The Right Kind of Eggs

So I stumbled across this brand of eggs when I was visiting my girlfriend and her husband.   We had an afternoon of cooking, laughing, drinking wine (of course) and baking.   Needless to say, we failed at the baking part but when she pulled out these eggs, I was amazed at the information!   I mean just look at the container.   Now these are the RIGHT kind of eggs to buy.   Am I right?   Vitale Farms is located in Texas.   Click here if you want to read more about them!   Their website is full of information...the RIGHT kind of information we need to know about how hens should be raised and respected.   Granted, the eggs are a bit more costly, but if it gives me the peace of mind I want...then I will spend the money.

I love the colorful, fun and happy packaging.

They even had a profile of the Bird of the Month! I love it!   I mean come on...gotta give credit to these beautiful birds that are providing us sustenance, right?   Also a profile of one of the farmers.  :)

Now this is the kind of pasture they deserve.  

Check them out, especially their website.  It was worth it for me.   If the human race can learn a little respect, love and kindness to each other and animals, this would be a much happier and much different world to live in.  :)

Cooking Egg Rolls with my Sis!

I recently flew to California to visit my family, mainly to watch my niece compete in an equitation event, to which she ended up being the grand champion.  I was so proud of her and so happy it happened while I was there.   It was a two day event that included lots of hard work, a lot of driving, practice and mom and dad focusing on her the entire weekend.   She deserved it. She worked hard and she won.  I also love spending time with my sister....so we can do girly things together, shop, eat, cook.  :)

Soooo...while I was there sis and I cooked some of these delicious egg rolls!   It's actually fairly simple.   Sometimes you see some recipes that have TONS of ingredients and steps that it really just turns you off to even trying it.  You really can have something as simple as this that tastes just as amazing.   I'm all into simple and easy these days.

Chicken Egg Rolls

1 lb. ground chicken (or beef/turkey)
1 can water chestnuts (cut in small bite-size pieces)
1 bunch of green onions (chopped)
1 package of shitake mushrooms (already sauteed)
1/2 onion chopped (already sauteed - can saute with mushrooms)
About 1/2-3/4 soy sauce
About 4-5 Tbsp. sugar
Egg Roll wrappers
Water
Olive or Vegetable Oil for Frying

Saute the onion and mushrooms together until cooked.   Drain if need be and set aside.   Cook ground chicken over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked, tossing in mushrooms and onion with it.  Slowly pour in soy sauce and sugar.   At this point I'll typically just keep adding both until I get the taste I like.  It should be both salty and sweet, oh and savory.   When you think you've reached your desired taste, set aside to cool.  To speed up cooling process I'll just put it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.   Once cooled, throw in the green onions and water chestnut and mix together.

Now comes the rolling.   Place about a 2 Tablespoons of the mix at one corner of the  egg roll wrapper and start wrapping.  If you've never wrapped before, this is a great demonstration here.  It's good to have a small glass of water set aside.  You'll want to wet the opposite corner of the egg roll from where you're wrapping to seal it shut at the end.

Now you're ready to fry!   You can also bake these at 450 for 20 minutes after you've brushed them with oil.   I'll admit, though, I prefer frying.  Sometimes you just have to be bad.  :)  I will usually have the oil heated at about a medium heat to avoid oil splashing onto you.  Remember, the meat is already cooked on the inside so frying is basically to brown the outside.   Once brown, you're done!

We had a few leftover egg roll wrappers and my sis had a great idea...we filled them with string cheese as an appetizer for everyone!

Autumn is in the air, I can feel it.   I think autumn has become my favorite time of year.   I used to be a summer girl but now I look forward to bundling up in my favorite sweaters and scarves and donning my favorite tall boots (okay, I have about six pair, really.)   The leaves haven't quite changed yet but they will turn an iridescent red, orange and yellow and line the streets I drive down.   I think it might be time to start baking and crocheting.  :)

Hope you're all enjoying the end of summer!   xoxo