WONTONS (Beef and Cream Cheese)

Every year I try to figure out what to take as "finger foods" to parties we are invited to.  This year I was reminded about my mom's famous wontons.  They are always a hit and really easy to make.  My only thing I would recommend is making them before you get ready.  Unless you want to smell like a greasy piece of fried dough at your party, then by all means get ready and then cook them.  

 Beef Wonton Ingredients:

1 lb of hamburger

1 packet of onion soup mix

Wonton wrappers

Mix the hamburger with the onion soup mix and stuff the wonton wrappers.  You can look online for different types of folds, but we have always just gone with the envelope which is all four corners tightly secured in the middle.  

I use shortening to fry in, but feel free to use vegetable oil.  I like the flavor of the shortening better.  Melt it down until clear.  I test it by putting in a small piece of wonton wrapper.  If it sizzles and pops it is ready to go.  You want it fairly hot because if the oil is too cool it will be absorbed a lot easier into the wonton and you will have an even greasier product.  

I fry 10-20 at the same time and then pull them out and put them in a baking dish that is lined with paper towels.  I leave them in an oven set to 225 degrees until I need them.  They freeze and refrigerate well.  Just reheat in the oven not the microwave for crispy wrappers.

Note:  I couldn't find the normal square wonton wrappers (always found by the weird organic vegetables in the grocery store...by the tofu) so I took the egg roll wrappers and quartered them.  I actually thought it was a better deal on the pocketbook.

Cream Cheese Wonton Ingredients:

Wonton wrappers

1 - 8oz package of plain cream cheese

  

I always put the cream cheese in the freezer for about an hour before preparation.  It makes it easier to cut.

I always fold these different than the beef wontons so people can tell the difference between the two.  I fold corner to corner then the other corners into the middle to form a "coin purse" type of look.  They look beautiful when fried.

 

 Follow the same instructions as above to fry, store and reheat.