Slow-Cooked Sweet & Tangy Chicken Wings

• 10-12 chicken wing drummettes
• 1/2 tsp salt, divided
• Dash pepper
• 1-1/2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• Dash red pepper flakes

• Sprinkle chicken wings with a dash of salt and pepper. Broil 4-6 in. from the heat for 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Transfer to a greased slow cooker.
• Combine the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, remaining salt, olive oil, and broth; pour over wings. Toss to coat.
• Cover and cook on low for 3-1/4 to 3-3/4 hours or until chicken juices run clear. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

Bleu Cheese Vinagrette Salad

I need a fresh side (and also I want to learn to start making yummy salads), so I'm going to try this one out for dinner today!

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• 2 hearts romaine, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 pound blue cheese crumbles, in specialty cheese section of your market
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup croutons

Place lettuce in large bowl and cut/tear lettuce pieces to desired size.
Combine garlic, oregano, sugar, 1/2 of bleu cheese and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.
Add oil to dressing in slow stream and mix to spread onto the leaves
Add the rest of the bleu cheese to the salad
Pour vinegar mixture over salad & add salt and pepper to taste

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Dr. Pepper Lemon Pepper Tangy Glazed Sirloin

Gonna grill out today, and here's what's on the menu!

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DR. PEPPER LEMON PEPPER TANGY GLAZED SIRLOIN


Ingredients for marinade

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup Dr. Pepper
• 1/4 cup A1 sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 minced garlic clove (or 1/4 teaspoon pre-prepared minced garlic)
• 1 to 2 pounds top sirloin steak
• Lemon pepper seasoning

Ingredients for glaze

• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (any kind you like!)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup A1 sauce
• 1 tablespoon molasses or dark corn syrup

Method

• Mix together marinade ingredients in a gallon-size plastic bag (NOT the lemon pepper, that's for later). Cut the steaks into 1 inch-wide strips (should be 4-6 strips per steak depending on how big the steak is)
• Place strips in marinade, mix around to coat, and allow to soak up the flavor in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight
• After marinading, remove steak from bag, throw away bag, and sprinkle the steaks with the lemon pepper seasoning
• Cook on the grill until desired doneness is attained (should be 8-12 minutes). Prepare the glaze.
• When steaks are a few minutes from being done, brush on the glaze and allow steaks to remain on grill to heat and caramelize the glaze.

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Honey Balsamic Chicken

I've got some chicken in my freezer that needs to be used before it's burned to death, so I'm trying my hand at a honey balsamic chicken recipe with my own spin...

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HONEY BALSAMIC CHICKEN

Ingredients for glaze
 
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar (I used the kind infused with pomegranate)
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)

Ingredients for chicken

2 chicken breasts (or 4 tenderloins)

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Pinch of nutmeg

Method

1. Coat chicken with dry ingredients
2. Place chicken in a skillet at medium heat with a pat of butter for 4-7 minutes
3. Remove chicken from skillet and simmer the glaze in the skillet for 1-2 mintues
4. Place chicken pieces in skillet again, making sure to turn so that glaze coats them. Heat until cooked

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Cookies & Cream Bundt Cake with Vanilla Glaze

Henry's baby brother is going away into the army on Sunday, so we're having a casual party for him today. I thought I would make a cute bundt cake to thank him for his service to the wonderful USA!

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COOKIES & CREAM BUNDT CAKE WITH VANILLA GLAZE

Ingredients for Cake

•  1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 stick softened butter
• 2 whole eggs (room temp)
• 2 egg whites (room temp)
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 7 Oreos, crushed

Ingredients for Glaze

• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup teaspoons light cream
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Method

1. Double grease and flour your bundt pan
2. Beat butter, eggs, egg whites, and granulated sugar in large bowl until well blended
3. Add milk and vanilla and mix well
4. Add flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix until smooth (about 2 minutes)
5. Fold in crushed oreos manually until they are dispersed throughout the batter
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
7. Place cake on wire rack over a cookie sheet and allow to cool completely
8. Melt butter for icing and add it to other ingredients for icing, mixing well until a loose, creamy icing has formed
9. Pour icing generously over cake 
10. After icing has hardened, remove cake from wire rack and place on a platter/cake dish. Garnish with Oreos

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Meat Loaf

Needed a use for some extra hamburger I had in my freezer and decided to try my hand at some meat loaf. I thought it turned out pretty well!

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MEAT LOAF


Ingredients for loaf:

• 1 1/2 pound hamburger
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tablespoon dried minced onions
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 1/2 tablespoon ketchup
• 1/2 tablespoon mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce 
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/3 cup finely ground Stacy's Sea Salt pita chips (or other form of dried bread crumbs, crackers, crouton, etc)

Ingredients for sauce:

• 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 1/3 tablespoon mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon barbecue sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Method

1. Line a casserole dish with aluminum foil (this is an important step for your sanity!)
2. Use a food processor to finely grind up your bread crumbs
3. Combine hamburger, egg, onions, milk, and the various other ingredients into a large bowl and stir together thoroughly using your hands
4. Place meat in casserole dish in a "loaf" shape--this is just an oblong shape roughly a foot long, 4 inche wide, and 4 inches deep
5. Mix together ingredients for sauce and pour on top of the loaf, spreading it around and allowing it to drip down the sides
6. Sprinkle just a little more brown sugar on the top
7. Place in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove from oven, allow to "set" for 5-10 minutes, cut up like a loaf of bread and serve

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Beans & Weenies

Henry and I have just gotten married on May 19th (Yay!), but I'm having to cook a lot at home since we are on a tight budget with me being in school, etc. Needless to say, before getting married, I would say my forte in cooking was in the dessert/baking department, so it's pretty intimidating to have to make an acceptable-to-eat-for-dinner meal that will not leave us starving. Thus, I've been expanding my horizons to bigger and better things (that are still easy, fast, and stuff that I already have in my house). The first being...

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BEANS & WEENIES


Ingredients:

• 2 regular-sized cans of baked beans (any kind you like)
• 6-7 hot dogs
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 table spoons dried parsley flakes

Method:

1. Cut the hot dogs up into 1/2 inch pieces
2. Dump the 2 cans of baked beans in a pot, followed by the pieces of hot dogs
3. Add the other ingredients to the pot and stir together
4. Place covered on medium-high heat for 15-25 minutes, stirring occasionally
5. Turn heat to low or medium-low to allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes

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