Baked BBQ Chicken Wings

In the last year, our ten-year-old son's palette has finally started to expand, and this has included chicken wings. Looking for a healthier and cheaper alternative to take-out wings, we tried these wings, based on a recipe we found on Pinterest. Ingredients have been modified to utilize our favorite Vermont products where appropriate. 

Baked BBQ Chicken Wings 

Ingredients

Wings

• 3 lbs Chicken Wing pieces, tips removed
• 1 cup Gringo Jack's VT Maple Barbecue Sauce

Dry Rub

• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 tsp Koshet Salt
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Mustard Powder
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 2 tsp VT Garlic Maple Pepper
• ½ tsp Cumin

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with non-stick spray.
3. Rinse wings then pat dry with a paper towel. Place wings in a gallon-size resealable bag.
4. Mix all dry rub ingredients together in small bowl then pour into the bag with wings, seal tightly. 
5. Shake bag to coat wings completely with dry rub.
6. Place wings onto baking sheet spaced evenly apart, discard leftover dry rub.
7. Bake 25-30 minutes, turning over once halfway through baking. 
8. Remove wings from oven and brush with barbecue sauce. Enjoy!

Recipe based on http://everydaydishes.com/simple-food-recipes/barbecue-baked-chicken-wings/

Guinness Beef Stew

Now some people call this Irish Beef Stew. Others prefer Drunken Beef Stew. But, let's call it what it is: Guinness Beef Stew. Now, this is not a set-it and forget-it recipe; it will require about 45 minutes of prep work. But, that will give you some time to think about what to do with the half pint of Guinness left over!

Guinness Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Russet Potatoes, peeled, 1/2" cubed, approx. 2 cups
• 1 lbs Baby Red Potatoes, peeled, 1/2" cubed, approx. 1 cup
• 4 stalks Celery, chopped, approx. 1-1/2 cups
• 4-5 Carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2" pieces, approx. 2 cups
• 1 yellow or white Onion, roughly chopped
• 2 TBSP extra-virgin Olive Oil
• 1 3/4 lbs stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 Garlic cloves, minced
• 2 TBSP salted Butter
• 2 cups low sodium Beef Broth
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
• 8 oz. Guinness (1/2 pint)
• 2 TBSP Tomato Paste
• 1 TBSP Raw Sugar
• 1 tsp Soy Sauce
• 1/2 TBSP dried Thyme
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 TBSP cornstarch + 1 TBSP water
• Garlic Maple Pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Place the chopped vegetables into the crockpot. 
2. Rinse the meat and pat dry with paper towels. Pepper the beef.
3. In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, heat olive oil at medium to medium-high heat. 
4. Add beef to the pan and brown on all sides, about 5 to 7 minutes. 
5. Add garlic and cook for one minute, do not burn the garlic. Season with maple pepper. 
6. Remove the beef and add to the crockpot on top of the vegetables
7. Turn the skillet back up to medium heat. To the skillet, add butter until it's melted. 
8. Add beef broth, worcestershire, beer, tomato paste, sugar, soy sauce and thyme. Using a wooden spoon, stir the liquids as well as scrape the bottom of the pan. 
9. Bring to a boil, allow to boil for at least two minutes. 
10. Then lower heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. 
11. Season with maple pepper to taste. Add cornstarch/water and stir together.
12. Pour broth mixture into the crockpot over vegetables and beef. 
13. Add bay leaves and cook on high for 4-6 hours or 6 to 9 hours on low.
14. Skim the fat from the stew, if needed, before serving.

Yield: 4-6
Recipe adapted from http://www.thelittlekitchen.net/
Photo courtesy of http://www.browneyedbaker.com/

Healthy Chicken Tenders

We have a nine-year-old at home, so as you can imagine, foods like pizza, mac-n-cheese, hot dogs, and chicken tenders top the list of requested meals. Trying to introduce healthy foods into the mix isn't always easy, so why not try re-imagining a food we already "like" into a healthier version.   

The following chicken tender recipe was a quick improvisation, but one that yielded a nine-year-old chorus for "More!"

Healthy Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs. boneless/skinless Chicken Breast, cut into "tenders"
• 2 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1 cup Panko Japanese Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Maple Pepper to taste (or plain salt & pepper)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat all sides of chicken tenders with olive oil; set aside.
3. Combine bread crumbs, parmesan, and maple pepper in a bowl; blend well.
4. Roll tenders in bread crumbs mixture until all sides are covered. Place on cookie sheet.
5. Bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

BBQ Meatloaf Muffins

These are the best re-imagining of meatloaf ever!  Quick, easy, tasty, a breeze to reheat.  We have made these at least once a month since stumbling upon the recipe on Pinterest. We've taken to calling them Meat Muffins, but somehow that seems politically incorrect here!

BBQ Meatloaf Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 pkg (6 oz) Stuffing Mix
• 1 cup Water
• 2 TBSP Barbecue Sauce
• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 1 cup (4 oz) shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Additional barbecue sauce, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. 
2. In a large bowl, combine stuffing mix, water and 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce. 
3. Add beef; mix lightly but thoroughly. 
4. Place 1/3 cup mixture into each of 12 ungreased muffin cups, pressing lightly.
5. If desired, top each with additional barbecue sauce.
6. Bake, uncovered, 18-22 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°.
7. Sprinkle tops with cheese; bake 2-4 minutes longer or until cheese
8. is melted. 

Nutritional Info

Yield: 6 servings.

Nutritional Facts: 2 mini meatloaves equals 330 calories, 

17 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 67 mg cholesterol, 668 mg sodium, 

21 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 21 g protein.

Recipe and Photo courtesy of http://www.tasteofhome.com/