Mom's Favorites: Marinade the Easy Way or the Hard Way

Ok so tonight I'm going back to the marinade well with 2 different recipes that go excellent on chicken. For those of you who don't fancy yourselves as chefs, one will most definitely intimidate you more than the other. I say they are both easy to do .. you just need to get over your fear of strange ingredients. I highly recommend both as they have unique flavors and you'll think you just got some restaurant quality food!

Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce/Marinade

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped               2 tbsp. oil                      2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c. water                                      1/4 c. peanut butter      1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. chili powder                          2 tbsp. lemon juice       2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, saute onion in oil until tender.
2. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
3. Add water, peanut butter, sugar and chili powder. 
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thick.
6. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, soy sauce and salt. 
7. Marinate your chicken in it and reserve some for dipping.

Tandoori Yogurt Marinade (get ready to check out your spice aisle!)

Ingredients:

1 tsp. chili powder            1 tsp. ground turmeric          1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. garam masala        1 tsp. cinnamon                    4 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced    1 1/4 c. plain yogurt              juice of 2 lemons

5 tbsp. peanut oil             5 tbsp. tomato paste             2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. ginger                     2 tbsp. white wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Mix all the dry spices together.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly.
3. Pour over meat and cover tightly.
4. Let marinate for up to 2 hours for fish/seafood or overnight for meat or poultry.

See....both are easy to whip up. But, I guarantee the Tandoori one has you quaking in your boots. You may just have to get adventurous in that spice aisle and/or the international aisle.  If you've ever had Indian food, you'll know this is well worth it. And, added bonus, for spending that extra money in the spice aisle, I promise you I will share my chicken tikka masala recipe so you have 2 reasons to keep garam masala and turmeric in your cabinet.

As always, have fun!

Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Rolls

I really had no good blog topic in mind tonight, so I figured why not go through my chicken recipes. I mean, chicken is kind of an easy default. Even picky eaters usually don't have an issue with chicken. In fact, as an event planner, I've often joked about the "rubber chicken" dinners you get at most hotel functions. 9 times out of 10 the chicken is not in fact overcooked. It's more that because it's so user friendly that most big groups go with it.  In fact, I've tried some sauces and vegetables with chicken that are typically out of my comfort zone at events and found that I really like them! It's just sometimes tiring to have chicken at every meal.

Tonight's recipe is one of those out of my comfort zone instances, mostly because of the choice of veggie. Once I find I like something, I tend to beat it to death, so you get yet another asparagus recipe!

Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Rolls

Ingredients:
8 fresh asparagus spears            2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (abt. 5 oz. each)
1 tbsp. dijon mustard                   4 fresh sage leaves               2 slices provolone cheese
2 slices deli ham                          1/4 c. flour                             1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs               1/4 c. parmesan cheese       1 1/2 tsp. butter
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil                         1/4 c. white wine or chicken broth

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, bring 1/2 in. of water to a boil. 
2. Add asparagus and cover and boil for 3 minutes.
3. Drain and immediately place in ice water.
4. Drain and pat dry.
5. Flatten chicken to 1/4 in. thick.
6. Spread mustard over one side of each breast.
7. Down the center, place two sage leaves, a slice of cheese, a slice of ham and 4 asparagus spears.
8. Fold chicken over asparagus and secure with toothpick.
9. Place flour and egg in separate shallow bowls. 
10. In a third bowl, combine bread crumbs and parmesan.
11. Dip chicken in flour, egg then breadcrumb mixture.
12. In a large skillet, brown chicken on all sides in butter and oil.
13. Transfer to an 8 in. square baking dish coated with cooking spray.
14. Add wine to skillet, stirring to loosen brown bits from pan.
15. Pour over chicken.
16. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

As always, have fun!

Back to Buffalo

I wasn't quite sure what to write about tonight. So, in keeping with the hot and spicy stuff, I'm treading back over a topic I've covered a few times. Buffalo stuff! I always disliked buffalo wings because they were too hot. I'm not sure what's changed in the last few years but I have learned to love the flavor. Obviously since I've got all sorts of recipes in this arena I suppose!

This time, we're going to cover a crispy chicken recipe that is punched up with hot sauce and some slaw on the side. Slaw is also another relatively new like of mine. I don't particularly like traditional slaw as it's too mayo heavy. I've found several variations of it and this particular one goes well with buffalo flavored stuff.

Crispy Buffalo Chicken Roll Ups

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves                   3/4 tsp. salt                      1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. crumbled blue cheese                                        1/4 c. hot pepper sauce    2 tbsp. mayo
1 c. crushed cornflakes

Directions:

1. Flatten chicken breast to 1/4 inch. 
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Sprinkle with blue cheese.
4. Roll up each from a short side and secure with toothpicks.
5. In a shallow bowl, combine pepper sauce and mayo.
6. Put cornflakes in a 2nd bowl.
7. Dip chicken in pepper sauce then coat with cornflakes.
8. Place seam side down in a greased 9x13 pan.
9. Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 20-30 minutes.

Blue Cheese Slaw

Ingredients:

4 c. shredded green cabbage         4 c. shredded red cabbage        4 large carrots, shredded

Dressing:

1 c. mayo       2 tbsp. Dijon mustard     1 tbsp. stone ground mustard      1 tbsp. cider vinegar

1/4 tsp. salt    1/4 tsp. pepper               1 1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese    

1/4 c. minced parsley

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine cabbages and carrots. (You could also just buy coleslaw mix to save time).
2. In a small bowl, combine the mayo, mustards, vinegar, salt and pepper. 
3. Pour over cabbage mixture - toss to coat.
4. Stir in cheese and parsley.
5. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

As always, have fun!

Chicken & Spinach

Spinach is one of those vegetables that was on my do not eat list for what seems like forever. I still don't know that I could eat a pile of it cooked, but I do love to cook with it. I even have a few spinach salads up my sleeve that are pretty good too. My post about the manicotti the other night got me thinking in Italian mode again and this little gem popped in my head. It's got a lot of similar flavors to the manicotti but no pasta to make it carb heavy. It's a few extra steps than the last few recipes I've blogged about but they aren't hard, I promise!

Chicken Rollatini with Spinach alla Parmigiana

Ingredients:
8 thin chicken cutlets (3 oz each)           1/2 c. breadcrumbs          1/4 c. parmesan cheese
5 oz. frozen spinach, squeezed dry        6 tbsp. egg whites            6 tbsp. ricotta cheese
6 oz mozzarella                                      1 c. tomato sauce

Directions:

1. Wash and dry the cutlets - season with salt and pepper. You can also use regular chicken breasts but I would suggest pounding them down pretty thin so they roll easily.
2. Preheat oven to 450 and lightly spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
3. Combine breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp. of the parmesan in one bowl and 1/4 c. of egg whites in another.
4. Shred or finely chop 1.5 oz of the mozzarella and combine with the remaining parmesan, spinach, 2 tbsp. of egg whites and ricotta cheese.
5. Spread 2 tbsp. of this mixture on each cutlet.
6. Loosely roll each one and keep the seam side down.
7. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture then in breadcrumbs.
8. Place seam side down in the baking dish. Recipe says you dont need to hold it together with a toothpick. We did because our chicken was not thin enough.
9. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
10. Bake 25 minutes. 
11. Remove from oven, top with sauce and cheese.
12. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 3 more minutes. 
13. Serve with pasta if you want or you could just do a salad or a veggie on the side.

My only advice with this is to make sure your chicken is thin.  It's a pain to get these rolled if it's not.  As always, have fun!                          

Weather Changes....Sick?

In the dead of winter, I don't get sick. I traipse through snow in negative temperatures and don't get sick. It was in the teens and twenties yesterday and thirties and forties today. I wake up with a cold. With my throat on fire and my nose completely stuffed up, I wondered what the best cure would be...soup!

Buffalo Chicken Wing Soup

Ingredients:
6 cups milk                   3 cans cream of chicken soup            1 lb. shredded chicken           
1 cup sour cream          1/4 c. - 1/2 c. hot pepper sauce (depending on taste)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Even better, a recipe without a lot of prep work when you have no energy or patience to deal with it. A cup of hot soup always makes me feel better when I'm sick and the heat in this one could potentially clear anyone's sinuses!

As always, have fun!

Crock Pot Chicken

There are nights where you look at the clock and say "oh no where did the time go"...that's me tonight. On those nights, you will wish you had the forethought to put something in the crock pot hours before so cooking dinner is the last thing you need to worry about.

Well go ahead and steal this recipe for just such an occasion and leave me a comment about what you do about dinner when "you've run out of time".

Cashew Chicken

Ingredients:
6 boneless chicken breasts, chopped      2 tbsp. butter                 1/4 c. green onion      
1 c. sliced mushrooms                             1 can cream of mushroom soup  
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce                                1/2 c. cashews                  hot cooked rice

Directions:

1. Combine chicken, butter, green onion, mushrooms, soup, soy sauce and cashews in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
3. Serve over rice.

Yes, it's just that simple, but oh so good!

As always, have fun.

Cooking Fear?

What's the best way to face your fear? Run away from it? Actively avoid it? Heck no - hit it head on!

"I'm all about the crockpot since I seem to always find a way to mess up more complicated meals.. And chicken- always afraid to undercook it"

I get that chicken phobia, especially since I was the recipient of a lovely case of food poisoning after eating chicken at a restaurant. But, guess what? I still eat chicken - I just am careful to watch its color and if you are really into making sure meat is cooked right, invest in a meat thermometer. You can find one for fairly cheap and truthfully, cooking meat to a temperature rather than just relying on time makes it taste better too!

So here's a chicken recipe that's not a crock pot one but it's one where it's pretty easy to spot if the chicken is undercooked. Also, you brown it and then heat it in liquid so it should cook up nicely and not dry out.

Chicken and Chorizo Paella

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cut in 2 inch chunks    1/4 c. flour      2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped     2 garlic cloves, minced    
4 oz. cooked chorizo sausage, cut in 1/4 in. rounds            1 1/2 c. long grain rice                
3 1/2 c. chicken broth     15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained         1 c. frozen peas

Directions:

1. Dredge chicken in flour.
2. Warm 1 tbsp. oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
3. Cook chicken until browned on all sides (about 6 minutes total).
4. Transfer to a plate.
5. Heat remaining oil and add onion and garlic.
6. Cook, stirring until soft, about 3 minutes.
7. Add chorizo and cook until lightly browned about 2 minutes.
8. Stir in rice, broth, and tomatoes.
9. Bring to a boil and add chicken.
10. Cover, reduce heat to low. 
11. Cook until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through (10-12 minutes).
12. Remove from heat and stir in peas.
13. Cover and let stand until peas are heated through (5 minutes).

Face your fears. Check!  Buy a meat thermometer. Check!  Make a delicious dinner. Check! Oh yeah, and as always, have fun!

More Crock Pot Happiness

More snow. I'm thrilled. Not!

While you are out shoveling over and and over, you can have dinner cooking and ready to go when you get in, cold and tired with very little effort.

Pull that trust crock pot out and get dinner going before you go outside.

Sesame Chicken

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts            1/2 c. honey               1/4 c. soy sauce
2 tbsp. dried onion            1/2 tsp. garlic powder       2 tbsp. ketchup          1 tbsp. oil
Sesame seeds                  2 tsp. cornstarch              3 tbsp. water

Directions:

1. Put chicken in crock pot.
2. Combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil and garlic.
3. Pour over chicken.
4. Cock on low 3-4 hours or high 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours, just until chicken is cooked through.
5. Remove chicken from crock pot.
6. Dissolve cornstarch in water and pour into the crock pot. 
7. Stir to combine with sauce.
8. Replace lid and cook on high for 10 minutes, until slightly thick.
9. Cut chicken in bite size pieces and throw in crock pot.
10. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice.

Happy Shoveling! As always, have fun!

Cold Days...Warm Crockpots

Ok so this lovely cold "snap" doesn't seem to be ending, so let's embrace it. What's better than a hot cup of soup to warm you up? One you can make in the crock-pot, filling your house with yummy smells all day long of course!

I am not a huge soup fan because it often conjures the image of some weenie vegetables and noodles floating in a thin broth. But, I've learned that is far from the only soup out there. In fact, a nice thick chowder is even better. I have some recipes for seafood ones, which are very tasty. But today I'm going with something a bit more well liked across the board.

Chicken Bacon Crock pot Chowder

Ingredients:
4 garlic cloves          1 shallot          1 leek             6 oz. mushrooms         1 sweet onion
4 tbsp. butter            2 c. chicken stock                 1 lb. chicken                 8 oz cream cheese
1 c. heavy cream     1 lb. bacon, crumbled            1 tsp. salt                     1 tsp. pepper        
1 tsp. garlic powder 1 tsp. thyme

Directions:

1. On low, add garlic, shallot, leek, mushrooms, onion, 2 tbsp. butter, 1 c. chicken stock, salt and pepper to crock pot.
2. Cover and cook for 1 hour.
3. While vegetables are cooking, in a large skillet, pan sear the chicken breasts in the remaining 2 tbsp. butter until brown on both sides (app. 5 min. per side).
4. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. De-glaze the pan with the remaining chicken broth. 
6. Using a rubber spatula, scrape up any bits of chicken stuck to the pan.
7. Add chicken stock to crock pot.
8. Add heavy cream, cream cheese, garlic powder and thyme.
9. Stir until well combined, with no visible chunks of cream cheese.
10. Once the chicken is cool, cube it and add to the crock pot along with bacon.
11. Stir until well combined. 
12. Cover and let cook 6-8 hours. 

It might be miserable to walk outside, but everyone will want to come over for the smell of this permeating your house and oh of course to eat it too!

As always, have fun!

Unique Use of Crescent Rolls

I love bread and rolls. Fresh crescent rolls out of the oven are a particular favorite of mine. I never really thought about that dough in the can being actual dough that you could use for other things, like this crescent ring. I'm back on to my buffalo recipes. It's definitely something I started liking as an adult. I've never been a huge "hot" fan but I do like buffalo chicken for sure.

Buffalo Chicken Crescent Ring

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened            1 pk ranch dressing mix           1/2 c. diced onions
1/2 c. buffalo sauce                          12 oz. chicken, diced               2 tubes of crescent rolls
1/2 c ranch dressing for dipping

Directions:

1. Combine cheese, ranch mix, onions, buffalo sauce and chicken.
2. Separate the roll dough into 8 rectangles.
3. Form a circle with them on a cookie sheet.
4. Spoon the chicken mixture onto the dough.
5. Fold dough over top of chicken and press into place.
6. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

Here's a picture of how to position the dough.

As always, have fun!

Last Wings - Nice & Hot!

Tonight's blog is going to be short, mostly because I've never tried the recipe. It's my mom's hot wing recipe - and boy does she like them hot! I figure this is a great way to end "wing week"! Those who have partaken of these winning wings - feel free to comment!

Mom's Super Bowl Hot Wings

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. butter 4 minced garlic cloves 1 tsp fresh ginger 1 tsp black pepper 1/2 c. sriracha
1 c tomato sauce 2 tbsp. soy sauce 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 
2 tbsp. brown sugar

Directions:

1. Melt butter till foamy, 
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer till thickened.
3. You can marinate them then cook but I put them on a baking sheet at 425 degrees.
4. I cooked them 7 minutes turned them and another 7 minutes. 
5. Put the sauce in a big bowl and toss them till covered. 
6. Put them in a marinator to travel with the sauce that is left.

Thanks Mom! Can't wait to test this out - though I may make 2 smaller batches - 1 nice and hot for Jeremy and 1 a little easier on my sweat glands for me!

Do you like Jerk?

Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meat is dry-rubbed or wet marinated with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. Jerk seasoning usually includes allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers. Other ingredients include cloves, cinnamon, scallions, nutmeg, thyme, garlic, and salt. Here's my version I found that isn't super hot but still quite tasty.

Ingredients:
2 medium onions, chopped       1 jalapeno, halved and seeded     2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 in. fresh ginger, chopped        1/2 tsp. salt                                  1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. allspice                           1 c. orange juice                          1 c. white wine vinegar
1/2 c. soy sauce                         4 lbs. chicken wings

Directions:

1. Combine onion, jalapeno, garlic, ginger, salt, sugar and allspice in a food processor.
2. Puree until smooth.
3. Whisk orange juice, vinegar and soy sauce in a large measuring cup.
4. Add to food processor and blend well.
5. Place chicken and sauce in plastic bag and marinate at least 30 minutes up to 24 hours.
6. Grill chicken on medium heat.
7. Bring remaining sauce to a boil and reduce heat. 
8. Simmer for 2 minutes. 
9. Use this sauce to baste chicken while you grill.
10. Cook chicken until it reaches internal temperature of 170 (about 40 minutes).

Tomorrow, we wrap up the parade of chicken wings with a recipe I've never actually tried but it's going on my list. My mom's Super Bowl hot wings - which got rave reviews!

As always, have fun!

Asian Chicken

Yes, I've not run out of chicken wings yet. Have you found your favorite yet that you want to try? Hopefully so because the list is not infinite and I wrap up tomorrow. Today's menu has more of an Asian flair with a little bit of zing. I was nervous about trying this one because Jeremy's not high on onions but he really enjoyed it!

Sticky Onion Crunch Wings

Ingredients:

3 lbs. chicken wings           vegetable oil         1/2 c. french fried onions        1 c. hoisin sauce

1/2 c. pomegranate juice    1/4 c. dark brown sugar      2 garlic cloves        1 tbsp. horseradish

4 scallions

Directions:

1. Combine hoisin, pomegranate, sugar, garlic, horseradish and scallions
2. Cook over medium high heat.
3. When sauce begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Fry the wings at 360 in oil until golden brown (12-14 minutes).
5. Toss wings in the sauce.
6. Roll wings in crushed fried onions to thoroughly coat.

Soba Noodles with Gingered Sesame Dressing

Ingredients:

1/2 c. soy sauce         1/4 c. brown sugar        2 tbsp. rice vinegar        2 tbsp. oil

2 tbsp. orange juice    1 tbsp. minced ginger   1 tsp. sesame oil           1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp. sriracha            1/2 lb. uncooked soba noodles or whole wheat linguini     

14 oz. coleslaw mix    1 c. shredded carrots      1 c. green onions        3 tbsp. sesame seeds

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk the first 9 ingredients and set aside.
2. Cook soba noodles and drain. 
3. Rinse noodles in cold water and drain again.
4. Combine coleslaw mix, carrots, green onions and noodles.
5. Add dressing and toss to coat.
6. Garnish with sesame seeds.

As always, have fun!

My Valentines

Ok so I have to admit that I really didn't think I would be writing about Valentine's Day on Valentine's Day. I know that sounds funny to most but it's never been high on my favorite holiday list. I've always wondered why you need a special day to tell someone you love them when you should do that every day. Then, my cynical self said it's a greeting card industry holiday designed to make a buck. Finally, the crushing blow. My favorite valentine from when I could walk and talk, my grandfather, died on Valentine's. Pretty cruel right?

On this 14th anniversary of his passing, I can tell you it doesn't get easier, not really. I have my good days and bad days, good years and bad etc. But how do you ever get over the loss of someone so essential in your life? Well, you live it - because at the end of the day you know that person would hate you moping and mourning what could have been. So, I choose you dear reader. You're my valentine. I was lucky to have grandparents who loved me and a grandfather I absolutely adored. My recipes today are in honor of both of them.

Nana's Famous Chicken Wings

Ingredients:
3 lbs. chicken wings         3 tbsp. soy sauce       1 tbsp. sugar    3 tbsp. 7-up    2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp. vinegar (she used white, I use balsamic) dash of tabasco (not necessary)
                                    
Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients except chicken together.
2. Marinate chicken in sauce overnight.
3. Bake on cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
4. Switch to broil setting and broil for a few minutes until crisp.

Everyone's at least heard of my nana's chicken wings, if not tried them at some point. What recipe to do for Grampy though? He wasn't exactly the cook of the family. I could talk about Magni's bread and peanut butter and cheese sandwiches, but I have a feeling that's an acquired taste. Or perhaps I could tell you about how I hated beer until he passed and the night of his wake when we went to the 99, the whole table looked at me like I was nuts when I ordered a Bud Light. Thanks Grampy!  Instead, I choose an ingredient that embodies him. His love of cashews, which I happily inherited. I could eat cashews all day long!

Butterscotch Cashew Bars

Ingredients:

1 c. + 2 tbsp. butter, softened    3/4 c. + 2 tbsp. brown sugar     2 1/2 c. flour     1 3/4 tsp. salt

10 oz. butterscotch chips           1/2 c. + 2 tbsp. light corn syrup         3 tbsp. butter

2 tsp. water                                2 1/2 c. salted cashew halves

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine butter and brown sugar.
2. Add flour and salt until just combined.
3. Press into a greased 15x10x1 pan.
4. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
5. Combine butterscotch chips, corn syrup, butter and water in a saucepan.
6. Cook and stir over medium heat until chips and butter are melted.
7. Spread over crust.
8. Sprinkle with cashews and press down lightly.
9. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until topping is bubbly and light brown.
10. Cool on wire rack and cut into bars.

So again Happy Valentine's Day to all of you - hope your day was special. Mine always is despite the sadness because I have plenty of valentines, past, present and future to warm my heart.

As always, have fun!

Back to Basics

I'm saving my special wing recipe for Valentines. In the meantime, I'm going back to a more basic wing recipe, not super hot or spicy with my favorite side, mac & cheese.

Yes, Julie, more mac & cheese...you can thank me later!

These wings are mostly sweet with a hint of red pepper and ginger that really give it a zing without overwhelming you.  

Honey Lime Chicken Wings

Ingredients:
2 lbs. chicken wings       1/4 c green onions, chopped      3 tbsp. soy sauce       
3 tbsp. lime juice             3 tbsp. honey           2 tsp. sesame oil        1 1/2 tsp lime peel   
1/4 tsp red pepper          1 tbsp. ginger           2 garlic cloves

Directions:

1. Cut wings at joint to make 2 pieces.
2. In a blender, combine all ingredients except chicken.
3. Process until smooth.
4. In a plastic bag, combine chicken and marinade.
5. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, turning occasionally.
6. Spray shallow baking dish and put chicken pieces down.
7. Bake at 425 for 30-40 minutes.

Now it's on to what to pair with this culinary delight?  You could go Mexican with the honey/lime/pepper combo. Or you could go Asian with the sesame oil/ginger/garlic combo. Instead I'm going good old fashioned American with mac & cheese! Yes, I'm a self admitted mac & cheese junkie but I can't help it. I think the ranch/garlic/lemon pepper combo in this dish goes well with these wings. Plus, ranch is pretty universally loved anyway.

Ranch Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

1 c. milk          1/4 c. butter        2 envelopes ranch dressing mix       1 tsp. lemon pepper

1 tsp. garlic pepper        1 tsp. garlic salt        1 c. cubed colby cheese      

1 c. cubed monterey jack cheese     1 c. sour cream    1/2 c. crushed saltines

1 lb. macaroni, cooked and drained

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven. combine first 8 ingredients.
2. Cook and stir over medium heat until cheese melts and mixture thickens.
3. Fold in the sour cream.
4. Add crackers and macaroni. 
5. Cook until heated through, stirring frequently.

Are you drooling for these? Are you ready to make chicken wings for your special someone on Valentine's Day? Well, I hope you are doing something special for the one you love. I'm not necessarily big on the day for my own reasons but I do still celebrate it. You'll hear about it in tomorrow's blog with special recipes picked out in honor of the day.

As always, have fun!

Winter wings?

Cranberries. Having grown up in Massachusetts, cranberries were kind of a normal thing for me. I mean really - what kid didn't go to Edaville Railroad at Christmas time? Granted none of us probably really appreciated the cranberry bogs, but I do now when I can't find cranberries easily except for around the holidays.  Luckily, in this case, my recipes tonight need the flavor but not the fresh berry itself. I'm a little bit of a cranberry nut ... love dried ones on my salads and I can always go for cranberry juice. 

Cranberry BBQ Chicken Wings

Ingredients:
3 lbs. chicken wings        12 oz jar of cranberry orange relish        1/2 c bbq sauce
1 tbsp mustard                 2 tbsp. quick cooking tapioca                  salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Cut each wing in half at joint.*
3. Place chicken on rack in broiler pan and season with salt/pepper.
4. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat 10-12 minutes, turning once.
5. Transfer chicken to crockpot.
6. Stir together relish, bbq sauce, tapioca and mustard in small bowl.
7. Pour over chicken.
8. Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours.

This is a great recipe to do boneless as it sits in a crockpot and then you can put them over rice below. If you do boneless, just slice 3 lbs. of chicken breast up into good size pieces.

Cranberry Walnut Rice

Ingredients:

2 tsp. oil         1 small onion, finely chopped      2 garlic cloves, minced        1 carrot, sliced

1 c. rice          1 1/2 c. carrot juice                      1 1/2 c. water                       3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper    1/4 tsp. thyme     1/4 c. chopped walnuts        1/4 c. dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Heat oil over low heat.
2. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender about 7 minutes.
3. Add carrot and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in rice.
5. Add carrot juice, water, salt, pepper and thyme and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until rice is tender (1 hour).
7. Stir walnuts and cranberries into the rice just before serving.

Have a berry good time making these recipes! LOL I am queen of the bad puns. But remember ..... always have fun!

Fruity Wing Time

Fruit based sauces can give your wings a natural sweetness along with whatever zing you put in it. It also depends on what type of fruit you use. Today's recipe is another one with some kick, coming from a couple of different sources. This is definitely not what I would call a hot wing, but more just sweet and spicy.

Raspberry Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

sauce: 1 tbsp. oil     1/2 c. onion      1 garlic clove      12 oz raspberries      
1/3 c. + 1 tbsp. brown sugar            1 tbsp. light molasses           2 tbsp. cider vinegar       
2 tbsp. Worcestershire                      2 tbsp. ketchup                    2 tsp. Dijon mustard           1/2 tsp. pepper sauce       

wings:  4 lbs. chicken wings           2 tbsp. chili or curry powder      1 tbsp. salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Heat oil and add onions - cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add garlic - cook for another minute.
4. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. 
5. Bring to simmer.
6. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until raspberries are soft (10 min).
7. Transfer to blender and puree.
8. Divide sauce in half (glaze and dipping).
9. Toss wings in chili/curry powder. 
10. Spread on baking sheet and roast, turning once, for 35 minutes. 
11. Brush with sauce and roast until glazed (app. 2 1/2 minutes).
12. Turn, brush with more sauce and bake another 2 1/2 minutes.
13. Serve with remaining sauce for dipping.

The spice in this is on the mild side, but combining it with the raspberry definitely kicks it up a notch. If you are into spice but worry about it being too hot - it's not!

As always, have fun!

PB & J and Chips

Are you thinking .. what the heck is she talking about? She just said yesterday that she's doing more than a week of chicken wing recipes!

Well, I did and I stand by my headline. This is an interesting twist on every kid's favorite lunch. All the same rules apply too except there is no bread involved.  Crunchy or creamy peanut butter?  Grape or strawberry jelly? Jelly or jam?  For me, it's always crunchy peanut butter and either strawberry jam or my new favorite ... homemade four berry spread! And, of course, I'll include a recipe for that as well! 

What goes best with a pb & j sandwich? Chips of course! I have to confess when I first read this recipe for the casserole that I'm going to recommend pairing your wings with, I was a bit skeptical. I mean really, potato chips in a casserole? But, I was pleasantly surprised.  It's very rich and creamy and, the best part, cheesy! I'd say in it's own way, it's kind of a potato version of mac & cheese for me. Totally unhealthy but totally delicious. But, if you want to be healthy, you can with low fat ingredients too.

Four Berry Spread

Ingredients:
1 c blackberries     1 c. blueberries     1 1/2 c. strawberries     1 1/2 c. raspberries 
1 box powdered fruit pectin                7 c. sugar

Directions:

1. Crush berries in a large kettle.
2. Stir in pectin and bring to a full rolling boil over high heat.
3. Stir constantly.
4. Stir in sugar and return to a full rolling boil.
5. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
6. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
7. Pour hot into hot jars, leaving 1/4 in. headspace.
8. Adjust caps and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Spicy PB & J Wings

Ingredients:

3 lbs. chicken wings     2 c. flour     oil for fryer     1/2 c. chopped peanuts for garnish

Sauce:  1 c. peanut butter     1 tbsp. & 1 tsp. hot chili sauce     1/4 c. soy sauce     1 c. jam    

             3/4 c. coconut cream     1/4 c. hot water

Directions:

1. Toss wings in flour and let rest at least a 1/2 hr.
2. In a small pot, combine all sauce ingredients except water.
3. Slowly whisk in water to loosen the mixture.
4. Bring to a simmer and continue to whisk as it thickens (app. 5 minutes)
5. Fry your wings 12-14 minutes and drain.
6. Toss the wings in the sauce and garnish with peanuts.

Potato Chip Casserole

Ingredients:
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup     1 c. sour cream     4 medium onions, sliced
5 1/2 oz. potato chips                           2 c. cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Combine soup and sour cream.
3. Arrange half the onions in a casserole dish.
4. Sprinkle half the chips over them.
5. Spread 1/2 the soup mixture over that.
6. Sprinkle 1/2 the cheese.
7. Layer remaining onions and chips.
8. Spread the remaining soup mixture.
9. Bake for 30 minutes. 
10. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Are you still with me? That's a lot of recipes and a lot to remember, but still pretty straightforward in execution. Then, you can say you had a great meal of adult pb & j!

As always, have fun!