Sticky Wings

HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!  I cannot believe it’s been several months since I last posted!  Things have been super busy around these parts, and then we left town for the summer.  I’m back and promise this blog will become active again!  I’ve missed it so much!

While we were on vacation, I got a new cookbook.  I tried my first recipe from it on Sunday night, and it was really tasty.  The cookbook is called Slow Cooker Revolution.  I got it from Costco for about $17.  It was really simple and was a big hit with the kids especially.  I served it as a main course, but it would be a perfect side dish.  It would even be great served at a party. 

Don’t shy away from the cayenne.  It really does need the balance of sweet and spicy.  And I promise, it’s NOT too spicy.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark will work equally well)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced or grated fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 pounds whole chicken wings (they can be frozen or thawed)
salt and pepper
vegetable oil spray
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup tomato paste

Stir 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne into slow cooker.  Add chicken to slow cooker, then add some salt and pepper.  Give it a quick stir to coat the chicken in the sauce.  Cook on low for about 4 hours, or until chicken is tender.

Place the oven rack about 10 inches from the broiler.  Place a wire rack in an aluminum foil lined rimmed baking sheet, and coat with vegetable oil spray.  Transfer the chicken to the wire rack, and discard the cooking liquid. 

Combine 1/4 cup sugar, water, tomato paste, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne in a bowl.  Brush chicken with half of sauce mixture and broil until lightly charred and crisp, 10-15 minutes.  Flip chicken over, brush with remaining sauce, and broil an additional 5-10 minutes, or until second side is lightly charred and crisp. 

Grab yourself a whole package of napkins (or better yet, a whole roll of paper towels!), and dig in!  Yummy, gooey, sticky goodness.

So how was your summer?! 
Cook anything delicious?

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Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Aaaaaaaaaaand we're back! :)

Wow, going back to school was a rude awakening for me! I thought, "Yeah, I can totally do it! No sweat! How hard can it be?" Um, hard. Really hard. Now I'm juggling 3 hats -- Mom, Wife and Student. But as hard as it is, it's still great to be doing something for me!

Anyway. This recipe we tried for the first time last night. I got it out of my Healthy Cooking magazine back in December of last year and finally remembered to try it. It was really tasty and SO easy. It's also a great meal to have on hand in the freezer. You can have it completely prepared and then just pop it in the oven on a busy day. Fabulous! You could also easily make this in the crock pot. And if you wanted, you could even turn this into a great appetizer for a party. Just omit the rice and serve the meatballs on toothpicks with extra sauce for dipping!

The only thing I changed was that I omitted the raisins. We didn't have any anyway, but I thought that sounded really gross to put in the meatballs. My husband says he thinks it would be really good, so we'll try it with raisins next time, I guess.

Ingredients:
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup water, divided
1/2 cup raisins
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 cup egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups hot cooked rice

In a saucepan, combine tomato sauce, 3/4 cup water, raisins, brown sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, seasonings, egg and milk. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Put meatballs into sauce. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until meatballs are no longer pink. In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining water, then stir into meatball mixture, cooking for 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Serve with rice.

What's your favorite meal to have on hand in the freezer?

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