Sweet 'N Spicy Garlic Honey BBQ Wings

I particularly love cooking on the holidays so I'm always looking for snazzy recipes to try. I especially love simple dishes with minimum ingredients in case I want to whip up something really quick. As I was thinking of what I wanted to cook to ring in the new year I remembered a recipe from one of my favorite beauty blogs that I had previously  made a mental note to try one day.

You really can't go wrong with wings in general because there are so many ways they can be prepared. Whether you're entertaining guests or just in need of a quick solution for dinner These Sweet 'N Spicy Garlic Honey BBQ Wings will truly have you licking your fingers in pure bliss. And best of all? They are super easy to make!

Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 30 mins | Total Time: 35 mins | Serves: 5-6 

Ingredients:
1 lb frozen chicken wingettes or fresh wings, halved
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp Adobo w/ Pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 packet Goya Sazon Seasoning
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 bottle of Honey BBQ Sauce
6 tsp Sriracha Sauce
1 tbsp Minced Garlic

Method:
Preheat oven to 400°. Soak wings in lemon juice and water for 10 minutes. Remove any feathers and fat, rinse and pat dry. Season with adobo, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and old bay, cover and let sit in the fridge for a few hours. I leave mine overnight. In a small bowl, mix the bbq sauce, sriracha sauce and minced garlic, set aside. Turn your oven to the broiler setting, line your broiler pan with aluminum foil, place wings on the pan and put into the bottom of oven to broil. Cook for 10-15 minutes until a little crispy, turn over and cook for another 10-15 minutes. I do this in batches of about 15 pieces. Remove wings from the broiler pan and place them in a baking dish.

Notes: I'm queen of taking shortcuts so instead of allowing the wings to sit overnight with the seasoning I just skipped that part to cut the time in half. Also, I left out the adoba seasoning, the highlight of this recipe is predominantly in the sauce so you can prep the chicken with seasoning of your choice whichever you prefer.

Recipe from The Glamorous Gleam

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Paella

Let me tell you, there is nothing like a traditional Spanish dish. My favorite Spanish dish by far is paella! If you're not familiar with paella it is a Spanish rice dish that originates from Valencia, Spain. There are many variations of paella but the most authentic consists of a mixture of meat, seafood, and veggies. The best paella that I've ever had comes from this little place here in Atlanta called Lafonda Latina - it's deliciously cooked in a cast iron skillet with yellow rice, calamari, shrimp, baked chicken, chorizo (Spanish Sausage), green peppers, onions, pimentos and clam juice.

I've made this dish probably a half a dozen times now and what I love most is that the versatility is virtually endless. Every time I make it I incorporate something new. You absolutely have to give this a try at least once, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Directions:

Since we're working with a lot of different ingredients the first thing you should do is get your chopping, seasoning and dicing out of the way. Start by chopping the chicken into 1 inch squares. 

Season and coat the chicken with olive oil, paprika, oregano, and salt & pepper  in a small container. Then cover and  place in the refrigerator. 

Dice the peppers, onions, and parsley. 

Traditional Paella uses chorizo sausage but I can never find it at my local grocer so I use Conecuh Hickory Smoked Sausage which works just as well. You can keep or remove the skin, it's up to you. 

Chop the sausage into small pieces and bake in the oven until done. As an alternate method you can also cook the sausage in a skillet with the rest of the meat but I find it easier to cook it separately. 

Boil the frozen peas, drain and set aside. 

In a large skillet heat some olive oil over medium heat and stir in some garlic, red pepper flakes, and the rice. Be sure to coat the rice completely in the oil. 

Stir in the saffron threads, bay leaf, parsley, chicken stock, and a little lemon juice. 

Cook until boiling, reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes. Then mix in the peas. 

In a large separate cast iron skillet heat some olive oil over medium heat and add the seasoned chicken. Cook the chicken until done on all sides and add the onions. 

Marinate until the unions are tender. 

Add the red peppers and shrimp. Cook for about 5-10 more minutes. 

Add in the cooked sausage and let everything simmer in the sauce and heat for about 5 more minutes. 

Now you're ready to serve ^_^

Enjoy!

Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 40 mins | Total Time: 1hr 10mins | Serves: 5-6

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil (for seasoning)
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano
salt and black pepper to taste
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided (for rice)
2 tablespoons crushed garlic
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 bag of uncooked short-grain white rice (or paella rice)
1 pinch saffron threads (optional)
1 bay leaf
1/2 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 quart chicken stock
2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil (for meats)
1 Spanish onion
1 red bell pepper
1 lb conecuh sausage (or chorizo sausage w/casings removed)
1 lb pre-cooked shrimp (peeled and tail casings removed) 

Method:
In a medium bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil, paprika, oregano, and salt and pepper. Stir in chicken pieces to coat. Cover, and refrigerate. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet or paella pan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, red pepper flakes, and rice. Cook, stirring, to coat rice with oil, about 3 minutes. Stir in saffron threads, bay leaf, parsley, chicken stock, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Stir in marinated chicken and onion; cook 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and sausage; cook 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp; cook, turning the shrimp, until both sides are pink. Spread rice mixture onto a serving tray. Top with meat and seafood mixture.

Notes:
I still haven't quite mastered the art of cooking rice in a skillet. As many times as I've made this it still doesn't seem to get quite as tender as I'd like. It's still very good but if you're a stickler for tender rice I'd suggest boiling it instead of cooking it in a skillet. You can use regular short grain rice but I use 2 bags of store bought Paella rice which includes saffron threads. So if you get paella rice you won't need to buy the additional saffron threads.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

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Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells with Blue Cheese

You can probably look forward to seeing me post quite a few recipes adapted from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Inspired Taste. Inspired Taste is a cooking blog ran by Adam and Joanne who are a cute couple that enjoy cooking together ^_^ They have such a variety of delicious recipes in which I've been on a personal mission to try. What I love most is that all the recipes are pretty simple and I've found that most of them are variety dishes that can be made over and over again with different ingredients. Gotta love the versatility!

They introduced a few recipes for stuffed shells and I've tried a few of them and have fallen in absolute awe! One of their most recent shell recipes is the Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells. It makes a great party dish and I have paired them with wings and alone.

Directions:

First boil the pasta shells in a large boiler according to the directions on the box. Once cooked, drain and set aside in a bowl of cold ice water. Now let's add a little olive oil and brown the ground chicken over medium heat in a large skillet. 

Add some garlic powder. 

Throw in some diced celery and cook until slightly tender.

Mix in some Frank's Buffalo Sauce. 

Add the ricotta cheese. 

Mix in a few blue cheese crumbles.

Now add the parsley. 

Stuff each shell with a spoonful of filling and place in a lightly greased glass baking dish. Cook in oven for about 25 minutes or until shells become lightly crisp and the cheese has melted. Then you're ready to serve! 

Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 40 mins | Total Time: 45 mins | Serves: 4

Ingredients:
16 large pasta shells

1 pound ground chicken
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup diced celery
6-8 tablespoons Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce
1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 °. Bring a large pot of water to a boil then cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain cooked shells then add to a large bowl of ice water until ready to fill. Next add olive oil to a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add ground chicken and use a spoon to break the chicken apart, cook 5-8 minutes until brown. Add garlic powder and celery and cook another 3-4 minutes until tender. Remove pan from the heat then stir in wing sauce, ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of blue cheese crumbles and parsley. Taste for seasoning, add salt if necessary.Use a spoon to fill each pasta shell then arrange shells in a baking dish. Sprinkle tops with 2 tablespoons of blue cheese then bake in the oven 25 minutes until cheese has melted and tips of shells begin to crisp and brown.

Notes:
Transferring the cooked shells to a separate bowl is optional. If you cook it in a large enough boiler pot you can simply remove the hot water, drain the shells and add cold icy water to the boiler.
Recipe adapted from Inspired Taste. 

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Chicken Canzanese with Asparagus Pancetta Hash and Wild Rice

Every now and then I like to try something a little out of the ordinary. It's so easy to get in a habit of being routine when it comes to basic main dishes like chicken. But as I'm sure you know, chicken doesn't have to be basic nor routine. There are so many different ways to cook it, so why not go for something a little more lavish from time to time? I recently came across this amazing recipe that has become such a little taste-bud treasure. It was a big hit with the family and I wanted to share the love! 

Chicken Canzanese (pronounced can-zan-ay-zee) is a classic Italian braised dish that easily transforms tough, bland chicken into a deliciously moist and tender meal. The chicken literally falls off the bones!! While this isn't one of the most simple dishes and does have several steps, it's definitely well worth every minute spent cooking. I served this dish with an Asparagus Pancetta Hash and just a regular box of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice. 

Directions:

First, slice the pancetta into small 1/4 inch slices and the garlic into thin long slices. Then saute the pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp then add the garlic and cook until lightly brown. 

Remove the garlic and pancetta from the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside in a small bowl for later. 

Blot the chicken dry with a paper towel (to get a crisp finish) and season both sides with ground black pepper and salt. 

Now brown the chicken. 

Brown both sides for about 5-8 minutes each or until nicely golden brown. Then remove from oil and set aside on a plate. 

Now it's time to prepare the sauce. Reduce the oil then slowly add in the cloves, rosemary, sage, bay leaves, red pepper flakes and lemon juice. 

Mix in the reserved pancetta and garlic. 

Add a little butter. 

Transfer the sauce to a baking dish and place the chicken into the liquid skin side up making sure that the skin is above the surface of the liquid. This ensures that the outside of the chicken stays nice and crisp. Place in the oven and you're ready to bake!

Cook for about 1 hour 15 minutes and serve. 

Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 1hr 15mins | Total Time: 1hr 45mins | Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil (divided)
2 ounces pancetta (or bacon), cut into 1/4 inch slices
4 medium garlic cloves, sliced thin lengthwise
6-8 bone-in  chicken thighs
salt & pepper to taste
Ground black pepper
2 teaspoons flour
2 cups dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth (low sodium)
4 whole cloves
1 spring fresh rosemary (leaves removed and minced fine)
12 whole fresh sage leaves
2 bay leaves
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 325°. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until oil is shimmering. Add pancetta and cook until just starting to brown, about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic slices and cook, stirring until garlic is golden brown. Remove pancetta and garlic using slotted spoon and set aside for later.

2. In the same pan, don’t remove the left over oil and increase the heat to medium high and add 2 tsp olive oil and heat until it starts to steam. Pat chicken dry with paper towel and sprinkle both sides with generous amount of pepper and a pinch of salt. Add chicken skin side down and cook without moving until nicely browned, about 6-8 minutes. Turn chicken and brown on second side for about 5 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to plate.

3. Remove all but 2 tablespoons fat from pan. Sprinkle flour over fat and cook, stirring for about 1 minute and slowly add wine and chicken broth. Bring to simmer, scraping bottom of pan with spoon to loosen browned bits and cook until liquid is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Stir in cloves, rosemary, sage, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, butter and reserved pancetta-garlic mixture.

4. In a separate glass or tin oven-safe baking dish, transfer the sauce mixture from the skillet, then place chicken into liquid inside the baking dish skin side up. Skin should be above the surface of liquid to keep it crisp at all times and bake, uncovered, until meat offers no resistance when poked with fork, about 1 hour. Check chicken after 15 minutes in the oven; broth should be barely bubbling and if bubbling too much, reduce oven temperature to 300°.

5. Turn off oven, transfer chicken to serving platter, pour sauce around chicken and serve.

Notes:
With the traditional recipe it's typical to remove the chicken from the sauce after baking and then reduce and bring the sauce to a boil adding the rosemary, lemon juice, and butter. This is a totally optional step, I usually add all the ingredients during the stove top sauce making process. In my opinion it cuts down on an extra step and doesn't compromise on the taste at all. So just use your own judgement.
Recipe adapted from Food.com

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Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde and Wild Rice

I'm always looking to try something different in the kitchen. While I don't mind spending a few hours cooking up a good meal, I also appreciate when I can find dishes that are quick, easy, and don't compromise when it comes to taste.  Mexican dishes are one of my favorite types of food and I was just thinking the other day about how I've never tried my hand at making anything other than tacos. Well I did a little research and came across a few variations of enchiladas and decided why not give it a spin?

It's a super easy dish with minimal steps and ingredients and most importantly an instant crowd pleaser (my family raved about how delicious it was) So I figured I should share the joy ^_^

Directions:

The first thing you're going to need is chicken. You could use skinless, boneless chicken tenderloins cooked over the stove and seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. But since I wanted to keep it quick and simple I used a cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Pull all of the chicken from the bone and chop or shred finely with a fork or knife, be sure to discard the skin.

You're also going to need fresh cilantro, I like to get anything that requires chopping out of the way first so chop the fresh cilantro and set aside.

Now to make the sauce you'll need to heat some lemon juice, olive oil,  and minced garlic over the stove for about 30 seconds over medium heat.

Next add Salsa Verde, which is just green salsa that you can find in any grocery store. I actually forgot what brand I used, Goya and Herdez are both good brands but any type will suffice. After adding the salsa mix in some sour cream to thicken up the texture of your sauce.

Once mixed thoroughly together set aside 1 cup of the sauce, you will use this later as a topping. 

Now go ahead and add the shredded chicken, chopped cilantro and some shredded cheese to the sauce.

Mix together well. 

Now add a couple spoons of the chicken mixture to about 6-8 large tortilla's and roll them up.  

Finally, once all tortillas are rolled sit them in a medium to large greased cooking dish and spread the cup of sauce we sat aside earlier on top. Then sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese. You can also sprinkle a few pieces of cilantro as a final topper (optional) if you like. Now you're ready to bake. Cook in the oven until the cheese is completely melted on top or once the sauce starts to become bubbly.

Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 20 mins | Total Time: 35 mins  | Serves: 3-4

Ingredients: 
1 Rotisserie Chicken (or 2lbs of skinless, boneless chicken tenderloins)
6-8 large flour tortillas
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese (or mexican)
1/2 cup of sour cream
2 cups Mexican salsa verde
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Method:
Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add minced garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice and cook for 30 seconds. Add salsa verde (green salsa) and heat. Stir in sour cream. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture to top the enchiladas. Add chicken, half of the cheese and fresh cilantro. Mix well. Remove the chicken mixture from the heat. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture to the center of each tortilla and roll. Place each tortilla with the seam side facing down in a lightly greased cooking dish. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake in the oven at 350° for about 20 minutes or until the cheese has completely melted.

Notes: 
For the wild rice I just used a store bought box of instant rice by Uncle Ben's and served as a side. It's super quick and easy and adds tons of flavor to the dish.

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