Irish Girl has a fattening habit of making dessert on the nights she makes supper. One day she made Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes – she had to make them in the early afternoon so they’d have time to chill. Z-Man started out helping but was quickly bored so I handed over my camera and photo-taking responsibility. He didn’t do half-bad!

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcake Recipe

Photography by Z-Man.

Start by lining cupcake pans with foil cupcake liners, or use silicone cupcake liners that stand up by themselves so you can cover a cookie sheet with them.

Once your liners are ready, place a whole, unbroken Oreo in the bottom of each one. Wait! I know you want to eat the broken Oreos, but be sure to save some for inside the cheesecakes too!

Make sure your cream cheese is room temperature, then beat it with an electric mixer until it’s smooth.

Gradually beat in the sugar, making sure it’s well-combined and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Then beat in the vanilla.

Did you notice the really cool Black & Decker mixer Irish Girl is using? It was my Christmas gift from Teacher’s parents, but Irish Girl and Princess have used it WAY more than I have. Not that I’m complaining; there’s sweets in the house that I didn’t have to make!

Crack the eggs into a separate bowl and lightly beat them together. Drizzle the eggs slowly into the cream cheese mixture, beating them in fully and continuing to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

Beat in the sour cream and salt, and keep scraping the sides of the bowl.

Coarsely chop the remaining Oreos assuming you listened to me and didn’t eat them all and stir them into the batter by hand.

Divide the batter among the cupcake liners; filling them almost all the way to the top.

Bake at 275 degrees for 22 minutes, or until set; rotating the pan halfway through baking time. They’ll look really soft but will set up as they cool.

Chill at least 4 hours before serving.

Yup, I said 4 hours kiddo; you’ve got a loooong time to wait.

If you used liners in cupcake pans, leave the oreo cheesecake cupcakes in the pans until you’re ready to eat them.

Mmmmm – don’t they look good?!

And not fattening at all, right? Please say yes!

Hey girls, want an Oreo Cheesecake Cupcake?

Nope, not until after Backyardigans.

But Little Guy will take one now – yum.

He likes it – hey Mikey Little Guy!

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcake Recipe

From Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 42 Oreos, or similar cream-filled sandwich cookies; 30 whole and 12 coarsely chopped
• 2 lbs cream cheese; room temperature
• 1 C sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 large eggs; room temperature and lightly beaten
• 1 C sour cream
• Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper or a cookie sheet with silicone liners. Place one whole cookie in the bottom of each cup.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually beat in sugar until well-combined. Beat in vanilla.

3. Drizzle eggs in slowly; beating to combine and scraping sides of bowl. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups; filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until set; about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (up to overnight) before serving. Remove from tins right before serving.

I hope you try these Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes, and if you do, be sure to drop me a line to tell me what you thought of them!

Happy Cooking and Eating!

As I’ve said before, one of the benefits of having College Boy, Irish Girl and Love Bug live with us besides getting to know Irish Girl and Love Bug better is trying out some of their favorite recipes. Recently College Boy made Bourbon Chicken and it was a definite home run; even Z-Man and Little Guy liked it!

Bourbon Chicken Recipe – a la College Boy

Irish Girl likes to try recipes she finds online. This Bourbon Chicken recipe came from Heather Drive; one of her favorite blogs. Not only is it quick and easy you know that’s how I like to cook but it’s fairly healthy too – bonus!

This week it was College Boy’s turn to cook. Since I grew up with a dad whose mode of cooking was a run to “Whopper Burger” aka Burger King I love the fact that College Boy cooks for his family.

College Boy cut boneless skinless chicken breast into bite-sized pieces and browned them, then took the chicken out of the pan and set it aside.

Next he made the sauce by whisking together crushed garlic, powdered ginger, crushed red pepper flakes, apple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, cider vinegar, soy sauce, and water in the same pan he used for the chicken.

Once the ingredients were thoroughly mixed he put the chicken back in and let it all simmer for about 15 minutes. Then he added frozen broccoli, let that cook about 5 minutes, then it was done.

See – quick and easy!

While the sauce was simmering College Boy made Minute Rice. If you’re using regular rice you’ll want to start it much earlier – like when you start the chicken.

Serve the Bourbon Chicken over a bed of rice, and don’t forget to spoon extra sauce over the top. Yum!

It was a little bit sweeter than I’d like, so next time I’d use less brown sugar, but all of the kids loved it just the way it was. In fact, they ate so much that there were hardly any leftovers; can’t complain about that now, can I?

Bourbon Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger (powdered if you don’t have fresh)
• 1/4 tsp – 3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (we used 1/4 tsp so the kids would eat it)
• 1/4 C apple cider
• 1/3 C brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 C water
• 1/3 C low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets and steamed (or 1 pkg frozen broccoli florets)

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and brown lightly, then remove to a clean bowl.
2. Reduce heat to medium, then using the same pan combine remaining ingredients except broccoli and whisk until well combined.
3. When mixture comes to a boil add the chicken and reduce heat. Simmer 15 minutes, then stir in cooked broccoli to cover with sauce, and simmer another 5 minutes to warm broccoli.
4. Serve over a bed of rice. Enjoy!

Bourbon Chicken Recipe Variations

You can easily personalize this recipe to fit you family’s preferences. Here are a couple of our favorite variations:

• College Boy’s Version: Use twice as much chicken and omit all vegetables.
• Irish Girl’s Version: Substitute peas for broccoli, or use both to get twice as many veggies in your vegephobic husband. I made the vegephobic part up, but like it enough to use it again.
• My Version: Cut the amount of brown sugar in half and add a splash of sherry or bourbon to the sauce.

Let me know what your family thinks of Bourbon Chicken when you make it, and if you have your own variation.

Happy cooking!

One of the benefits of having College Boy, Irish Girl and Love Bug live with us is that they make supper about once a week. We think it’s important for them to contribute to the household while they’re living here, and we enjoy trying their favorite recipes.

Many of their recipes were found online; the original recipe for this enchilada casserole came from Heather Drive’s blog, but Irish Girl adapted it to fit our family’s taste.

Enchilada Casserole Recipe – in Pictures

Irish Girl was gracious enough to let me take photos over her shoulder while she was making the Enchilada Casserole. They may not be the best photos, she’s taller than I am so it wasn’t easy to get over her shoulder but you’ll get the main idea.

Princess and Angel Face don’t eat beef or pork, so Irish Girl substituted ground turkey for ground beef.

If you’re trying to eat healthier like Teacher and I are you may want to use ground turkey even if you’re not opposed to eating beef. Ground turkey tastes almost the same as ground beef to me when it’s in a casserole, and the calorie/fat difference makes the switch worthwhile.

When the turkey was browned she added two cans of cream of chicken soup.

For a healthier alternative, Teacher suggests thickened and seasoned chicken broth. I also found this recipe for homemade condensed cream of chicken soup; we haven’t tried it yet, so if you do please let me know what you think!

Then two cans of enchilada sauce.

Irish girl says it’ll be easier if you add the beans now instead of trying to layer them later. College Boy says the casserole will taste better if you just omit the beans altogether.

After stirring in the soup and sauce it’s time to layer the casserole. Irish Girl covered the bottom of the pan with torn tortillas, then spread on some of the meat mixture and sprinkled on some cheese.

We don’t substitute low-fat cheese because “real” cheese generally has less additives.

Next another layer of torn tortillas…

Whole wheat tortillas will be healthier than white tortillas but I’d stick with flour ones; – I think corn tortillas would turn to mush in the casserole.

Check the labels when you shop for refried beans; I found a non-fat version that contained nothing but beans, water and salt, and were really low in calories. I think they were La Preferida, but don’t remember for sure.

One more layer of torn tortillas and a ton of cheese, then into the oven.

You wouldn’t believe how yummy this smells already – is it time to eat yet?

Bake until browned and bubbly; about 30 minutes.

Irish Girl had lettuce, tomato and sour cream to go on top that’s what we had on hand but you could also use green onions, black olives, cilantro, guacamole, or whatever else you like on tacos.

Time to dig in!

Enchilada Casserole Recipe – Our Version

Ingredients:
2.5 lbs. Jenny-O ground turkey
2 cans enchilada sauce
2 cans low-sodium cream of chicken soup
1 can vegetarian refried beans
6-8 tortillas (8-10″ ones are best)
16 oz shredded cheddar cheese, divided in half

Directions:
1. Brown ground turkey in a large frying pan; you shouldn’t need to drain it. Stir the enchilada sauce and cream of chicken soup into the browned turkey. Irish Girl recommends adding the can of refried beans now to avoid fighting with them later.

2. Spray the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ pan with olive oil spray. Tear the tortillas into pieces and line the bottom of the pan with them. Sprinkle about one-quarter of the cheese on top of the tortillas, then spread with about half the turkey/sauce/soup mixture. Cover with another layer of torn tortillas and top with the rest of the meat mixture.

3. If you didn’t add the beans to the meat in step 1 it’s time to add them; drop small dollops of beans on top of the meat and spread as much as you can. Warming the beans slightly and stirring them may make them easier to work with.

4. Sprinkle another layer of cheese on top of the beans, then cover with a final layer of torn tortillas and the rest of the cheese.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes, or until bubbly. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving… if you can wait that long.

Enjoy!

When I was a kid I loved fresh Rice Krispie treats, all warm and marshmallow gooey. Now that I’m a grown-up at least on the outside I still love them, and love to make them with my kids.

Rice Krispie treats are really quick, really easy, and don’t use a lot of ingredients. If you keep butter, marshmallows and the cereal on hand you can whip them up at a moment’s notice.

You’ve probably noticed that today I’m using Crispy Rice cereal instead of bona fide Rice Krispies. That’s what we had here, but I really prefer Kellogg’s Rice Krispies. The off-brands never seem as “puffy” and crispy as Kellogg’s. I haven’t noticed any difference as far as marshmallows go, as long as they’re fresh. I wouldn’t advise using fruit-flavored ones though. Ewww!

First, butter a 9×13″ pan.

This is a great job for little helpers; they don’t mind getting their hands all buttery!

If you’re making the Rice Krispie Treats yourself and don’t want buttery hands, just unwrap the stick of butter halfway and hold on to the paper.

Just one of the neat cooking tricks my mom taught me.

After buttering the pan I always measure out 4 cups of mini marshmallows or 40 large marshmallows and 6 cups of Rice Krispies before I start melting the marshmallows.

I learned this tip the hard way when I was younger. Once I waited until the butter was melted to measure the marshmallows and ended up scorching the butter, then waited until the marshmallows were all melted before measuring the cereal and ended up burning the marshmallows. That batch of Rice Krispie Treats ended up in the garbage.

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a heavy pot, stirring so it doesn’t brown.

Little helpers can measure and cut the butter, then put it into the cold pot.

When the butter is almost all the way melted, add 4 cups of fresh marshmallows save the stale ones for hot cocoa and stir, stir, stir!

Little helpers can pour in the marshmallows, but be VERY careful so they don’t touch the hot pot!

When the marshmallows are almost all the way melted turn off the heat but don’t take the pot off the hot burner.

Add the 6 cups of Rice Krispies – another step little helpers can do – with CAUTION – and fold into the marshmallow. I’ve found that folding in the cereal gives me better coverage than stirring in circles.

I don’t let my little helpers stir until they’re older because it’s too easy to touch the hot pot while moving the spoon around. I’ve done it myself more times than I want to admit.

While the marshmallow/cereal mixture is still warm, turn it out into your buttered pan. Now you’ll have to work fairly quickly, before it cools too much.

Because the mixture in the pan is so hot I distract my little helpers with the spoon, which usually cools quickly, and the pot when it’s cooled. Today I was cooking alone so I got them both all to myself – score!

Rub your hands across the butter to coat your fingers and keep the marshmallow from sticking to them. You DID wash your hands before beginning to cook, right?!

The marshmallow will still be hot, so carefully press down on the cereal mixture until it fills the pan and is fairly even. Re-butter your fingers as necessary along the way.

Another trick from my mom; she says the butter adds extra flavor to the Rice Krispie treats in addition to keeping them off your hands.

Cut into pieces and you’re done!

Hey, where’d they all go??

Ah-ha! NOW I know where they all went; Peanut LOVES Rice Krispie Treats.

When was the last time YOU made Rice Krispie Treats?

When my friend Nicole’s son was younger he was allergic to fish, eggs, and almost every fruits and veggie you can think of, so when Princess didn’t have enough eggs to make the pumpkin bread she had her heart set on I called Nicole. I knew Nicole would have an egg-free egg substitute, and I was right!

For one egg’s worth of egg-free egg substitute you’ll need:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Whisk together, and use in place of one egg. I wouldn’t recommend it for scrambled eggs, but it works wonderfully in baked goods!

In case you’re wondering, we needed three eggs so we’ve got 3x the amounts listed above in the bowl.

If you try it, let me know how your recipe turns out!

The other day Irish Girl decided to make a healthy dessert for the kids. She graciously allowed me to peek over her shoulder to take photos, but they were so quick to make that I almost missed it!

Yogurt Popsicle Recipe – in Short

These yogurt popsicles are so easy-peasy that after you’ve made them the first time you’ll be able to make them on your own. The official recipe is at the end, but I’ll get you started with Irish Girl and Little Guy’s version.

First Irish Girl mashed up some fresh strawberries.

Then she put some vanilla wafers into a ziplock bag and had Little Guy crush them with a rolling pin.

She stirred the vanilla wafer crumbs into vanilla yogurt, then spooned some into the bottom of paper cups. After adding a layer of crushed strawberries she added another layer of the yogurt mixture.

Instead of popsicle sticks Irish Girl purchased this fun plastic flatware. Since it’s wider than popsicle sticks it’s easier for the kids to hold, and they can use it over and over after their popsicles are gone.

Since we didn’t freeze each layer we had a slight issue with the top yogurt layer sinking into the strawberry layer. Our popsicles turned out more swirly than layered, but they tasted yummy just the same.

Right Little Guy?

Official Yogurt Popsicle Recipe

• 1 ½ cup mashed strawberries
• ½ cup crushed vanilla wafers
• 2 cups vanilla yogurt

1. Crush strawberries and vanilla wafers in separate containers. Add vanilla wafer crumbs to vanilla yogurt and stir to combine.
2. Make parfaits by spooning alternate layers of the yogurt mixture and the crushed strawberries into small paper cups, freezing each layer 30 minutes or until firm before adding the next.
3. For swirly popsicles, layer the yogurt mixture and strawberries as above, but don’t freeze between layers. Freeze until firm before serving.

The cool thing about this yogurt popsicle recipe is that you can easily make endless varieties of yogurt popsicles. Any kind of berry or banana, melon, but probably not watermelon because it’s so juicy, and other fruits can be smashed for the middle. You can substitute other kinds of cookies for the vanilla wafers, and use any flavor of yogurt you want to try.

I want to try caramel yogurt with bananas and a little chocolate syrup drizzle next.

What would your favorite flavor combination be?

The first year we lived in Michigan we stayed with Teacher’s parents. Since I didn’t have a job or vehicle and Angel Face was an infant, I spent the year as a stay-at-home mom. As much as I loved being home, I was lonely while Teacher and his parents were at work and the older kids were at school.

I don’t remember the exact day I met Dawn, but I do remember it was sometime in the spring. Dawn lived kitty-corner across the street from my in-laws’ house and had three children close to the same ages as our kids: at six years old Sierra was in between College Boy and Princess, potty-training Dylan was a little younger than Princess, and toddler Josie was just a tad older than little Angel Face.

Dawn had a giant back yard with a trampoline, swing set, and a sand box, but that wasn’t the best thing about her. The best thing was that she was just like me; she felt lonely with just her kids for company all day, and didn’t mind having us hang out at her house, no matter how often we walked over. And we walked over a lot!

By the time summer vacation began the kids and I were crossing the street almost every morning. Dawn and I shared mommy-talk while our kids ran wild; exercising their imaginations as well as their bodies. When lunchtime came I usually took the kids home, but sometimes Sierra and Princess would beg to have a picnic. Dawn would usually give in and make her quick microwave quesadillas; all warm and gooey with melted cheese oozing out from the tortillas and sticking to the paper plates. We set the plates on the child-sized picnic table, then quickly retreat to avoid the stampede; there’s nothing like a morning spent in the sprinkler to make kids hungry!

Sadly, when we moved into our own house our families weren’t able to spend as much time together and slowly our lives drifted apart. I haven’t heard from Dawn for years, but every time I make microwave quesadillas I think of the idyllic days spent in her back yard. She also made an amazing toffee bar with saltine crackers, but that’s another post…

Since I’ve been asked more than once how to make microwave quesadillas I thought I’d share the “recipe” and directions here. It’s so simple Z-Man can do it himself if the cheese is already shredded!

You’ll need flour tortillas, shredded cheese, and two microwave-safe plates. You can use whatever kind of cheese you like; most common would be medium Cheddar, Montery Jack, or Colby-Jack, but I’ll bet a baby swiss or pepper Jack would be good too.

Amounts will vary depending on the number and age of children you’re trying to feed. Since I need to follow CACFP Food Program rules for daycare lunches I start with 1/2 tortilla and 1.5 oz of cheese for each child. I usually start with one quesadilla for every two children, and make more as needed.

The requirements are actually 1 oz of cheese for one to two year olds and 1.5 oz for children aged three to five, but since I have mixed ages I figure on the larger amount to make it easier. In case you’re wondering, the serving size for six to twelve year olds is 2 oz of cheese and one whole tortilla.

But I digress…

To Make Microwave Quesadillas…
Lay one tortilla on a microwave safe plate, cover with shredded cheese and lay a second tortilla on top. To make more than one quesadilla, repeat the tortilla-cheese-tortilla pattern right on top of the first quesadilla. I’ve successfully made four quesadillas in one stack before, but I had to squish them down to get the plate to fit. Finish by placing the second microwave-safe plate upside-down on top of the tortilla/cheese stack.

Microwave for 15-20 seconds for one quesadilla; 30 seconds for more than one. Carefully remove the plates from the microwaveyou may want to use pot holders, hold them together tightly and flip them both so the top one is now on bottom and vice versa. Microwave again for the same amount of time, then lightly poke the middle of the quesadilla to see if the cheese has melted. If it hasn’t, replace the cover plate, flip, and continue microwaving at 15 second intervals until all the cheese is melted.

Cut into pieces and serve!

Quesadillas are great for using up leftover chicken, turkey, or taco meat and cooked veggies like corn, peppers or beans. You can also serve salsa, sour cream, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, etc, on the side or on top of the cooked quesadilla.

Obviously Z-Man approves!

Thanks for the great recipe, Dawn. I hope things are going great for you, wherever you are!

I don’t remember how old I was the first time my mom made taco dip, but I do remember thinking that it was the best food in the entire world. For years I was obsessed with taco dip; I wanted mom to make it for every holiday, for pot lucks, and just because we hadn’t had it for a while. I even threw together single-serve taco dip to snack on with whatever we had in the refrigerator. Bet you didn’t know that, did you Mom?

As far as I know there are two basic types of taco dip: the kind where you mix the seasonings into the cream cheese base and the kind where you layer the seasonings on top of the base. Our version is the kind where you layer the seasonings on top of the cream cheese. The other kind is good too, but is missing the contrast between the cool cream cheese and intensely spicy seasoning layers.

Taco Dip Recipe – in Pictures

Like most of the recipes I make, there aren’t exact measurements in my taco dip recipe; use your best judgement and add more of this or that until it tastes good to you. There are lots of opportunities to personalize this recipe so have fun and make it the way YOU like it!

Start by softening 8oz of cream cheese in the microwave. You want it really soft, but not cooked.

Add in enough sour cream to “loosen” the cream cheese – I put in a couple of big spoonfuls. or is it “spoonsful”? You want the mixture to taste like cream cheese, not sour cream, but be soft enough that a chip can scoop it up even after chilling.

Find a nice flat plate or platter – preferably without a rim – to spread the cream cheese mixture on. Teacher and I got this platter as a wedding gift and it’s always the one I use for taco dip.

Using the back of a spoon, spread the cream cheese mixture evenly on the platter. I’ve discovered that it’s easier to drop spoonfuls spoonsful dollops of the mixture onto the platter to spread out instead of dumping the whole bowlful on.

Drizzle taco sauce evenly on top of the cream cheese mixture, then spread it around. Be careful not to push too hard or you’ll mess up the cream cheese layer.

Sprinkle dry taco seasoning mix on top of the taco sauce – we like the low sodium kind so the dip doesn’t get too salty. Use less for a mild dip and more for spicier dip; we use about half a package.

Now comes the fun part – the toppings! You can put pretty much anything you like on your taco dip; I’ve had them with red peppers, green peppers, jalapenos, fresh cilantro, green onions, white onions, etc, etc, etc.

We start with lettuce; rinsed, dried, and chopped finely so it won’t fall off the chips.

Next we add tomatoes. My mom taught me a cool trick to keep the dip from being too juicy: chop the tomatoes into small pieces then put them in between two paper or un-paper towels and press lightly to remove excess moisture.

Finally we add freshly shredded cheese and sliced black olives.

Ta-da, done!

Have you ever made taco dip like this? What are your favorite taco dip toppings?

After I posted our hot wings recipe, Princess pointed out that not everyone likes hot wings.

I didn’t want to believe her but the proof was standing right in front of me: Princess doesn’t like hot wings.

To be honest, when I was her age I didn’t like hot wings either.

In the interest of fairness I decided to post our not-so-hot wings variations.

Not-so-Hot Wings Recipes

Usually when Teacher makes hot wings he also makes Parmesan Ranch and barbecue wings. They’re both super-simple to make because he starts with store-bought sauces. Not that he couldn’t make sauces from scratch; he just doesn’t for wings.

If you want to make Parmesan Ranch or Barbecue wings, first start at the beginning of the hot wings recipe, but after putting your chicken into the oven come back here to find out how to finish them off.

Barbecue Wings:
Barbecue wings are super-simple; just toss the baked chicken in your favorite barbecue sauce, place in a shallow baking dish, and bake for 5 minutes.

Ta-da, you’re done!

For these wings Teacher used the girls’ favorite barbecue sauce: Mississippi Sweet Apple sauce, but sometimes he “doctors up” the sauce with molasses, brown sugar, soy sauce or liquid smoke, depending on what flavor he’s going for.

Parmesan Ranch Wings:
Parmesan wings require a little more work but they’re well worth it!

Combine a good brand of Ranch dressing with some mayonnaise – it’ll cut the sweetness of the Ranch. The ratio should be not quite 50/50; more Ranch than mayo. Taste and adjust until you’re happy with it. Add a whole bunch of grated Parmesan cheese, until it tastes good to you. Be sure to use real Parmesan cheese, not the powder stuff that comes in boxed spaghetti mixes.

Toss the baked chicken in your concoction, add more grated Parmesan cheese on top, and bake 5 minutes. That’s all there is to it!

For these wings we used Hidden Valley Ranch Cracked Peppercorn dressing to make Parmesan Peppercorn wings, so in addition to the Parmesan Teacher added freshly ground black pepper to the sauce.

Other Variations:
It’s really easy to make almost any kind of wings you want, all you have to do is find a sauce that speaks to you and add your own touch.

Sesame ginger? Start with a store-bought sauce, add a little fresh ginger and toasted sesame seeds. Yum!

How about Teriyaki? It’s super-simple with the variety of Teriyaki sauces on the market today.

In the mood for citrus? Try an orange marmalade, thinned down with a little orange juice.

Let your imagination go wild and see what it comes up with, then be sure to stop back and let me know what your favorite creation is – I’d love to try your recipe!

Hot wings caused me to go into labor with College Boy.

Don’t believe me?

Here’s the story…

Teacher’s college fraternity brothers traditionally held a “Wings and Kings” party with hot wings and Little Kings beer at least once a semester.

Two nights before second semester started Teacher and I hosted a small Wings and Kings party for some of our friends. At the time I wasn’t a big fan of hot wings, but I ate a couple in addition to the plain ones Teacher made for me.

Instead of beer Ewww! I indulged in the one and only alcoholic drink I had during my pregnancy with College Boy – a single wine cooler.

The next morning I woke up with a stomachache.

“Serves you right, you idiot!” I told myself; “Who has hot wings and wine coolers at eight months pregnant?!”

A couple of hours later I realized that the stomachache was actually early labor, and to make a long story short, College Boy was born almost exactly 24 hours after the start of our Wings and Kings party.

Obviously hot wings caused me to go into labor with College Boy.

I can’t say for sure that hot wings will bring on labor for anyone else, but I can say without a doubt that our hot wings recipe is really quick, really easy my two favorite cooking words, and really delicious!

Hot Wings Recipe – in Pictures

We’ve traditionally used chicken wings for our hot wings, but this year I asked Teacher if he could make “boneless wings” with breast meat instead. I was hoping that would make them a little bit healthier. Emphasis on “a little bit”!

Cut several boneless skinless chicken breasts into three somewhat-equal pieces.

In a bowl mix an egg with milk until smooth.

In a shallow pan combine flour we used white whole wheat flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and cayenne pepper.

Using only one hand, dunk several pieces of chicken into the milk bath.

Pull the chicken pieces out and drop them carefully into the flour mixture. Depending on the size of your container you can probably do 3-4 pieces at once.

Using only your other hand, gently turn and toss each piece until it’s coated with flour.

Place the breaded chicken onto a greased pan we used olive oil spray but you can use whatever you want.

Be sure to keep your milk hand out of the flour and vice versa or you’ll end up breading your fingers into an ooey gooey mess!

Bake, turning over halfway through so both sides can get crispy.

You caught me – that’s not our chicken and that’s not our oven. Our oven desperately needs to be cleaned, so I’ve shamelessly substituted a photo from Two Chatty Sisters who have an amazingly clean oven.

I have clean-oven envy.

While the chicken is baking, melt some butter in a small saucepan and add enough hot sauce to coat your chicken. We use Frank’s Red Hot sauce, but you can use your favorite hot sauce.

When the chicken is done, toss several pieces into the saucepan and stir until they’re with hot sauce. Turn out into a shallow pan or baking sheet, if you’re doing a lot of chicken and repeat until all pieces have turned into hot wings goodness.

Return the hot wings to the oven for a couple of minutes to bake the sauce in.

Serve immediately with traditional Bleu Cheese Teacher’s choice or Ranch my fave dressing on the side. Celery sticks are optional in my book.

Hot Wings – the Official Recipe

One of the great things about this hot wings recipe is that you don’t need to follow measurements exactly. Figure out how much chicken you need for the number of people you want to feed and make more or less sauce accordingly.

Ingredients:

• Boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken wings
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup hot sauce
• Nonstick spray

Directions:
1. If you’re using chicken breast, cut each into three pieces. If you’re using chicken wings, remove the outer pointy joint. Rinse the chicken under cold water.
2. Whisk the egg and milk together in a bowl. In a shallow container combine the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and cayenne pepper.
4. Using one hand, dunk the chicken into the egg and milk mixture then place in the flour container. Using the other hand, toss the chicken in the flour mixture until it’s coated, then place on a greased pan.
5. Bake at 425 until done, turning over about haflway through. Chicken breast will take about 15-20 minutes, wings will take about 25 minutes.
6. While chicken is baking, place the Durkee’s Red Hot sauce and butter in a saucepan. Heat until butter is melted, stirring to combine, until mixture is heated through. If you want to serve celery sticks with your hot wings, now is the time to prepare them.
7. When the chicken is done place several pieces at a time into the saucepan and stir gently to cover them with sauce. Remove to a shallow baking dish and repeat until all chicken has been sauced. Bake an additional 5 minutes.
8. Enjoy!