, and we got to go see The Avengers at the movie theater. He held my hand in public, and we talked and laughed and... it was just really nice. It was the first time we've been on a date in so long... we really needed that, and we need to do it more often, too.

I almost got a headache yesterday, but somehow it cut itself off as it started. I can already feel the slight beat of a headache coming on now, hopefully this one will cut off as well. I'm surprised at how this week as gone so far, I really expected a lot worse. Then again, I still have my exam this afternoon and I still need to see a doctor tomorrow, so it could get worse. We'll just have to see.

My point is though, that I expected so much worse. There has been more good this week than bad (overall, at least I think so). The best part (or the worst, I can't be sure long-term) is that I'm working on self improvement. Seeing a therapist, seeing a dentist, getting medication... I'm making the effort, I'm reaching out, I'm setting up appointments and going to them... I'm doing what I can to fix MYSELF. Getting myself back on track is the first step to knowing what I want out of life. It's not going to be instant, but this week has shown me so far that it's not going to be as hard as I think.

My Game, My Life, My Drug: World of Warcraft

I play World of Warcraft too much.

It's no secret. When I get up in the morning, I think about WoW. While I'm getting ready for the day, changing and dressing the kids, making them breakfast... I think about WoW. When I'm forced to get off the computer and do something in real life, or go to town, I plan out what I will do next time I get on WoW.

I want to get on the game first thing every morning... but I can't. It wouldn't be fair, with my husband getting up early each day and spending all those hours at work. So I suffer. And that's exactly what it feels like to me. Like I'm suffering.

I want to play. I want to be in the game, soaring above the clouds in my druid's flight form, cascading down to pick herbs for alchemy, fighting my way through a difficult raid with my friends, or questing for achievements and titles. I want to lose myself in the game, not worrying about real life issues but instead concerning myself with which guildmates are geared enough for Dragon Soul, or if this boss is going to drop that rare mount I've been searching for. It's not healthy, I know. But I can't help it. I'm addicted.

I drag myself through my chores each day, washing dishes and hanging laundry. I quickly pick up the house and sweep, in an effort to reduce the time until my fingers can be at home on my keyboard, typing messages in chat and pressing hotkeys for attacks.

When I see the time roll around that my husband should be getting off work, I jump in excitement, because that means my work day is over too, right?! I log onto my game and suddenly everything is right in the world, because I'm back where I belong. My friends are already online waiting for me, and they want to hang out.

But then I'm brought back to reality. Hubby might be home, but my work day is far from over. The kids still need dinner. Laundry isn't finished, and "it's not healthy to sit inside all day staring at a computer screen." Tea needs to be made, kids need to be cleaned and changed, hubby needs dinner too. Trash in the living room needs to be picked up (whether or not I put it there) and there are more dishes now. The animals need to be fed and watered and the garden needs to be checked on to see if it needs watering, too.

I'm neglecting my real life, I know I am. I'm neglecting myself and who I am, and what I need as a human being, because I just want to be in this game. But how could something that offers me so much be so bad for me? When I'm happy, I want to play my game. I'm in a good mood, I want to hang out with my friends and play the game. I perform better as a healer when I'm in a good mood anyways. When I'm sad, I want to play the game. I want to delve into a project in-game and forget my sadness. When I'm angry, I want to play my game. I want to get on and kill things and relieve stress and anger. When I'm feeling alone, I want to play the game. I want to see my friends and talk to them and hang out and be social. You can say they aren't real people all you want, but even though I've never met them we have Facebook and Mumble and we talk and text and we know each other enough now that I can say that my friends are real. Maybe they aren't real to you, but you don't know them like I do. They are real people too. Maybe they don't live close enough to visit, but does it matter where someone lives? It doesn't make them any less real just because we can't hang out in person. When I feel like my life has no meaning, that I'm not making a difference in the world, I want to play my game. Here, I can rack up achievement points and show off all that I have accomplished in-game. I have pets, mounts, toys, and titles that make other players jealous. Someone needs a healer? Great! I'm a healer. It's so nice to feel needed, and when you have a reputation as being a good healer, you feel wanted as well.

I know. I already said it. I play too much.

It's hard to think that someone could rely on a video game this much. It's so similar to a drug addict who needs their fix. This game is my drug. And I just can't stop. It's getting to a point where soon I will have to choose between things in real life, or this game. It shouldn't be a hard decision. But more and more, I would rather be in the game than in the real world. My real life isn't so bad that I should have to run from it. So why the addiction? I honestly don't know.

...Could I live without World of Warcraft? My mind is telling me "of course, it's just a game." But my heart is screaming at me not to stop, please don't stop, there's still so much I need to do in this game! All my friends are here! I belong here!!!

It's wrong. I know it is. It's not right, and it's not healthy, and it's ruining so many things in real life.

But could I honestly live without it?

I Just Know I'll Survive

I want to text someone
But I dont know who or what.
I want to talk to someone
But I dont know when or how.
I want to be alone;
A dream this life wont allow.
Do I know what I want?
Do I know why it's there?
Is anyone listening?
...does anyone care?
I ask too many questions
My mind can't comprehend.
I come up with too many reasons
Not enough rationality
The sense is gone.
Anger
Pain
Depression
Heartache
The drive is gone.
I just want to survive.
Foolishness
Love
Shame
Loss
Did something change?
Was it me?
Life kept moving
But I stood still.
I want to go somewhere
But I dont know where or why.
I want to do something
But I dont know wrong from right.
Though I might not survive
I'm going to win this fight.
I'm losing.
This is too close
That is too far.
I'm always wrong.
Everyday is the same
The same hurt
The same words
The same motivation
Its gone.
The drive is gone.
I just want to survive.