sticky wings (or thighs, or...)

• 24 chicken wings
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (I use gluten free tamari)
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• pinch cayenne pepper (up to 1/8 tsp if you like heat)
• garnish:
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Whisk the ingredients together in a bowl, and pour over the wings in your slow cooker. Line your slow cooker if you can, this stuff gets baked on. Cook on low for a few hours, or high for 2. Great served with rice. When it's done baking, remove, plate... sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.

The best dry rub EVAH. Ok maybe not ever, but you get my drift

I was searching for a dry rub for chicken wings, and found a recipe I tweaked to my liking. This amount will season A LOT of wings, like, probably a few pounds. I baked mine, but they would be super grilled. I think this would also be nice on salmon.

1/2 c brown sugar (dark, light, who cares?!)
1 T chili powder
1 T smoked paprika
1 t cayenne pepper (that's a TEASPOON)
2 T garlic powder
1 T mustard powder
2 T kosher salt (I used 1 T fine sea salt and that was plenty)
1 T black pepper (my T was scant)

You'll need some oil to coat the wings. I just threw the wings in a big zippy bag, added oil and mushed around... then placed them on a foil lined baking sheet. You'll definitely want to use foil, this gets sticky.

I hold on to empty spice jars, so I put the rub in a sprinkle top spice jar and went to town. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, turn wings over, and sprinkle new side liberally.... bake another 20 and voila! I served mine with jasmine rice and asparagus.

Stephanie special

A spinoff of the Joe's Special.

1 lb grass fed ground beef (or your ground meat of choice)
1/2 onion
4 cloves garlic
lots of small broccoli florets
a couple of handfuls of baby spinach
soy sauce
salt & pepper to taste.

Saute the onions and garlic. Add beef, brown. Add broccoli, stir for a few minutes until it starts to soften. Add spinach. Splash with some low sodium soy sauce. Taste for salt content, add a bit more soy or salt if needed. Add a few dashes of pepper.

This was quick, easy and good! I thought it would be really nice with ginger, so if you have some add it! I served this over a bit of organic brown rice, but that's totally optional.

jalapeno turkey chili-ish

This is fairly spicy, of course adjustable by how much heat you add! I just used stuff I had on hand. I'm sure various additions would be nice. Serve with corn tortilla chips or in a bowl with sour cream or shredded cheese.

1 lbs. ground turkey
1/2 onion
few cloves garlic
1 can jalapeno black beans
2 tablespoons jarred jalapeno slices with some of the juice
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 sm can Herdez spicy salsa casera
spicy dry spice mix of choice
salt and pepper to taste

Saute chopped onions and garlic. Add turkey, brown. Dump in all your cans, and tomato paste... stir, simmer. Taste for salt content, add some if necessary.   I simmered this for about 20 minutes. Was fantastic with Mexican sour cream!

Salads, and such...

I get a lot of comments on my salad photos. I love a good salad, and don't really consider myself a salad maker on the level of some friends, but I turn out edible and healthy products :)  As always, easy and quick are my driving factors. I create most of my salads with pre-made ingredients. Some of those are:

Trader Joe's pre-washed/cut salad mixes. I use several and often mix them together. Incl. baby spinach
"light" salad dressings. I like Ken's, Newman's and Girards. You can also make your own.
Frozen peeled shrimp
Trader Joe's "Just Chicken" breast strips
avocado
artichoke hearts
colored bell peppers
nuts. I like pecans and walnuts best on salads
goat or feta cheese
leftover steak or chicken
tuna salad
seasonings


A common salad for me is lettuce mix, a few strips of Just Chicken broken in to bite size pieces, some crumbled pecans and crumbled feta with 2 tbps dressing.  Green apple pieces or dried cranberries are a nice addition.

This salad features a TJ's mix, some goat cheese, some red bell peppers and avocado.

Another is chili lime shrimp salad. I just defrost some shrimp, spray a non-stick pan, and cook on both sides until done. I use pico de gallo powder and True Lime powder from  http://www.truelemonstore.com/?trk_src_ss=TLMPAYPCWEBMACSS&gclid=CJ24g_Pn2KYCFQdMgwodRSXiHQ this line. Toss those on top of a bed of lettuce, add whatever else sounds good and you're done!

turkey taco salad-ish

I say ish, because right now I'm not eating chips or tortillas etc. I just had a bowl and it was good! Would be nice over rice or scooped with blue corn chips.

1/2 onion
1 pkg ground lean turkey
1 can stewed tomatoes (I used tomato sauce because that's what I had)
1 sm can diced green chile
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 jar Piquante (peppadew) sweet peppers, chopped

spices I used: garlic powder, cumin, chili powder and pico de gallo powder.

Saute the chopped onion in a small amount of olive oil. Add turkey, brown. Season while browning...  add all other ingredients. Simmer for a bit. Taste to make sure you have enough seasoning. I added more chili powder and cumin.

Chicken thighs in red curry coconut milk

Just made this.... the idea just popped in my head at work today. I had everything but the lemongrass and thai basil at home :)

6 washed boneless skinless organic chix thighs, patted dry
1 tbps coconut oil (or other oil)
1 can good coconut milk, I used 365 Organics light
prepared red curry paste, to taste. I used about 2 tablespoons
1 stalk lemongrass
thai basil
2 bunches baby bok choy
1/2 yellow onion, sliced

heat skillet with coconut oil. Salt and pepper thighs, and brown on both sides. Remove from pan, set aside. Turn down heat and saute onions. Remove and pile on chicken. Put coconut milk in skillet, add curry paste.. whisk to ensure curry is melted. Add washed/chopped baby bok choy. Give the lemongrass a good whack and add 2" pieces to pan. Let simmer. Add washed/torn basil leaves.  Add back onions and chicken. Turn low and let simmer. I had to add a little sea salt near the end. Make sure you taste as you go!

Serve over jasmine rice or noodles.