Getting creative with gyoza/chinese dumpling wrappers!

I bought a package of gyoza wrappers while in Norway.  They were so cheap! Only to find that my husband wanted to start eating less fat and carbs and when you make dumplings you have to use the high fat ground pork or it just won't taste right, haha.

So today I was thinking, "What can I do with these wrappers to make them still healthy but good?"

I made a stuffed "potsticker/ fried pirogi / gyoza thing" with raw spinach, ham and cheese.  It was so good and easy to make.

I choose not to wilt the spinach because I didn't want it to be wet.  I figured that it would steam a little in the potsticker pouch and it did.  It wilted slightly while still maintaining a good bite.  

Here are some pictures so you can salivate.  I would high recommend these.  So cheap and easy to make.

Back in Oxford, our huge haul, and creative packing

Hey!

So my husband and I are finally back in Oxford.  It was a great month in Norway and I honestly can't wait to go back.  I did even less than usual but the best part is that I got to cook whatever I wanted without having to pay for the groceries.
It is very weird to have a year off but it's been a good 5 months so far.  It feels longer but I've learned so much about how to support my husband and bad habits or reactions that I need to change, but this blog isn't about, thats on my other blog.  This one is about food and cooking!!

While we were in Norway we decided that there were two essential food items that we needed to bring back to Oxford and they were cheese and fish.  Cheese and fish are relatively cheap in Norway considering that everything costs an arm and a leg.  We got 1.3 kg of salmon for 6 GBP.  Basically a complete whole slab of Salmon.  Pictures below.
So we stocked up on salmon and cheese.
Since we were flying with ryan air, we didn't want to pay for more checked bags so my husband and I made it our mission to fit everything into two carry-ons.  Including all new clothes we got and books for school.
My mission was to make it fit.  And it did.  I ended up wearing all the winter clothes I got for Christmas and looked like a balloon but I didn't care.  Ryan air couldn't charge me for wearing too much clothes so I wore as much as I could.
We had about 12 kg of salmon, 2 kg of Cod and 3 kg of cheese.  In one hand luggage.  That hand luggage also included 1 kg of smoked salmon and random small items of clothes such as socks and underwear.  Anything that would fit into nooks and crannies.
The other hand luggage had an air-popper for popcorn, a ninja blender, a large wok and any clothes that could fit.
My purse had all my make-up, airplane necessities and any clothes that would fit.  My husband's backpack had books and clothes as well.

We ended up making it all the way back to Norway after a 2 hour plane ride, 3 hours of waiting and 4 hours of bus ride from London.
Some of the fish had defrosted so we ended up baking it and just saving it for later but all the other fish made it okay.  The cheese made it and all the electronics work fine.

It was a really stressful day because I was certain that my carry on was going to burst but it made it!
Now we have so much fish and cheese that we can mark that off our shopping list at least for the next month!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!
It's been a very long time since my last post but I can promise you it has been a very eventful time.  My husband and I went back to Norway for the holidays and there has been so much food that I haven't even had time to experiment and test out recipes.

I did make a honey rosemary pull apart roll courtesy of Chef John from food wishes.  His blog and youtube channel is really great.  If you haven't seen it, I would check it out.  I also made a lot of other dishes for the in laws, such as a roasted leg of lamb with an infusion of honey and rosemary that was a big hit.
Next week I'll post pictures of all the adventures we've had.
I'll be attempting a quiche and an avocado, key lime pie.

Here is the link for the honey rosemary rolls. http://foodwishes.blogspot.no/2012/12/rosemary-honey-pull-apart-dinner-rolls.html

How are you guys doing???

My new years resolution is to eat better and spend less! Will give more details on the next challenge next week.  I'm thinking of cutting out a lot of carbs and focusing more on local fresh but I don't want to break the bank so need to brainstorm!