Slow-Cooker Sticky Wings

Found this on Pinterest and it looked super easy and the blogger said they're crazy good.


Ingredients
1 3" piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 lbs chicken wings, halved at joint and tips removed
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup tomato paste

Directions: 
Make Rub
Pulse ginger, garlic, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper in food processor until finely ground. Add mixture to slow-cooker insert. Add chicken and toss to coat.

Cook and Cool
Cover and cook on low until fat is rendered and chicken is tender, about 3-4 hours. Using slotted spoon, remove wings from slow-cooker and transfer to clean large bowl (discard liquid in slow-cooker). Let wings cool about 20 min (or cool briefly and refrigerate up to 24 hours).

Sauce and Broil
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat broiler. Set wire rack inside rimmed backing sheet and spray rack with non-stick cooking spray. Whisk water, tomato paste, remaining sugar, remaining oy sauce, and remaining cayenne pepper in a bowl. Add half the sauce to a bowl with cooled wings and toss gently to coat. Arrange wings, skin side up, on prepared rack. Broil until wings are lightly charred and crisp around the edges, about 10-15 minutes. Flip wings, brush with remaining sauce, and continue to broil until well caramelized, about 3 minutes. Serve.

Note: In step 3, rack should be 10" to 12" from heating element. Don't wander off while the wings are in the oven.

Serves 12.

Jim Beam Glaze

Got this recipe from Red Robin....YUM!

1 cup Jim Beam bourbon whiskey
1/2 cup brown sugar
Combine the brown sugar and bourbon in a 3 qt. sauce pot and bring to a boil. Simmer 2 minutes to burn off the alcohol.

Add to the pot:
1 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pinch dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste

- Whisk the ingredients together and bring to a simmer. Cook the sauce over low heat for about 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken slightly and the flavors have married.

- Remove the sauce from the heat and cool completely. Use to baste meat, especially chicken or salmon, while cooking

White's Chili

Chili:

3/4 lb ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 16 oz. can tomatoes, cut up

1 16 oz. can dark red kidney beans, drained

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

2 to 3 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. dried basil, crushed

1/4 tsp. salt (optional)

1/4 tsp. pepper

 

    In large saucepan cook ground beef, onion, green pepper, and garlic until meat is brown.  Drain fat.  Stir in undrained tomatoes, kidney beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil, salt, and pepper.  Bring to boiling, reduce heat.  Cover, simmer for 20 minutes.  Makes 4 main dish servings.  (I had doubled the recipe)

Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette

A friend told me about a recipe he found in a grocery store magazine for a lemon vinaigrette for asparagus and it sounded amazing. I decided to give it a shot for Easter dinner and it was fantastic!

Ingredients

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon fresh Thyme leaves, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt or sea salt

pinch fresh cracked pepper

2 pounds fresh asparagus stalks, washed and trimmed

Directions

In a jar, combine olive oil, lemon juice, Thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and shake vigorously until combined. Store in the refrigerator and serve at room temperature.

Steam asparagus until crisp-tender; do not overcook! 

Drizzle vinaigrette over asparagus to coat lightly.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Easy Garlic Chicken

Another recipe found on Pinterest. It was pretty good, but keep your eyes open for a Take 2 version sometime in the future. 

Original recipe found on Food.com


Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 teaspoons olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500°F and lightly grease a casserole dish.
2. In small sauté pan, sauté garlic with the oil until tender.
3. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar.
4. Place chicken breasts in a prepared baking dish and cover with the garlic and brown sugar mixture.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Bake uncovered for 15-30 minutes.
7. Broil on high until garlic and brown sugar topping start to brown and caramelize.

Ginger and Garlic Broccoli

My bud Jan met this the very first time I met her. She's fabulous and so is this dish!


Original recipe from Epicurious

Ingredients
1 small bunch broccoli (about 1 1/4 pounds)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons very thin matchsticks of peeled fresh gingerroot
1 garlic clove, sliced thin
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
seasoned rice vinegar


Directions

1. Cut broccoli into 1-inch flowerets. Trim and peel stems and cut into 1/4-inch slices.
2. In a 10-inch heavy skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and cook gingerroot and garlic, swirling skillet occasionally, until just golden. With a slotted spoon transfer gingerroot and garlic to paper towels to drain.
3. Add broccoli to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until browned well, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl stir together water, soy sauce, and vinegar. Add mixture to skillet and cook until most liquid is evaporated, about 1 minute. Serve broccoli sprinkled with gingerroot and garlic.

Easy Parmesan Knots

Original recipe from Real Mom Kitchen

Ingredients

1 tube (12 ounces) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/4 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

Directions

1. Roll each biscuit into a 12-in. rope and tie into a knot; tuck ends under. Place 2 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
2. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; brush the warm knots with the mixture. 

Yield:10 knots.

I used 1/4 cup Wegman's Basting Oil in place of the canola oil, garlic powder, oregano and parsley. It was AMAZING!