Spicy Sweet -- Bring on the heat!!

Today's post is going to be short and to the point. On the menu today:

Honey Sriracha Chicken Wings. 

So let me say, there seems to be a fad right now, Sriracha this, Sriracha that - heck, even Pizza Hut offers a pizza with honey sriracha sauce. *that was NOT the inspiration for this meal. I stumbled upon this meal by accident. I love chicken it's a staple in my diet. I don't eat beef or pork, save a few occasions, so I'm always looking for new ways to present chicken. I was looking for a quick "chicken in a sauce" meal and I came across a recipe for Thai Chili wings. I didn't have ANY of the needed items for the sauce. So, after 20 minutes of looking through my cabinets and fridge trying to figure where I'd get a sauce I glanced the sriracha in the fridge. A couple key strokes, a quick search and WALA - MAGIC - honey sriracha chicken!

One of the hungry tummies I fed with this chicken probably fancies them self a "wing connoisseur" that is to say, their palate for chicken wings is discerning. They're very particular so to watch them destroy, and I mean DESTROY, these wings was a SCORE for the home team. **smile**


With that, let's get to the goods:


What you'll need:  --

*forgive the photos, they transferred very tiny from my iPad and I had to enlarge them for the blog, they subsequently lost quality.

For the sauce:

 

5 Tblspns unsalted butter

1/3 cup of honey

1/4 cup of sriracha sauce

1 Tblspn soy sauce

 - Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add the honey, sriracha, and soy sauce. Stir until mixture bubbles gently, remove from heat and set aside. 

For the chicken:

2 Tblspns flour
1/2 Tsp Paprika
1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 Tsp Tumeric
1/2 Ground Coriander
1/2 Tsp (each) Salt and Pepper
1 pack Chicken wings

**Preheat oven to 450

Combine flour and spices, mix well

 

Toss chicken so that it is well coated in flour and spices

 

Spray baking dish (I line mine with foil first) with non stick spray and lay chicken out so that it's evenly spaced.  Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake 40 minutes. 

 After removing chicken from the oven, use tongs to toss chicken in sauce one final time before serving. 

These are great as a part of a whole meal or as an appetizer. Either way, Bon Appetit.

Stuffed Comfort...oldie but goodie.

I have to be honest, the next few posts will NOT be meals that I have consumed in the days prior to the post. MOST of them will have been consumed in the last two weeks - _{for the sake of full disclosure,} I don't remember when I consumed the one included. It was a saved blog that only had the photos. I know it's from 2014, I think early 2014.

That being said, I DO remember that I need either a different pan or a better connection. It was cooked but fell about. I'm saying it like there was some kind of concoction, there wasn't, just dunt da da daaa

 Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf

I like stuffed food. "Stuffed ...something" will probably appear with random frequency in this blog.  It's like a treat inside a treat.  LOL. Don't judge me, you don't know my life. 

 Let's get to it:

What you'll need:
 

2.5 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup seeded red or green jalapeno -* not pictured  (I used green pickled, not a fan of raw jalapeno)
10 oz chopped spinach
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 Tblspns plain greek yogurt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup quick cook grits
2 eggs
2 Tblspns Worcestershire sauce
2 Tblspns chopped parsley
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 - 8oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Combine spinach, yogurt, jalapeno and feta

Mix Well and set aside (covered)

Combine milk, and grits and set aside (covered) as well. 

Mix turkey, eggs, onion, parsley, chicken broth, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper add milk/grit mixture. Combine well.

Transfer 1/2 the mixture into the meatloaf pan and form into a "canoe". Spoon the spinach/yogurt mixture in the "hollow" portion of the "canoe".

Add the remaining meatloaf mixture on top of the bottom half. *make sure you seal the sides well so that it really forms a full loaf.*

Add Ketchup or BBQ or a combination of both to the top

Bake for one (1) hour.

I served my finish product with garlic mashed potatoes and sweet kernel corn.

BON APPETIT!

Soooooo .... Happy New Year! -- Yes, I know ...

...I'm a wretched person. It's been more than a _year since I've posted. If it's any consolation, I've thought about, talked about, promoted, but sadly neglected this blog in my absence.

_{I promise there's a perfectly adorable sad face behind this computer screen right now.} 

 Hopefully, hopeFULLY, I'll be able to stick to it this year. I LOVE blogging my meals but it's cumbersome. I think though, that not doing step by step by step by step ... and one more for good measure... by step pictures will help on the time. Don't worry there'll still be pictures, just not as many! I hope! *smile*

 Anyway, I did at least have the decency to return with recipes ready to share. I didn't just come back with promises LOL!

So, for today, we're going to get into my:


Game Day Chili.

We've been under a freeze here on the east coast and chili will definitely warm the soul! This recipe will serve a family of four and you should still have enough for a smaller family dinner or lunches or even nachos (YES! we use the thinner version for nachos in my house) the next day.

It has a slight kick to it but you can punch it by adding more or less Cayenne, hot sauce, or pickled jalapenos.

What you'll need:

2lbs Ground Turkey (or Lean Ground Beef)-^{*not pictured}
1 medium onion chopped-^{*not pictured}
4 cloves garlic minced-^{*not pictured}
2 - 15 oz cans pinto beans
1 - 6oz can tomato paste 
^{**note - for a thinner (not watery but soupy) chili do not drain beans, pour entire contents of both cans into pot, and add an extra can of paste.
for a thicker chili drain and rinse beans before adding to pot. In addition to draining, for a SUPER thick chili, you can also add an extra can of tomato paste.**} 
3 - 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 - 12oz Dark Beer (I use Guinness extra stout)
1 - 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles
1 - 14.5 Chicken Broth
2 tablespoons (*Tblspns) Chili powder
1 Tblspn Worcestershire sauce
2 Tblspns ground cumin
2 teaspoons (*Tspns) ground red peppers
1 Tspn Smoked paprika
1 - 2 Tspns Hot sauce  *I use a milder hot sauce so I use 4 tspns*
Pickled Jalapenos, Shredded Cheese , Sour cream - ^{*Chili toppers *not pictured}

In the pot you'll be using to make your chili, combine the turkey, onion and garlic

Cook thru until meat is done.

Combine the remaining ingredients *except for toppers* mix well and bring to boil.

After boil, reduce heat, simmer three (3) hours or until thickened. Garnish and Serve!

This one, in the thick and thin versions, is a hit when I make it. I serve with King's Hawaiian Rolls and Corona!

Hope you enjoy.

Promise of days to come ...

So I was lazy today. No meal cooked, BUT tomorrow I'm making 15 bean soup. Later this week I'm making stuffed meatloaf and cheesy garlic chicken, so LOTS of meals coming soon! YUM! 

Far Eastern Influential.

I have to be honest, I teetered a lot on this next meal. I really wanted to make Shepherd's Pie, BUT, I want to make it with a sweet potato top (recipe courtesy of Skinny Taste) and it's too soon to bring those back to the table.So I went instead to another savory "One Pot" meal, Curried Ground Turkey w/ potatoes served over rice (I use Success Boil-in-Bag). I found the original recipe here, of course I made some adjustments and tweaks as I saw fit. I enjoyed this meal, and my critic panel threw no complaints, in fact they had extra servings.

However -truth moment-  it was bland, the curry taste was there, but it didn't hold well flavor. I think the next time, I will use coconut milk instead of water and see what that does.

You may want to make that adjustment now or you can try it as is and see how you like it! Either way ... here we go!

What you'll need...

 

As usual with Sunday dinner, I did all my prep work first and set it aside until it was time to cook.

*The original recipe calls for 2-4 roma tomatoes, diced but I bought (and drained) Hunt's diced tomatoes, roasted garlic flavor. I mention this now because if you want to use the roma tomatoes, they need to be diced and that should be included in prep.

Three large potatoes, peeled and cubed.
1 onion, chopped
1-2 fresh red chiles, chopped

1 inch peeled ginger, finely grated
2 garlic cloves chopped

 Heat 3-4 Tblspns Olive Oil (I use a Canola & Olive oil blend) medium high in a large pot with a lid

 add ground turkey to the hot oil, spread it out (try not to crowd the meat)

 Cook without stirring until it begins to brown, then add onion and chile
.

 saute until onion starts to color, sprinkle salt add ginger and garlic, mix well

 Saute 5 -6 minutes, add 3 tblspns curry powder

 2 Tblspn cumin

 3 Tspns ground tumeric

3 Tspns ground Coriander

 add 1 cup frozen peas, 1 cup frozen carrots, 1 cup frozen corn, 1 cup frozen green beans (I used a steamfresh veggie pack that contained them all)
cubed potatoes and 1.5 cups water

 Stir well and cover

Reduce heat to medium /medium low, simmer for 30 -35 minutes. 
Stir and and add diced tomatoes

 Simmer, covered, another 10 - 13 minutes
while simmering, boil rice according to directions.
 Add butter as necessary

 

 Remove from heat, garnish with fresh cilantro and serve.

Happy Holiday Potluck

Happy Holidays. Whew! They're almost over! Just a couple more days until 2014 and a whole new clock!

So, I don't know about you guys, but my December has been BUUUUUUSY!!  I'm excited for a break to share with you. I have two recipes and some GREAT food I experienced in Minnesota for you.


On Dec. 13th (or about) my office had our "Holiday potluck", I had never made anything for the office before but I was excited to try and do so. I wanted to stick to something with which I'd had success and that way I could be moderately comfortable that it would be tasty, but it also had to translate to a larger portion. I decided on  Mozzarella Pesto Turkey Meatballs.

These were a massive success the first time I tried them, my critic panel was outwardly pleased. They were originally served with ziti, but for the office party, I left the noodles out and multiplied the original recipe by 3*(*exceptions are not a true x3 of the original, original noted).

Usually, when I make Sunday dinner I'm at my hideout, but I was in my home kitchen for this go 'round.  I have a larger working surface and my gadgets so, comparatively, these were a breeze to make.

What you'll need...

6  jars marinara sauce

I like to make my own marinara in most situations but a "cook" this size, made the night before, does not allow that luxury.

2*lbs (*1 lb) Mozzarella cheese cubed

 I buy a "log" and cut it into 1/4  and then I cut those in 1/2 to cube.

Cut any larger chunks down further and then place the cheese to the side while and prepare the ground Turkey.






3 LBS Ground turkey
8* cloves garlic minced (*4 cloves)

3 cups (1 large) onion, finely chopped (minced)

 

3 eggs
3 cups Italian style breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/2* cup heavy cream (*1/4 cup milk)
2/3 cup Pesto

1*cup fresh chopped parsley (*1/2 cup)

Combine all ingredients except Tomato Sauce

Mix well...

Preheat oven to 375.
Form meatballs
Mine are massive, it's a personal preference, you can choose the size best for your serving wish.
I use my thumb to indent the meatball and then pinch to try and make an even sized dent.

 Stuff with mozzarella

Pinch to reseal

Roll to reshape and repeat steps above

Line them up on a cookie sheet and drizzle with 4*Tblspns EVOO

(I had to bake in shifts, had two trays full)

Bake 35 minutes** (**give or take 10 minutes depending on your oven)

While the meatballs are cooking, add the marinara to the Crockpot on medium

 (you can also simmer the sauce in deep pan on medium heat on the stove top)

When the meatballs are done

Add them to the sauce

Bring the sauce to a fast simmer, reduce heat as low as possible and let sit 1-3 hrs (as long as possible)

This is where I would normally prepare the noodles and then serve.

My coworkers seemed to really enjoy them, they were only room temperature when we ate them but other than that -- I was pleased!

Hopefully you'll love them if you try them.

*original recipe*

1 lb ground turkey

1 cup finely chopped onion

4 cloves garlic minced

1 egg

1 cup Italian style bread crumbs

1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese

1/2 cup chopped, fresh, parsley

1/4 cup pesto

1/4 cup milk

1 lb mozzarella cheese, cubed

3 Tblspn EVOO

2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce   (4 cups homemade marinara)