Easy Baked Chicken Wings

I came across a great recipe for lower-guilt chicken wings back some months ago, and have been making them this way ever since. The fact that these come out crispy, are baked instead of fried, and are super easy to throw together, makes me love ’em even more. I do switch up the sauce at times, using one of my favorites from a wing place back home in Rochester, New York (Country Sweet Chicken and Ribs), and also just regular barbecue sauce and honey. Whether you use the sauce in this recipe, or your favorite, I think you’ll love this cooking method and how great these wings turn out.

Ingredients

2 pounds chicken wings (I used wings & drumettes)
1 cup peach jam
2-3 tbsp. chili paste
1 tbsp. lime juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450° and line a baking sheet (with sides) with parchment paper. Set aside.
Trim off any extra fat from the chicken wings.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, adding 1-2 tablespoons of salt to the water.
Place the chicken wings in the boiling water, and boil for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the wings from the water to a wire cooling rack placed over a baking pan. Let the wings dry for a few minutes before patting them dry with paper towels (the drier the chicken wings are before you begin to bake them, the crispier they will become).
Place the chicken wings on the baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Flip the wings over, and bake an additional 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, stir together the peach jam, chili paste and lime juice. Reserve half of the mixture in a separate bowl to be used as dipping sauce when you serve the wings.
Place the hot chicken wings in the large bowl with the remaining sauce. Stir and toss to coat the wings completely with the sauce.
Transfer the wings to a plate and serve with the reserved dipping sauce, blue cheese or ranch and some celery sticks, if desired.

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Classic Southern Deviled Eggs

Happy Spring! For some reason, I was having a craving for some deviled eggs over the past week, so decided to whip some up yesterday. I know there are many different ingredients you can add to the yolk mixture… horseradish, dill, onion, hot sauce, etc., but decided to go with a more traditional recipe. For this one, I used regular yellow mustard, but feel free to use spicy brown or Dijon, but either way, I think you’ll find these little gems are really delicious.

Ingredients

6 eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. sweet pickle relish
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. yellow mustard
1/8 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Smoked Spanish paprika, for garnish

Directions

Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover with enough water that there’s about 1 1/2 inches of water above the eggs. Heat on high until water begins to boil, then cover, remove from heat and leave covered for 15 minutes. Rinse under cold water continuously for 2 minutes.
Crack egg shells and carefully peel under cool running water. Gently dry with paper towels. Slice the eggs in half lengthwise, removing yolks to a medium bowl, and placing the whites on a dish or serving platter.
Mash the yolks into a fine crumble using a fork. Add mayonnaise, relish, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper, and mix well.
Fill eggs whites evenly with the yolk mixture using a fork, spoon or pastry bag.
Sprinkle with paprika and serve, or store covered in refrigerator.

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Smoked Salmon Crostini

Last month, I was invited to a pot luck party, and was trying to narrow down all of the yummylicious things I could bring that were easy to travel with, didn’t require reheating and would be a crowd pleaser. I decided on these little gems, and they were a hit… not a single one was left. Personally, I think dill adds a nice delicate flavor to the cream cheese mixture, and pairs incredibly well with salmon. The recipe I initially saw for these, called for using a loaf of sourdough bread, but I decided to use whole grain melba toast rounds which worked perfectly, and saved time from having to bake the bread. These tasty treats are incredibly easy to make and throw together in no time, and will be a huge hit with all who try them. If you want to cut down on carbs, or simply desire some variation, you can use cucumber slices instead of the rounds or crackers.

Ingredients

4 oz. smoked salmon
8 oz. package cream cheese
2 tbsp. Greek yogurt (or light mayo)
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. dill leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
Dill sprigs for garnish
Melba toast rounds, or crackers of your choice

Directions

In a small bowl, combine all of your spread ingredients: cream cheese, greek yogurt, minced garlic, freshly chopped dill, lemon juice and salt & pepper. Mash it all together with a fork, and mix until well blended.
Spread the cream cheese mix over the top of each melba toast round or cracker.
Top with a piece of salmon and garnish with dill sprigs.

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Baked Kale Chips

In keeping with the theme of my last post, I’m sharing this tasty little snack I made for a second time yesterday. I love that the kale gets crispy like potato chips, yet are so much healthier. There are numerous things you can add to them… lemon juice, paprika, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, garlic, etc., so go ahead and experiment!

Ingredients

1 bunch (about 6 oz.) kale
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 300°F.
Rinse and dry the kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs.
Cut into large pieces, toss with olive oil and apple cider vinegar in a bowl then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Arrange leaves in a single layer on a large baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper for easier clean up).
Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until crisp.
Place baking sheet on a rack to cool.

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Spicy Edamame

I’m a HUGE fan of sushi, and always have to order edamame as a starter whenever I go to a Japanese restaurant. One of my favorite sushi restaurants is Sashi in Manhattan Beach, which is where I went for my birthday dinner last year. Naturally, we had to get an order of their edamame, which was not your run-of-the-mill edamame, as it’s served 2 ways; with Indian spices and also, sea salt. The Indian-spiced batch was incredibly tasty, and since that time, I wanted to recreate something similar at home. I came across this spicy edamame recipe using Japanese 7 spice, and can’t begin to tell you how many batches of it I’ve made. Actually, I’m making some more right now! Japanese 7 spice, or Shichimi Togarashi in Japanese, is a blend of spices that contains red chili, seaweed, sansho pepper, orange peel, poppy seeds and white and black sesame seeds. It’s a popular table condiment in Japan, where it’s used to add heat and flavor to lots of different dishes. This is the original recipe I found, but will make a notation as to how I like to prepare it. I also like to dip the edamame in a spicy Japanese mayo, so I’ll include a link to that recipe as well.

Ingredients

1 lb edamame
2 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
2 1/2 tbsp Japanese 7 spice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp salt
Japanese spicy mayo

Directions

Cook edamame according to package directions & drain. (I like to add a little garlic and ginger powder to the water.)
Place edamame in a large bowl. Add oil and toss to coat, adding more if needed.
Add the remaining ingredients & mix together well.

For my version of this recipe, I eliminate the cayenne pepper and garlic, and add just a little bit of sugar. I love the combo of sweet & spicy.

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Healthy Snacks

I want to talk about snacks and give you some low-calorie options for when hunger strikes in-between meals. It’s a good idea to have a snack to keep your metabolism going and the ones listed here, are only about 150 calories each! So, whether you’re watching your weight or just need a little something to hold you over ’til lunch or dinner, these are all guilt-free and pretty tasty.

1 oz. healthy nuts (47 pistachios or 24 almonds or peanuts)
2 whole-grain crackers with 1 tbsp peanut butter
1 cup baby carrots with 1/2 cup hummus
6 oz. nonfat yogurt with 1 tbsp chopped walnuts
3 cups popcorn (popped in 2 tsp canola oil)
3/4 cup fresh pineapple with 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese
1 cup fresh fruit with 1 part-skim string cheese
1 cup whole-grain cereal (such as Cheerios) with 1/2 cup skim or 1% milk & 1/2 cup slice strawberries
English muffin pizza: 1/2 whole-grain English muffin with 1 tbsp tomato sauce & 1/2 oz low-fat mozzarella cheese (add green pepper and onion slices on top if you’d like)
1 apple with 1 tbsp almond butter
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal with sliced almonds (about 5) and 1/2 cup skim or 1% milk
1 oz. low-fat cheese with 3 whole-wheat crackers
1/2 small whole-wheat tortilla with 2 slices turkey (or tofurkey), 1 slice tomato and 1 small slice avocado
12 whole-grain corn chips and 1/2 cup salsa
Fruit smoothie: 1 cup skim or 1% milk blended with 3/4 cup berries