Asian Zing Wings..

The ultimate football sunday food is wings. Today was a take on asian zing wings (you know like the ones from buffalo wild wings). The only tweak I would make to this recipe next time is to add a little hot sauce .. but thats just because we like things spicy around here! 

The secret ingredient in this sauce is the chili garlic sauce.. its in the asian food section of any food store). 



What You'll Need: 
3 tablespoons cornstarch
5 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup chili garlic sauce 
2 tablespoons soy sauce
the juice of 1 lemon 
1 clove of garlic (chopped) 
1/2 tablespoon salt 
However many wings you think you can handle ( I think I used about 3 lbs) 

What to do: 

Sauce: 
1. Mix the cornstarch and rice wine vinegar (to make a slurry and set to the side) 
2. Mix all the other sauce ingredients in a large pot over medium heat. Whisk together and add in the cornstarch mixture. 
3. Bring to a boil and then let it cool (as a side note the longer you let this cool the better and thicker it is - also at this point you can store it in the fridge). 


Wings: 
1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Lay the wings on a baking sheet (depending on how you buy the wings you might have to break the wing from the drum stick).
3. Bake the wings for 30 minutes then turn the broiler on high an place the wings under the broiler for 3-5 minutes. 
4. Mix the wings with the cooled sauce in a large bowl! 


I hope you make these at home and enjoy them as much as us! 

Turkey Meatballs & Kale

Today was an epic day.. no work.. instead went to THE CHEW with some great friends and had my first pickle dirty martini (stay tuned for an at home recipe as soon as I figure it out)! It was unbelievable how nice all the hosts were and what a great time the show is! Also one of the guest today was Ina Garten.. a personal favorite chef of mine, so that was REALLY awesome and now I am proud owner of her new cookbook! 

Inspired by the day, of course I had to cook. Tonight's dinner was Turkey Meatballs & Kale in a chicken broth. It was pretty healthy and really good! Hope you enjoy! 

What You'll Need (serving size 2): 

• 1 lb ground turkey breast
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano 
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2/3 cup shell pasta (or whatever kinda you like) 
• 2 cups of kale
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan reggiano
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

What To Do: 

1. Mix together ground turkey, garlic (crushed), oregano and season with salt & pepper (your hands are the best tool) and form about 10 meatballs. 

2. In a large skillet brown the meatballs then set aside. (At this point you can let it cool and put in the fridge for an easy make ahead dish). 

3. In a pot bring 3 cups of chicken broth to boil and cook the pasta until al dente, add in kale and the meatballs, cover with a lid for 5-7 minutes. 

4. The broth will be thick, add in parmesan, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Serve in large bowls. (make sure to include the broth)! 

Mexican Chicken Soup

It is a rainy wednesday night .. so tonight was perfect for soup. Tonight I made Mexican Chicken Soup! This meal can totally be made in 30 minutes or less. 

What You'll Need: 

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 jalapeno (chopped) 
• 4 gloves of garlic (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 can of corn
• 1/2 can diced tomatoes
• 1 pound cooked and shredded chicken
• 1 box of chicken stock (4 cups)
• 1 cup ditalini pasta 
• 2 shakes of hot sauce

What To Do: 

1. In a large pot over medium heat add butter, jalapeno, garlic, paprika and oregano. Heat for 5-7 minutes. 
2. Add in corn, tomatoes and chicken, season with salt and pepper. Add 1 box of chicken stock and bring to a boil then pour in pasta and bring back up to a boil. 
3. Pour in hot sauce. Serve in large bowls & Enjoy! 

Birthday Cupcakes!

It's a co-worker, friend, banana lover and crazy girl's Birthday at work tomorrow, so birthday cupcakes are in order. Some people live by "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" this particular birthday girl would replace that apple with an afternoon banana nanner. So in honor of her birthday I made: 

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting 

Peanut butter and banana go together perfectly so I figured it would be a good combo for cupcakes! 

Cupcakes: 

makes 12 cupcakes

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line the cupcake pan. In a mixing bowl beat together butter and sugar. Add milk and vanilla then eggs (one at a time). Slowly add in flour, baking power, baking soda and salt. Slowly add in bananas, then stir in chocolate chips. 

Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter among 12 cupcake cups. Bake in oven until golden, approximately 20 minutes, then remove and cool.

Peanut Butter Frosting: 

1/2 stick butter (softened) 

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

4 tablespoons milk

2 cups powdered sugar 

Cream the butter, peanut butter and vanilla together in a bowl. Slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time also adding in milk, until it reached the desired consistency. 

Once the cupcakes are cooled use a piping bag and pipe the icing onto the 12 cupcakes. 

Shredded Chicken Over Biscuits.. Y'ALL

Make ahead meals are perfect for weeknights in our house.. when we are running around like crazy people during the work week... One of the easiest and best tasting things to make ahead is shredded chicken. Typically I just throw some chicken in the crock pot for 3 hours and it comes out perfect and shreds on it's own. You can use shredded chicken in so many dishes and I found cooking it in the cock pot is the best way. 



Tonight I used pre-made shredded chicken for this southern night in our house.. shredded chicken over biscuits, Y'all. 

What You'll Need: 

• 1 pound cooked shredded chicken 
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour 
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon pepper
• 1 cup milk
• 1 package of biscuit dough 

What To Do: 

In a skillet add a small amount of olive oil and heat up chicken and peas. At the same time place biscuits in the oven  (honestly I used extra flaky store bought ones, followed the directions on the package and they turned out great!)

Heat the butter in a small saucepan over low heat until melted then add flour, salt and pepper and whisk until bubbly. Slowly sir in milk, continue to whisk so the sauce doesn't get lumpy. Cook for a few minutes until thick then add to the chicken mixture and mix together. 

I served this dinner as an open faced sandwich on top of the biscuits. This recipe is for a serving size of 4, but trust me, make more, its so delicious you'll eat the whole thing!