Chicken Won Ton Tacos

Anthony and I LOVE going out to eat.  BUT...eating out is expensive and fattening and let's face it, not all that easy to do when you have young kids.  So for those reasons, I have tried to take some of my favorite restaurant meals, and make them at home.

Have you ever tried Applebee's Chicken Won Ton Tacos?  They are amazing!  I tried them one time, because I wanted to try something new (though I wasn't sure I would like them all that much) and I was hooked the first time.  Early last year, after the birth of my daughter, I joined Weight Watchers.  I needed to find out the nutritional information of restaurant food I ate so I new how many points I was using (Weight Watchers uses a points system).  I went to Applebee's website and found out that four tiny tacos have 590 calories and 24 grams of fat.  That might not be that bad if that's all you ate and you were full, but you only get four of them...and they are tiny.  I knew there had to be a better way, so I set out to find it.

After doing a bit of research on the Internet, I settled on this recipe.  I must say that it tastes almost exactly like theirs, except for the whole deep fried won ton thing...but I guess you can't have everything!  My version is much healthier than Applebee's.  I have made this for dinner for us and have also taken it places as an appetizer.  It works great either way and is sure to be a big hit!

Here's what you need to make it:
1 pkg. Won Ton wrappers
1 lb. chicken, cooked and diced
4 Tbsp. stir fry sauce
1 bag coleslaw mix
1/2 small red onion, diced
4 Tbsp. Kraft Light Asian Dressing
Cilantro, chopped
1 Lime

Here's how you make it:
1.  Combine coleslaw mix, red onion, and Asian dressing.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour. 

2.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Using a muffin tin, spray each spot in the muffin tin with cooking spray, then press a won ton wrapper into each spot.

Spray the inside of each Won Ton with cooking spray.  Sprinkle each Won Ton with salt.  Cook at 425 for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and place cooked Won Tons on a large sheet pan (this makes the assembly part much easier).  Repeat this process until you have about 36 cooked Won Tons.  (Some of the Won Tons will fold in on themselves during the cooking process.  They are still very pliable when you first pull them from the oven, so just use your fingers to open the Won Ton back up before it cools and hardens).

3.  Combine cooked chicken with stir fry sauce.  Spoon a small amount of chicken into each Won Ton wrapper.  At this point, if you would like to reheat your Won Ton shells (with the chicken in it), place the sheet pan in a 350 degree oven for 6-8 minutes.  Just watch them closely because the corners of the Won Tons burn easily.

4.  Spoon a small amount of the coleslaw mixture on top of the chicken in each Won Ton.

5.  Top each Won Ton with a little cilantro.  Then cut your lime into wedges and squeeze some fresh lime juice down over the top of the Won Tons.

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Here is a couple of tips that you might find helpful:
1.  You can cook the Won Ton shells up to 2 days in advance.  Wait until they have cooled completely on the sheet pan you placed them on.  Then place a piece of bread on top of them and cover the sheet pan with foil.  (The bread gets stale, the Won Tons don't).

2.  You can make the coleslaw up to 24 hours in advance.

3.  If you are making this for dinner, I doubt that your family is going to eat all 36 Won Tons in one sitting.  Only fully assemble the amount you think you are going to eat.  You can reheat the necessary components (the chicken and won tons) separately quite easily and nicely, but as a whole, they don't reheat well.

I hope this inspires you to be adventurous and try something new!

Sincerely,
The-M-O-M