New Year's Dumpling Delight

These are a family favorite. With all of us putting them together, it doesn't take overly long and it is a fun time for family conversation. From "Cooking Light".

CHILIGARLIC
DIPPING SAUCE:
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons green onion, minced
1 hot red chile, minced

DUMPLINGS:
10 ounce ground pork
3 1/2 cups shredded Napa (Chinese) cabbage
1 1/4 cups thinly sliced leek (about 1 large)
3/4 cup minced green onion
1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 3 ounces)
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake (rice wine) or sherry
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
40 won ton wrappers
2 large carrots, thinly sliced

Preparation
To prepare dipping sauce, combine first 7 ingredients. Cover and refrigerate. To prepare dumplings, combine pork and next 10 ingredients (pork through black pepper) in a large bowl.

Working with 1 won ton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to keep from drying), spoon about 2 teaspoons pork mixture into center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of wrapper with water; bring 2 opposite corners to center, pinching points to seal. Bring remaining 2 corners to center, pinching points to seal. Pinch 4 edges together to seal. Place dumplings, seam sides up, on carrot slices (cover loosely with a damp towel to keep them from drying). Arrange half of dumplings in a single layer in a bamboo or vegetable steamer. Steam dumplings, covered, for 10
minutes. Remove dumplings from steamer; place on a platter. Keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining dumplings. Serve with dipping sauce. Note: If you don't have a steamer, use a heat proof plate. Set it on top of a heatproof bowl placed in the bottom of a pot filled with 2 inches of water. Cover and steam.

The easiest bar cookies EVER!!!!

These taste kind of like Almond Joy bars. I melted the butter in the glass baking pan and then sprinkled the crumbs over the top and it worked fine. No mixing bowl so one less dish to wash! This is what my version of the recipe said. Also, my recipe called for 1 cup of choc. chips not 2 c. and they were WAY sweet enough. Cut these bars into small pieces - they are rich. Vary the type of candy chips, nuts and cookie crumbs to change the taste.


Magic Bar Cookies

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F for glass dish). In small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly on bottom of 13X9-inch baking pan. Pour EAGLE BRAND® evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store leftovers covered at room temperature.