Pages

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Pimento Cheese & Bacon Wonton Appetizers - Two Ways

 
First of all, I'd like to give a shout out to Lori, a blogger friend and fellow Michigander over at Foxes Love Lemons, for always encouraging my wonton wrapper obsession.  Specifically, she's cheered on my love for forming them into little cups and filling them with all kinds of lovely ingredients.

Just when I think that my readers must be getting sick of me posting wonton cup recipes, there Lori is - cheering me on from the sidelines!  (She may have even once referred to me on her blog as the "wonton cup queen" within her Veggie Pizza and Buffalo Chicken Salad Wonton Cup Appetizers post.)

My friends at Kroger graciously sent me a slew of Kroger Greek products to try recently.  I was invited to develop some recipes using their products and share the results with you, my readers.  I was immediately drawn to their Greek Cream Cheese & Greek Yogurt product since I am a huge cream cheese lover and I've always enjoyed Greek-style yogurt.  The product comes packaged in an eight-ounce block portion and looks just like traditional cream cheese.  It was perfect for use as the base for my pimento cheese recipe and I love that it has two times the amount of protein as regular cream cheese (and half of the fat).  This is an product that will work wonderfully in many of my recipes that require cream cheese as one of the ingredients.


These appetizers can be prepared cold or hot.  To serve cold, simple bake off the wonton cups, add in the filling ingredients and serve as-is.  To serve hot, the baked wonton cups can be filled with the pimento cheese and bacon, then thrown back into the oven for a few minutes until the cheese filling is hot and bubbly.

Making homemade pimento cheese is a breeze, is inexpensive to prepare and never disappoints - especially as party fare.  Whip up a batch and serve it tucked inside of adorable, little wonton cups.  Your party guests will love them and you'll be well on your way to becoming a "wonton cup queen" in your own right!

Recipe yields 12 wonton cup appetizers. 


Ingredients:

FOR THE PIMENTO CHEESE -

3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (I used Kroger Greek Cream Cheese)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I use sharp)
1 cup shredded Colby-jack cheese
1/3 cup real mayonnaise
1 small jar (.2 ounces) diced pimentos
2 teaspoons grated onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
 
FOR THE WONTON CUPS -
 
12 small, square wonton wrappers (usually found in the produce section)
Non-stick spray
 
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS -
 
4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
1 - 2 scallions, sliced
 
Directions:
  
Whip cream cheese until fluffy and no lumps remain using an electric mixer. Add all of the remaining pimento cheese ingredients and continue to beat until well blended. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to assemble appetizers.
 
To make the wonton cups, spray a twelve-well muffin pan with non-stick spray.  Line each well with one wonton wrapper.  Press the wrapper down to form to the sides and bottom of the well.  Lightly spray the wonton wrappers with additional non-stick spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 7 - 8 minutes or just until the edges of the wonton wrappers begin to brown.  Remove from oven and transfer wonton cups to a cooling rack.  You can safely bake off the wontons a few hours prior to serving and leave out at room temperature, but do not fill until within about an hour of service.  Otherwise, the wrappers will become a little soft from the pimento cheese.
 
To serve hot, spoon a tablespoon of pimento cheese into each wonton cup.  (Reserve any leftover pimento cheese to use as a dip for crackers or as a spread on sandwiches.)  Top each cup with a small sprinkling of crisp bacon pieces and bake at 350 degrees for about five minutes or until filling is warmed through.  Top with scallions to serve.

To serve cold, spoon a tablespoon of pimento cheese into each wonton cup.  (Reserve any leftover pimento cheese to use as a dip for crackers or as a spread on sandwiches.)  Top each cup with a small sprinkling of crisp bacon pieces and scallions.
 
..................................................................................................................................... 

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Kroger Greek products. Sponsorships help with the costs associated with operating and maintaining Joyously Domestic, the blog.  All opinions and views expressed within this post and on any social media referencing my use of Kroger Greek products are 100% my own based upon my own personal experience.  I do not accept payment or sponsorship in return for simply providing positive feedback.



Want to check out some other wonton cup recipes from here on Joyously Domestic?

Taco Wonton Cups
Fresh Veggie Pizza Wonton Cups
Buffalo Chicken Wonton Cups
 

7 comments:

  1. Haha thanks for the shout out! Before I even read the post (just saw the photo on Facebook), I was already cheering you on for these! You read my mind, lady, because I LOVE LOVE LOVE pimento cheese!

    Putting these on my Thanksgiving menu! I'm always a slacker when it comes to apps, because I prepare the whole meal myself, but these are so simple that they'll be no problem at all :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I, too, love pimento cheese. I find that it's like cilantro ... people either seem to really love it or totally hate it! :) These little appetizers totally rocked. After having them both cold and hot a couple of different times this week while working on the recipe, I think I prefer them hot, but the cold ones were great, too! There are going on my Christmas menu since one side of my family does an all-appetizers/finger-food party. Hope you enjoy! :)

      Delete
  2. Your family Christmas party sounds like my DREAM PARTY! Appetizers are my favorite foods, and a whole party just of apps? I'm going to sneak in and pretend I'm a long-lost cousin...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Come on down ... at least you wouldn't have too far to drive! ;)

      Delete
  3. Wow, so perfectly done and can see that the wonton skin is very crispy! Thanks so much for sharing such wonderful recipe, Angela! Have a wonderful week ahead :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words, Ivy! :) Have a great week yourself!

      Delete