Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Sushi Spring Rolls

Appetizers

You may have noticed I’ve posting less often than usual. I normally try to get about two recipes up per week, but between the exhaustion and nausea of the past several months, I just haven’t spent any time in the kitchen…yep, I’m pregnant!! Apolinaras and I are just so completely thrilled and excited to welcome a little girl to our family in early September!!

I’m 22 weeks along and happy to report that now that I’m in the second trimester, I’m finally starting to feel like myself again. My energy has returned, and although I still find myself heading to bed earlier than usual, I’m working out regularly once more and wanting more than just cereal or bagels for dinner. And, my little belly bump is starting to make an appearance as well – it’s taken awhile because I’m so tall, but here I am 5 months along!

As far as cravings go, one night I sent Apolinaras out to get French fries, and another day at work I couldn’t think of anything but an asiago bagel with cream cheese and had to immediately run across the street to Au Bon Pain to pick one up. We’ll see what the remaining months bring!

I already know what my first post-baby meal with be though – sushi! I miss it so much. I’ve had the cooked stuff several times, and while it’s not quite the same, it has been holding me over. And, one of the first meals I whipped up once I finally felt like cooking again were these delicious sushi-inspired spring rolls. I filled the wrappers with shrimp, cucumber, avocado, edamame, and brown rice, and dipped the rolls in soy sauce with wasabi – so good!

Sushi Spring Rolls

Sushi Spring Rolls
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (1 cup uncooked)
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 cup chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped avocado
1 cup cooked shrimp, chopped
1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
12 spring roll wrappers
Soy sauce and wasabi to taste

Directions:
Stir brown rice and rice vinegar in a large bowl until well mixed; stir in cucumber, avocado, shrimp, and edamame. Place one spring roll wrapper in warm water for about 10 seconds and lay on a flat surface one pliable. Place about 1/2 cup filling in each wrapper and roll up according to package directions (for tips on filling and rolling spring roll wrappers click here). Mix desired amount of soy sauce and wasabi and serve alongside the sushi spring rolls. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 217 calories, 5.2g fat, 3.5g fiber, 12.6g protein per serving
Cost: $0.98 per serving

Mashed Potato Stuffed Mushrooms

The holiday party season is here! I tend to be more of a grazer in general (it’s actually sometimes a little embarrassing how often I reach for the goodies in our snack drawer at work!), so I love it when a plentiful appetizer spread at parties lets me try new bites...

Chicken Parm Bites Stuffed with Mozzarella

I recently splurged on some of those cute little fresh mozzarella balls marinated in olive oil and herbs. They are so addicting! We enjoyed them when our friends visited last weekend, but I bought a huge tub because I wanted to play with them in a new recipe. I...

Cajun Shrimp Rolls

When I was in New Orleans several months ago, I ordered a Crawfish Roll on a whim from one of the food vendors. I didn’t really know what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a yummy eggroll filled with a crawfish/seafood stuffing. It was...

Mini Bean Black Cups Stuffed with Guacamole

There’s nothing better than sitting outside drinking margaritas and munching on guacamole and chips in the summer! We always order guac when we see it on a restaurant menu and I love to make it at home too since it comes together so quickly. Avocados are part of my...

Cranberry Pecan Brie Bites

Party season is finally here! I’ve been getting into the holiday spirit by having hot chocolate after dinner every night and singing along to Christmas carols in the car (I was in chorus in high school and know all the words!). But tomorrow things will get into full...

Football Chicken Cakes

An additional foodie goal of mine this year is to enter more contests. I really enjoy the whole recipe development process and there are some incredible prizes! The Tyson Fantasy League Party Master Contest recently caught my eye on Contest Cook.  I’m an aspiring...

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Tartlets with Blue Cheese

After submitting all my dessert recipes to the Pillsbury Bake-Off (please cross your fingers for me!), I had a few extra ingredients in the fridge to use - one package of pie crusts and one roll of cookie dough. I had developed so many sweet treats that I stuffed the...

Cheesy Mushroom and Leek Crostinis

We started our last day of our anniversary trip to Portland by indulging in a few sticky buns and croissants at the Standard Baking Company. Of course, we also filled up a bag with a few loaves of bread to bring home. The sourdough was excellent! Then we headed off to...