Garlicky Chicken Wings

I looked at a few random recipes for a different wing recipe, you know, beside the Buffalo hot wings. So, I did the only logical thing: made up my own. Come on, what else did you think I was going to say?!

15 wings (that's just how many i grabbed from my huge BJ's bag)
1 stick melted butter
1 tbsp seasoned salt
1 tsp cracked pepper
1-2 cloves crushed garlic (I used 2 because I love garlic!)

Mix all together and pour over thawed wings in a bowl or bag and shake, stir to coat thoroughly.

I made the mistake of using frozen wings and it just congealed the melted butter! Not good. So, use thawed wings and it will be fine. I cooked them at 400 for about half hour. I brushed more of the melted butter sauce on the wings 2-3 times throughout the cooking process. They came out great! Kevin liked them, score! Kian and I loved them! It wasn't extremely garlicky but just enough.

White "Chili"

I found this recipe in one of my parenting magazines, but tweaked it, because that's what I do. I'll post my recipe and I'll note what I changed it from. I don't know why they call it chili, to me it's more of a chicken/bean Italian dish.

2-3 chicken breasts, diced into bite size pieces (1 lb ground chicken)
1 can cannelini beans
1 can northern beans
1/2 box chopped spinach (2 cups spinach leaves)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup diced onion
2-3 cups water and chicken bouillon powder (2-3 cups chicken broth)
I also added a bit of bay leaf, dash salt & pepper

• Chop chicken and cook over medium heat with some olive oil in a deep skillet.
• Crush garlic and add to chicken along with onion
• Let chicken cook until pink is gone
• Add beans and spinach
• Add broth or water + bouillon (because I used frozen chopped spinach there was water in there so I lessened the water it called for)
• Let cook until water/broth becomes mostly absorbed. Or if you want it more soup-like, eat it before water absorbs. I liked it thicker.

It was delish, and quick and easy to throw together, with all these things I always keep in my house anyway. Kevin liked it, and he's hard to please. Kian loved it too! I love one pot meals!

Chicken Parmesan

Yes, I use 95% of Wegmans products and yes I even suggested to them that they have a blog on their website for weird people like me! I made this for company a few weeks back so I couldn't take pictures of every step, but the end result was delicious and looked great. Maybe next time.

Ingredients:
Chicken breast or thin Chicken breast cutlets
2 eggs
1 jar sauce
1 box spaghetti or pasta of choice
mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Italian bread

Breading Ingredients:
1-2 cups Italian style breadcrumbs
handful of grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup I believe)
1 tsp garlic powder
dash black pepper
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (I love seasonings)

Mix all these together in a somewhat shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl beat 1-2 eggs together. Take your chicken breast, pat dry, dip into egg, coating all over. Then lay it in the breading bowl and make sure it is entirely covered. Lay onto a baking sheet (either sprayed with Pam or wiped with Olive oil so that it doesn't stick). Repeat with remaining chicken. I prefer not to fry it in a saute pan first because that just adds more oil and fat and calories.

Bake at 375 for about a half hour. I use the thin breast cutlets so it doesn't take as long. When chicken is about done- I take the tray out, spread a couple spoonfuls of sauce on each piece, then top with a mixture of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Return to oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted but not browned.

Serve over pasta, side of salad and of course bread! Try that bread with the herbed butter!

Garlic Parmesan Pasta with Chicken & Veggies

Long name, good stuff.

1 box penne
1 clove garlic mashed/minced
about 2 tbsp chopped onion
1 lb - 1.5 lbs of boneless chicken breast
about 1/2 cup peas
about 1/3- 1/2 cup tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes cut in half)
Olive oil

Sauce:2 tbsp butter
2-3 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups milk
1tsp -or more- basil
close to 1/2 cup parmesan
3 deli slices provolone
dash ground black pepper
*I eyeball everything, I really don't use measuring cups*

While pasta was boiling, I cut the chicken into bite size pieces (about an inch or so) sauteed them in some olive oil with the garlic and onion.

Sauce: In a saucepan, on medium, I melted the butter, added a bit of salt, the basil, then the flour (a wire whisk works great here--basically making a rue to begin with). Then slowly add the milk, a little at a time, whisking it smooth and giving it time to thicken each time. When that is done, I added the provolone and parmesan (you can use any cheese instead of provolone, mozzarella is okay but tends to get very stringy, provolone melts without being too stringy).

I then threw the peas and tomatoes in the sauce, but you can also put them in the chicken pan. I wanted the tomatoes warm and soft but not totally mushy. Then add the drained pasta and the chicken together. Voila! I wish I had a picture because the pasta with the greens of the peas and reds of the tomatoes looked darn good! And it was yummy! And Kevin liked it, so that means it's good.

Chicken Soup

Every time I make a roast chicken (which is probably 4 times a year) I save all the extra meat and the carcass, yes it's a carcass. It's dead. And this is what i do:

Throw the carcass with some of the meat still on the bones into a huge pot of water.
Add some seasonings:
1-2 tsp salt (can adjust taste after soup is done)
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp chopped bay leaf
1/2 tsp parsley
sometimes random stuff like thyme, savory, whatever I feel at the moment.

Then I let it boil for few/several hours to make a nice chicken stock or broth (I still don't get the difference between a stock and broth-remind me to ask Emeril)
Occasionally I will throw in a bouillon cube.

Then after you get that nice chicken broth add:
1 large chopped potato
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery (with leaves)
1/4 cup peas
1/4 cup green beans
corn, other veggies you want in there. (I am guessing on measurements, I don't really measure much) or if I don't have lots of fresh veggies I'll use a bag of frozen mixed veggies. Whatever you fancy. *Add softer veggies later, like peas, beans, etc. Carrots and potatoes need the longest cooking time.

Then I adjust seasonings to taste, throw in some pasta. I prefer Ancini de pepe or little pasta stars. I usually freeze a lot, in meal size plastic ware, to thaw out one at a time for a meal here and there. It's really simple, there's not a lot to it, and you don't have to do it all at once. I put it on the stove, let it simmer, come back a few hours later, add stuff, come back later add more, etc.