Honey Garlic Chicken Wings

This is a recipe that Karen emailed to me a few weeks ago.  VERY TASTY.  They go really well with our Friday Night Nachos.

The Meat:

2 ½ lbs chicken wings (about 15)

Marinade:

½ cup hoisin sauce

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup liquid honey

1 tbsp dry sherry or chicken stock (I used sherry)

1 tbsp cider vinegar

2 large garlic cloves, minced

Directions:

1. Honey garlic marinade: In large bowl, whisk together hoisin sauce, soy sauce, honey, sherry, cider vinegar and garlic.

2. Cut off wing tips at first joint, discard tips (or use for stock if you’re eager!). Separate wings at remaining joint, trim excess skin. Add wings to marinade; cover and marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, turning occasionally. (make ahead: marinate in refrigerator for up to 1 day, turning occasionally). I put it all in a Ziploc bag to marinate.

3. Reserving marinade, arrange wings on rack on foil-lined baking sheet or on greased foil lined baking sheet. This will work better than a 9×13 pan. Spoon half of the marinade over wings. Bake in 400 F oven for 20 minutes. Turn and brush with remaining marinade; cook for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced.

4. Broil for about 1 minute per side or until wings are crisp and browned. (I probably broiled it for longer – this is important to get the skin crispy)

Best Lagagna EVER!

I originally posted this in October 2005 (!) but thought I should update it with some photos.  Especially after the grief it added to my weekend.

It really is worth all of the hassle, though.  I promise.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
12 dry lasagna noodles
2 eggs, beaten
1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef, onion and garlic; drain fat.

Mix in basil, oregano, brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.

Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until al dente; drain. Lay noodles flat on towels, and blot dry.

In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, parsley and 1 teaspoon salt.

Layer 1/3 of the lasagna noodles in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover noodles with 1/2 ricotta mixture, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over the top.

Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

It’s about 10 calories a serving.  Give or take a couple of hundred calories.

Hummus

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup olive oil
1 can chick peas (garbonzo beans)
2 Tbsp tahini or unsweetened peanut butter
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
Crushed garlic…lots of it
1/4 tsp cumin (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Drain the chick peas and reserve the juice.
Blend the chick peas in a blender – you may have to do this in stages to get it smooth.
Add the oil while blending (Um. Make sure you stop the blender before lifting the lid. But you knew that.)
If it is not smooth, add the reserved juice as you feel necessary.
Add the rest of the ingredients.

This keeps for quite a while, so you can make a big batch and keep it around. That is assuming you don’t eat it all in one sitting. Not that I have done that or anything.

Chewy Granola Bars

We’re still working on Miss Emily’s, um, bowel issues. I cracked out this recipe due to the ground flaxseed.

The kids LOVE them.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. honey or molasses
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 c. flour (You could use all whole wheat – I do)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup rice krispies
1 cip ground flax seed or coconut (of course I use flax seed, stay near
a washroom)
1/2 or 1 c. chocolate chips (or raisins, cranraisins etc.) I did 1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup rolled oats

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Beat B.sugar, sugar and butter
3. Blend in molasses, vanilla and egg
4. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt
5. Add to other mixture
6. Stir in remaining ingredients
7. Press firmly in a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake for 20 -25 minutes
8. Cool and cut into rectangles

They sure don’t taste as healthy as they are!

Snack Mix

This is a HUGE favourite around here. I posted this almost two years ago, but thought it was time to update it with a photo.

INGREDIENTS:

Oil mixture:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt

Dry mixture:
2 cups Shreddies (Or Life, which is what I used today)
2 cups Cheerios
2 cups pretzels
1 cup Goldfish
1 cup peanuts

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 250.

In a small bowl, wisk together the oil mixture. In a large roasting pan, mix together the dry goods. Drizzle with oil mixture & mix well.

Bake for 1 hour, turning contents every 15 minutes to prevent heavy browning.

I did not have any peanuts on hand so I doubled the Goldfish.

Just TRY to stop at one handful!

Party Bars

These were a staple for Matthew’s family as they grew up. I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it better.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup cold butter or margarine

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 Tbsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Stir flour and brown sugar together. Cut in cold margarine/butter until crumbly. Stir in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Press mixture on bottom of ungreased 13×9x12 baking pan.
3. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Combine egg, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in remaining chocolate chips (1 1/2 cups).
5. Spread evenly over baked crust and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Cool completely in pan on wire rack, then cut into bars.

Try not to consume entire batch in one sitting.

Great Guacamole

INGREDIENTS: 2 ripe avacados

1/2 lime Generous pinches of ground cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt.

1/4 small red onion (Optional if onions give you gas. They give Honey SERIOUS GAS.)

2 roasted red peppers

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil or coriander ( I like coriander)

1/2 cup sour cream

DIRECTIONS: Mash avacados (sans peels and pits), but leave it chunky. Add everything else, and mix.

Try not to slather it all over your body.

Chocolate Chocolate Cake

I made this for Nathan’s first birthday (And second. And third.), and for Matthew’s birthday today (And last year). It’s pretty much the best chocolate cake EVER.

Here it is nekked.

Here it is with icing.

The very first time I made it, I thought the hole was missing something. I contemplated sticking a plant in it (ala My Big Fat Greek Wedding), but went for something much tastier. Smarties!

If you do not have access to Smarties, then you must not be Canadian. Sorry about that. But be creative! The options are endless…

INGREDIENTS:

1 (18.25 ounce) package dark chocolate cake mix (Betty Crocker Devil’s Food Cake rocks!)
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil (or butter/margarine)
1/2 cup coffee flavored liqueur (I substitute this with chocolate milk)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, oil and coffee liqueur. Beat until ingredients are well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Spoon into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until cake springs back when lightly tapped. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then turn out and cool completely on wire rack.

Chocolate icing makes it unbelievable.  Again, I used Betty Crocker.  I could make my own, but Betty has it going on.

Steak Sandwich

We tried this recipe from Real Simple magazine a few weeks ago and liked it. But it needed tweaking.

First of all, onions give Honey gas. NOT GOOD.

Here is our take on the steak sandwich. It is a little (Or a lot) different.

INGREDIENTS

Focaccia Bread.  I made it all from scratch-like.

Steak. Duh. But we marinated them for 24 hours first. The marinade? IT IS AMAZING.

Roma (plum) tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

1 medium red onion, sliced about 1/4 inch thick (Optional. If they don’t give you gas.)

1 zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick.

Mushrooms, also sliced.

Olive oil.  As much or as little as you want.

2 tablespoons (or more) of balsamic vinegar

Focaccia bread (see above), cut in half

Blue cheese, or mozzarella. Whatever floats your boat. Honey disses the blue cheese, so he uses mozza.

DIRECTIONS

Make the foccacia. Or buy it.

Throw the steak on the barbecue, and toss the veggies, olive oil, and vinegar into a frying pan. Sautee until tender, 8-10 minutes.

Slice the steak thinly, and place on foccacia. Scoop sauteed veggies on top, then add cheese.

Try not to die from the goodness.

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

This is a favourite around here.

Take a look inside…

INGREDIENTS:

Batter:

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:

1 1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Cream margarine & sugar well. Add eggs & sour cream. Mix well. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and vanilla. Mix well.

Grease 1 10-inch bundt pan. Mix topping together and set aside.

Pour 1/2 of batter into pan. Cover batter with 1/2 of topping mixture. And rest of batter. Sprinkle with remaining topping.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

HINT: I don’t actually mix the topping. I put 1/2 of the batter in. Then cover with enough brown sugar so you can’t see the batter. Then cover with enough chocolate chips so you don’t see the brown sugar. Then put the rest of the batter in. Then repeat the smothering with brown sugar & chocolate chips.

It tastes awful.  You should not make it.