Buffalo Wings

Nothing says Super Bowl snacks quite like Buffalo Wings. I did a little research on buffalo wings and learned some things. First of all, we all KNOW that buffalo don’t have wings. The name, Buffalo Wings, refers to Buffalo, NY where the idea of hot wings first developed. Apparently, nobody really agrees on what is the Real and Proper Way to fix or serve Buffalo wings. There seem to be three main methods going here.

Sweet and Sour Wings

This recipe is a perennial favorite in our home. Today’s Super Bowl seems like the perfect time to share this recipe with you. As with many of my very best recipes, I acquired this one from my dear friend, Auntie Karen.

This recipe is written for sweet and sour WINGS but it also works very well for all the parts of a chicken, including boneless-skinless breasts.

Super Super Bowl Snacks

Super Bowl Sunday has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger over the years. Having the right food on hand for your Super Bowl Party has also gotten to be bigger and bigger business for grocery stores. Of course, those ready-made snacks tend to be loaded with super-sized doses of sodium, lots of bad fats, and often way more sugar than a body needs.

Consider making some of your own Super Bowl snacks. Not all of the snacks are healthy, per se, but most of them are much better than their store-bought counterparts. And do I need to mention that when you make things homemade, they almost always taste a thousand times better.

So here’s a list of fun snacks that we recommend. I’ve listed a couple of types of cookies, but if you want LOTS of cookies to choose from, choose the category “cookies” on the sidebar. That should give you a list of all the cookies we feature. Check out more appetizers by pulling down the category bar to “appetizers.”

Baked oatmeal: not the porridge your grandma made!

I’m bringing this post out of retirement because of the weather. Yes, the weather. We’re snowed/iced in for the fourth time this winter. Because we started the day with some serious snow-shoveling, I wanted to fix a hearty breakfast that would stick to everyone’s ribs.This is a GREAT winter breakfast treat. 2/5/10, BK.

My kids LOVE oatmeal. (Okay, I’ll also admit that one of them likes to eat it uncooked, by the handful…odd boy) Years ago, I worked at a camp up in northern British Columbia, called Rock Nest Ranch. The cooks up there made baked oatmeal for breakfast and I’ve never enjoyed eating oatmeal so much!

Coming Soon….

My youngest son, Michael, and I are working diligently on perfecting homemade tortillas. Be on the alert. Post coming very soon!

Homemade Ice Cream Pie

This past week we celebrated the birthday of my babies. Yes, that’s correct, TWO babies. Sixteen years ago, I gave birth to twins and my life has never been the same. This year we tried something new; each boy got his own day to celebrate. That meant that each one picked out his favorite birthday meal and each one picked out his favorite birthday cake. I wasn’t surprised that both wanted pizza for dinner. I was a little surprised, however, that they both wanted ice cream pie for their birthday cake.

Ice cream pie is one of the easiest birthday cake treats on the planet. The pies went together in about five minutes and were a great success.

Homemade Onion Rings, also gluten-free

Yesterday, I discussed making gluten-free fried Chicken fingers and mentioned that the real hit of the evening was our homemade onion rings.

Here’s a reminder of what the crunchy outsides of both the chicken fingers and onion rings consist of:

Gluten-free Fried Chicken Fingers

By now it’s probably clear that I’m always looking for ways to make things myself instead of relying on restaurants or large manufacturers. Sometimes it’s a cost issue, sometimes it’s a healthy-choice issue, and sometimes it’s just plain satisfying to know how to do things myself! This post reflects the last reason.

My son, Michael, and I decided that we needed to learn how to make fried chicken fingers. Then once we got going on that, it became clear that we also needed to make onion rings…mostly because we LOVE onion rings and with all that hot oil, it’d be foolish not to try to make some.

Poppy seed bread: a little slice of heaven!

I hadn’t had any of this easy poppy seed bread in decades, so I called my Mom and asked her to root out the recipe for me.  She did, so I made some with my 11-year-old a few days ago.  When I cut the first “Quality Control” slice and bit into it, suddenly, there I was, 12 years old, standing in my mother’s kitchen, sneaking a slice of my childhood.  Your mileage may vary, since you may not have grown up with this recipe, but I promise you it will be scrumptious. 

Potato Chowder

When we hold a Soup Saturday at our house, we always end up feeding a crowd. Today is one of those days and I’m making potato chowder. This is a DEEEEEEELicious soup that will make our vegetarian friends happy as well.