Frank's Buffalo Wings

2.5 lbs chicken wings (a bag)

1/2 cup Frank's RedHot Original Sauce

1/3 cup melted butter

Cayenne Pepper to taste (optional)

1. Bake wings 1 hour at 425 F or deep-fry 12 minutes at 400 F or broil 5-7 minutes until cooked through.

2. Combine Frank's and melted butter in a large bowl.

3. Dip wings in sauce to coat.

I found this recipe on the back of a Frank's RedHot Sauce bottle.  This recipe is most like the wings we get when we're in Buffalo.  I broiled the wings instead of frying and they came out just fine.  Once you combine the hot sauce with that much butter (which is way these are soooo good!), it brings the temp down quite a bit.  If you like them really hot, add a little ground cayenne pepper into the sauce.  A little goes a long way.

Huevos Rancheros for One!

1 scoop prepared black beans
1 tortilla shell
1 egg
pinch of grated cheese (cheddar, pepperjack, whatever you like!)
hot sauce (i used franks)
1 dallop guacamole
1 dallop salsa verde (or whatever salsa you like!)

Heat the black beans in a small saucepan over med-low heat.
Preheat oven to 350 and place tortilla shell on cookie sheet in oven
Fry egg over med-low heat. I did mine over-medium, just so the yolk is a little runny.
By the time the egg is done, the beans and tortilla should be hot.

Layer like this:
Beans, tortilla, egg, cheese, hot sauce, salsa and guacamole

This is a great leftover breakfast when you have these things on hand. Last night I made an entire meal from scratch. Fajitas with roasted veggies and chicken (recipe to come soon) with brown rice and black beans on the side. I made the salsa from the previous post and even made the corn tortillas by hand. I'll post those directions too over the next week. I think I have some practicing to do because I was in the kitchen for 3 hours! I'm still figuring out the black bean recipe. These turned out a little bland.

Salsa Verde

4-6 tomatillos
2 jalapeño peppers OR 2 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup cilantro leaves chopped
3-4 cloves garlic chopped
1/4 lime (juice and zest)
salt and pepper to taste


Remove the papery husks from the tomatillos and rinse well (they're kinda sticky).
Now, you can either roast them or boil them. Roasting gives more flavor and it's what I prefer.

Roasting method:
Cut them in half and lay them face down on a foil-lined baking sheet
Broil for 5-7 minutes or until the skins are slightly browned

Boiling method:
Place in a soucepan and cover with water
Boil for 5 minutes and then remove from water

The easy part:
Place everything in a food processor or blender and chop away until finely chopped and mixed. Put in fridge for an hour or so. It'll chill the salsa (still hot from roasting the tomatillos) and let the flavors blend.

































This recipe is super easy and so delicious! Hopefully, I'll be able to cut down on the amount of plastic tubs I consume by making it myself!! This stuff is even better the second day.

OK, I just tried this without roasting or boiling the tomatillos first. Even better!!

Quick Sundried Tomato Pesto

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
basil - a large pinch or two
parsley - a large pinch or two
3 large cloves garlic
1 T fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
extra-virgin olive oil

If the sun-dried tomatoes were packed in oil, drain the oil. If they were dry, chop and soak in a little hot water to reconstitute. Because this is "quick" I used dried basil and parsley but fresh would definitely be better.

Using a food processor, chop the garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine. While the food processor is still running, pour thin stream of oil in until you get a good texture.

Voila!

Sweet Potato Chili

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 bell peppers (green, red, orange, whatever color you like), chopped
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 - 2 lbs orange fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks (4 cups)
1.5 cups unsalted roasted peanuts (or any other nuts)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes in juice
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2 4 oz cans diced mild green chilies with liquid
4-6 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

In a large heavy pot, heat oil over med. Saute onion, carrots and bell peppers around 8 minutes. add garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds. Stir in potatoes, nuts, tomatoes and juice, tomato paste, chilies and liquid, and spices.

Bring to boil, reduce heat to low immediately and simmer 15-25 minutes, stirring occasionally until potatoes are tender.

This is a very satisfying vegan chili. I've always made it with peanuts in the past but now that they're on the no-no list, I'll probably try almonds or walnuts. They give it a nice crunch. This recipe makes a lot, I often halve it.

Out with the old... in with the new!

I've been cooking with my mom's old Club set for years now:






























These have been great over the years and have stood up to a lot of abuse. They also turn the water metallic in color when I scrub them with steel wool. Eh, maybe not so good. I'm guessing they are cast aluminum and I've read up quite a bit about using aluminum for cooking. Some are definitely against it (may cause dementia, especially when cooking with fluorinated water, like we have here) and some say aluminum is everywhere and it's no big deal.

So, better safe than sorry! Welcome my newest addition to the kitchen: my new set of All-Clad!!















I chose All-Clad because it seemed to be the only set made in America (besides the lids - made in china - grrrr). Plus, they rock. Stainless steel, aluminum core (doesn't touch food) and oooh, so shiny!

Now... if I only new how to cook with them :) (First time using non-nonstick)

Baked Chicken Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Goat Cheese

I found this recipe over at Kalyn's Kitchen via Food Blog Search

If you haven't used Food Blog Search yet, go there immediate. Or, at least after dinner. I use that site to search for recipes instead of a straight google search. It's cuts down on the number of annoying sites with popups and ads.

My friend, Louie, was over while I was preparing and gave me a couple of ideas. The first is, when pounding the chicken, use the flat edge of the meat tenderizer instead of the pointed end. It flattens the chicken without breaking it up. Second, I added a "pinch" of red pepper flakes to the pesto-goat cheese mix and it gave it a subtle kick. This is an impressive dish for guests that is pretty easy to do. See Kayln's site for detailed description of rolling and dredging the chicken.


Baked Chicken Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, Basil, and Goat Cheese
(6 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup 100% whole wheat pastry flour
3 eggs, beaten well
2/3 cup 100% whole wheat bread crumbs
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
6 oz. goat cheese (log type, such as Chevre)
6 oz. Sun-dried tomato pesto
1/2 cup fresh basil, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts. Put chicken breasts, one at a time, inside a heavy plastic plastic freezer bag and pound with meat mallet or other heavy object until 1/4 inch thick. (This is where I used the flat side of the mallet)

Put pesto (I threw together a quick pesto in the food processor and left it there for this step), goat cheese, and chopped basil in food processor and buzz a few times until mixture is combined but not completely blended. (This is where I added a pinch of red pepper flakes) Spread 1/6 of pesto/basil/goat cheese mixture on each chicken breast. Roll up chicken, starting with smallest end, tucking in loose pieces and securing with two toothpicks. (I got away with not using the toothpicks)

Put flour, beaten egg, and bread crumbs combined with parmesan cheese into three separate flat dishes. Roll each chicken breast, first in flour, then in egg, then in bread crumb/parmesan mixture.

Oil the glass casserole dish and arrange chicken so pieces are not touching. Bake at 350 F for about 50-60 minutes, or until chicken is slightly browned and firm, but not hard to the touch. I recommend you start checking it after 40 minutes (for me, it was done in 40), and remove from oven as soon as the chicken feels firm and is slightly browned.