Monday, December 29, 2008

Tiger Butter

This recipe is very easy and is a lot like the homemade peanut butter cups, but it's just nice and smooth and creamy. We handed this out as neighbor gifts at Christmas time and took it to family celebrations.

Tiger Butter

Categories: Cookies & Candy

11 ounces white chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups crunchy peanut butter
11 ounces milk chocolate chips

Line a 8x12 inch pan with parchment or saran wrap. Set aside.

Melt white chocolate and peanut butter together (I usually do it in the microwave). Spread into the prepared pan.

Melt milk chocolate and pour over top. Swirl through with a knife, to create a marble pattern. Chill until firm. Cut into pieces.

Source: http://allrecipes.com
Internet Address: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tiger-Butter-II/Detail.aspx

JEN'S NOTES: The original recipe calls for 1 lb white chocolate, 1 lb semisweet chocolate, and 1 1/3 cups crunchy peanut butter.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Winger's World Famous Freaking Amazing Sauce (Jen's Version)

This spicy sweet barbecue sauce is the key to Winger's World Famous Wings (see my version of these wings). And it's very easy to duplicate and very yummy. My brother-in-law, Eric, has been asking for this recipe for a while, so here it is!

Jen's Version of Winger's World Famous Freaking Amazing Sauce

Recipe By: Jen
Categories: Grilled & Barbecued, Marinades, Seasonings, & Rubs, Soups, Sandwiches, & Sauces

1/2 cup brown sugar (I prefer dark brown sugar)
1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
OR
1/3 cup Louisiana Cayenne Pepper Sauce

Mix the brown sugar and pepper sauce. Microwave 10-20 seconds just until sugar dissolves easily. Enjoy!

Ratings: 9 - Excellent 9
Serving Ideas : Serve this sauce with any kind of barbecued meat. It's especially good on chicken wings!

NOTES : JEN'S NOTES: Frank's Red Hot and Louisiana are the same except Frank's is thicker and more concentrated, so you don't need as much.

Winger's World Famous Wings

We LOVE the tasty chicken wings from Winger's Grill & Bar. The key to this recipe is Winger's Freaking Amazing Sauce. At Winger's Grill & Bar they probably fry the wings before tossing them in sauce. In my version, I bake the wings to cut out some of the fat, but they are still extremely tasty and really taste like the real thing.

Jen's Version of Winger's World Famous Wings

Recipe By: Jen
Serving Size: 5 wings
Servings: 2
Categories: Appetizers & Beverages, Chicken, Marinades, Seasonings, & Rubs, Soups, Sandwiches, & Sauces

10 each chicken wings -- rinsed and patted dry
Winger's Freaking Amazing Sauce (see recipe)

OPTIONAL BREADING
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 dashes cayenne pepper

OPTIONAL BREADING: Combine breading ingredients. Toss wings in breading to coat. Refrigerate for 60-90 minutes before cooking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Place wings on the baking sheet, skin side up, making sure they don't touch. Spray wings with cooking spray, if desired. Cook wings at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes until wings are cooked through. Increase heat to 450 degrees F and cook wings 5-20 minutes until crispy.

Meanwhile, make the sauce if you don't have any on hand. When the wings come out of the oven, place them in a bowl. Pour the sauce over the top of the wings and mix to coat. If you would like the wings to be sticky, you could place the wings back on the baking sheet and cook another 2-5 minutes at 450 degrees F or until the sauce is bubbly.

Ratings: 9 - Excellent 9 (Scott gives these wings a 9 1/2!)

Serving Ideas : Serve with Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing and celery sticks.

NOTES : JEN'S NOTES: You may have to increase the cooking time in order to get these cooked and crispy, especially if you're making more than 10 wings. These are so good! Scott prefers them without breading because they seem to be saucier, and the sauce is the best part (the breading seems to absorb the sauce). I wonder if you could cook them until crispy, then toss them in a slow cooker with the sauce. This might be a good idea for a party, but they disappear so quickly it might not be worth the effort!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Frosting (Wendy's)

My sister, Wendy, gave me this recipe along with her sugar cookie recipe. Didn't have the time or energy to make the cookies, so I used some cookie dough in a tube and frosted them with this frosting - they were delicious! This frosting is just so smooth and creamy. Wendy's recipe calls for 2 Tblsp milk, but I had seen something on TV where they said you could use corn syrup instead, so that's what I did and I really liked the results. Oh, and it freezes well, also. Thanks for the great recipe, Wendy!

Frosting (Wendy's)

1/2 cup shortening -- softened
1/2 cup butter -- softened
2 tablespoons milk or corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream shortening and butter together. Add the milk (or corn syrup) and vanilla. Beat the powdered sugar in until smooth. Add more milk if too stiff, or more powdered sugar if too runny.

GLUTEN and SOY FREE DIRECTIONS: Use gluten-free and soy-free shortening, butter, corn syrup, and vanilla. Often times gluten and/or soy can hide in natural flavorings, so make sure your butter and shortening is free of natural flavoring.

DAIRY FREE DIRECTIONS: Use a non-dairy butter substitute (Soy-Free Earth Balance is good) and corn syrup instead of milk.

Source: Wendy
Ratings: 7 - Very Good 7

NOTES : The original recipe calls for milk, not corn syrup.
JEN'S NOTES: I prefer a little more vanilla, maybe 1 1/2 teaspoons total. I always use corn syrup and I always start with 3 cups of powdered sugar, then add more if I want a thicker consistency.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Chicken Taco Chili

This is one of my latest favorite recipes. It has such good flavor, it's so easy, and both Scott and I really like it. This is different than my sister-in-law's (Jodi's) Chicken Tortilla Soup (also on this site). It's more like a chili and hers is more of a soup. We really like both recipes.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Chili

Servings: 8
Categories: Chicken, Crock Pot, Freezer Recipes, Pasta, Grains, & Legumes, Quick & Easy, Soups, Sandwiches, & Sauces

1/2 medium onion -- chopped
16 ounces chili beans
16 ounces black beans, canned -- drained
15 ounces whole kernel corn (or frozen corn) -- drained
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup chicken broth
10 ounces Rotel mild diced tomatoes and green chilies
2 teaspoons cumin -- to taste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt -- to taste (be careful not to get it too salty)
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder -- to taste
3/4 teaspoon onion powder -- to taste
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 rounded teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 large chicken breasts, no skin, no bone

Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add seasoning and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients (Jen's Note: I prefer to cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces before placing in the slow cooker.). Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Shred then stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

FREEZER DIRECTIONS:
ADVANCED PREP: Cut up onion. Cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
PREPARATION: Combine everything in a labelled gallon freezer bag. Lay flat to freeze. If you would like to save room in your freezer, you can wait to add the canned ingredients until you dump it all in the crock pot.
TO SERVE: Thaw. Cook in a slow cooker until done. For my 3.5-qt slow cooker it takes 1 hour on High plus 3 hours on Low.

Source: http://www.allrecipes.com/
Internet Address: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Taco-Soup/Detail.aspx
Ratings: 7 - Very Good 7
Serving Ideas : Serve topped with Fritos, cheese, sour cream, green onions, tomatoes, olives, etc.

NOTES : The original recipe calls for 12 oz beer instead of chicken broth, 2 cans Rotel, 1 package taco seasoning instead of seasonings, and 3 chicken breasts.
JEN'S NOTES: It completely filled my 3.5 quart slow cooker. Used low-salt or no-salt ingredients, so may want to be careful and leave the salt out until the end if using full-salt ingredients (actually used 2 tsp salt, but you have to be careful not to overdo it). Used the Scoops Fritos because they are thicker and don't get soggy as quickly. Scott really liked it - we both ate more than we should have.

Italian Meatball Subs

This is such an easy freezer recipe - I LOVE it! This is another freezer meal Scott's sister shared with us as I was recovering from surgery. If you buy pre-made frozen Italian meatballs it makes for very easy prep, but also can be very high in fat. If you wanted to make your own meatballs you would have better control over the fat content.

Italian Meatball Subs

Servings: 6
Categories: Crock Pot, Freezer Recipe, Ground Beef & Turkey, Quick & Easy, Soups, Sandwiches, & Sauces, Vegetables

24 medium Italian meatballs -- cooked and frozen
15 ounces tomato sauce
15 ounces stewed Italian tomatoes
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese -- grated
1 envelope spaghetti sauce seasoning
6 each hoagie rolls
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese -- shredded

FREEZER DIRECTIONS:
PREPARATION: Place meatballs, tomato sauce, Italian tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and seasoning in a labelled gallon freezer bag. You can freeze the rolls and cheese with the meatballs or buy them at serving time. If desired, place hoagie rolls and cheese in separate labelled freezer bags, and bag together with the meatballs. (Jen: I usually freeze the cheese and rolls with the meatballs, but usually don't bag the rolls with the rest because I don't want them to get smashed.)

TO SERVE: Thaw. Heat meatballs and sauce until cooked through. Serve on hoagie rolls topped with cheese. (Jen: I usually just pop the frozen meatballs and sauce into my little 2-quart slow cooker and cook on high for a few of hours.)

Source: Jodi
Ratings: 7 - Very Good 6
Serving Ideas : Serve with veggies and a green salad.

NOTES : The original recipe calls for only 5 hoagie rolls and 20 meatballs - 6 sandwiches just works better for me. The original recipe also calls for you to make homemade Italian meatballs.
JEN'S NOTES: If you don't have a spaghetti sauce seasoning mix on hand, it's not hard to find a recipe online. There are enough for 4 meatballs per sandwich. Scott has figured out that he likes to load up his sandwich with meatballs, so I have been adding extra meatballs just for him. Scott and I can't eat 6 sandwiches at once, so I usually cut the recipe in half. One sub is usually pretty filling, especially on a whole wheat hoagie roll.