Philadelphia Roll

Why do three day weekends always make me wish I took more vacations?  This three day weekend was no exception.  It was wine, wine and more wine!

On Friday, my awesome friends, Maggie and Justin invited Brendan and I over to taste wine on this Wine Tasting/Mixing Kit by Winemaker's!

Maggie and her nifty wine kit.

Then on Saturday, Brendan and I went to the Mt. Vernon Wine Festival with a fun group.  It is beautiful there!

And on Sunday Funday, I got to celebrate Mel's 40th b-day on a limo wine tour and it was FABULOUS (as is she).

What a nice weekend!

So, to get myself back on track and to detox from all of the wine, I decided to make sushi!  It's fresh and it's not as intimidating as it looks.  Just remember; cut up the vegetables and fish in very small pieces, or the roll will come out looking like the gigantic log.  Plus, it helps if someone can teach you how to make the roll versus trying to follow directions.  Thank you, Michael!!!! Or if you can't find a teacher, try looking up a video tutorial on Youtube. 

So here is one of my fav's, the Philadelphia Roll!

It is that good!

Servings:  2

Serving size- 1 roll

Calories:  393.15
Fat:  9.25 g   

Carbs:  60.15 g
Fiber:  4.4   g 

Protein:  14.65 g 

Points:  8 

Recipe:

1 8 oz. package of smoked salmon (we will use 4 oz)

2 Tbsp of neufchatel cream cheese

1 avocado
1 medium cucumber

1 package of sushi nori seaweed sheets (package of 10, but we will use 2 sheets)

3/4 cup Nishiki sushi rice

1/2 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar

sugar

sushi mat

wasabi (optional)
Kikkoman's Less Sodium Soy Sauce or GF Soy Sauce

1.  First, measure out the rice and place it in the rice cooker bowl.  Take the bowl out of the rice cooker and proceed to rinse the rice off in the sink.  Place the lid over the bowl to drain the water out. Then, add 3/4 cup of water to the rice.  Place the rice back in the cooker and set to cook.  The rice should cook for 15-20 minutes.

2.  Then, cut up the avocado, cucumber, salmon, and cream cheese into thin strips.

3.  Once the rice cooker timer has gone off, take off the lid and add the seasoned rice vinegar and a sprinkle of sugar to the rice.  Mix it together with the rice cooker spoon.

4.  Get out a flat cutting board and place the sushi mat on top.  Place one of the seaweed sheets on top of the mat so that the rough end is facing up.  Then, scrape out small spoonfuls of the rice and spread half of the rice evenly on the sheet.

5.  At the bottom of the sheet, place the 1 Tbsp. of the cream cheese.  Then place thin strips of cucumber, avocado, and salmon on top. Proceed to tightly roll the bottom of the roll towards the top.  Don't worry about using the mat to roll the seaweed.  Just focus on tightly rolling the seaweed mat itself. 

6.  Once it is rolled, cut the rolls with a sharp knife into 1/2 inch pieces.

That's about it!  You'll never want to buy sushi from the store again!  And practice makes perfect. Your rolls will be looking professional in no time!

P.S.  I usually eat two rolls because one roll doesn't quite cut it. 

Another bonus is you'll have plenty of leftover salmon, avocado, and cucumber to make more rolls for your next meal.  All you have to do is cook more rice and you'll be set.