Hidden Valley Ranch Wonton Stars

By [e-mail]

My recipe has been modified from the original in order to make it healthier (less fat) and so we, and our guests, can eat more without feeling guilty. Umm, these are sooo good!

Ingredients

• 1 pound extra lean ground beef (90 or 97% fat free)
• 1 pound extra lean ground turkey (93 or 99% fat free)
• 1 large white onion - chopped very fine
• 2 cups shredded Taco cheese
• 2 cup shredded Mexican cheese
• 1 Large bottle Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
• 2 small cans chopped olives
• 1 red pepper - chopped very fine
• 2 packages fresh wonton wrappers (You find them in the refrigerated section of the fresh vegetable/fruit aisle of the grocery store. They're about 4x4 squares)

Details

Preparation time 30mins

Preparation

Step 1

In large frying pan:

Spread chopped onion on bottom of pan.
Kind of break up the hamburg and turkey into small pieces on top of the onion.
Cook on a fairly low heat so that the onions cook slow in the juices from the meat.
Stir when meat appears almost cooked. You want the onions to be soft before you stir.
To get the meat to be really fine (and not large chunks) I use a potato masher to smoosh it down.
When it's done cooking, strain the meat/onion to get all the juice out. I use a spaghetti strainer and dump it all in that, letting it sit till it cools down some.

When you chop the red pepper (very fine), it will be juicy. Grab a bunch of paper towels and blot the peppers to get most of that pepper juice out.

In a large Tupperware bowl add:

Meat/onion mixture (drained)
Finely chopped red pepper
Chopped olives
Cheeses
Hidden Valley Ranch dressing

Mix well and refrigerate (overnight is best)


Prepare Won-Ton wrappers in advance (day before or early in the day you need them):

You'll need regular-size muffin tins
A small plastic glass (to press the won-tons into the tin quick and easily.

For the first batch, spray the muffin tins with Pam Butter Spray or Pam Olive Oil Spray. You shouldn't have to spray at all after that initial time.

Place 1 won-ton wrapper over one muffin opening.
Gently press the glass on top of the won-ton wrapper into the tin.
Repeat for every muffin opening.

Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven.
First batch usually takes a couple minutes longer than the rest of them do.
Try about 10 minutes, but watch them. You want them to be lightly golden.
I put a bath towel on the table and dump them right out of the oven onto the towel.
The rest of the batches should only take about 7 minutes to turn lightly golden.

When cooled you can stack them into a large Zip Lock bag to keep them protected and fresh. This way if you bring them to someone's house they transport easily and you can put your mixture in a bowl and fill them when you get to where you're going.

Day of party:

Fill pre-cooked won-tons about half full on a cookie sheet (no need to grease it either).
Bake at 350 degrees about 10 minutes (or until you see the cheese start melting).

Serve with small paper plates and cocktail napkins.


Makes 7 to 8 dozen filled wontons (depending on how full you fill them)

Have fun and enjoy!