Orange Glazed Chicken Wings

Hubs and I made these last night for the Sunday Night Football game. 

We've never made wings at home before.  

I found this recipe in a book I have at home and decided it looked easy enough to try.  

Results:  Happy husband.  He raved about them (of course he added a little wing sauce to his).  He kept saying over and over how good they were.  That was followed by, I didn't think wings would be this easy to make...we need to make them more often.  I would say these are a win.  And the fact that they are baked...even better!  Enjoy! 

Orange Glazed Chicken Wings 

Adapted from Taste of Home 

Ingredients: 

2-3 pounds of chicken wings 

1 cup of soy sauce

1 1/2 cup of orange juice

1 tsp garlic powder 

Directions: 

Cut wings into three sections, discard wing tips.  

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine soy sauce, OJ and garlic powder.  

Seal bag and turn to coat. 

Refrigerate overnight. 

Drain and discard marinade. 

Place wings in a large greased foil lined baking pan.  

Bake at 350 for one hour, until glaze is set, turing twice in between.  

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BBQ Chili

I guess I'm on a bit of a BBQ kick lately.  Maybe this Texas living is rubbing off on me...

Chili is a staple in our house during the fall and winter months.  

I make it once a week, usually on Sunday or Monday so that we can enjoy leftovers for lunch throughout the week.  I've been making the same chili recipe lately and was ready for a change.  I pinned this one on Pinterest recently and decided to give it a go. 

Results:  This was exactly what I was looking for.  A recipe that wasn't your typical chili but still hearty enough to fill you up.  It reminded me of a sloppy joe.  Even my one year old ate the beans, meat and corn.  She is super picky so this is definitely a win in our house!  Enjoy! 

BBQ Chili

Adapted from I Heart Eating 

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground turkey (or beef)

1 onion, finely chopped (optional, we don't use onions)

1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 oz.) can corn, drained

3 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes

1 (16 oz.) bottle of barbecue sauce (sweet baby rays is our go to)

2 tsp. chili powder 

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. cumin

1 T. brown sugar

Directions

1. Brown the ground meat. Drain.
2. Return the cooked meat to the pot.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir to combine.
4. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  

BBQ Joes

I'm always on the hunt for new dinner recipes. 

Especially ones that don't take me a long time to cook. 

When I came across this one on the Mix and Match Mama, I added it to my menu. 

Not only did it seem simple, but it is perfect for the cooler rainy weather we had last week.  

Results:  A meal we will be making again.  Hubs exact comment was "with beef, bread, and cheese you can't go wrong".  I didn't add the cheese to mine and it was still good.  The only thing I would change is draining the beef after it's cooked, before you add in the tomatoes and BBQ sauce.  Enjoy! 

BBQ Joes

Courtesy of Mix and Match Mama 

Ingredients:

2 pieces of  frozen Texas Toast per person, toasted in the oven per package directions

1 pound of ground beef 

1 (14 oz) can of diced tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce (your favorite)

1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

Pickled jalapenos to garnish, optional

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Salt and Pepper

Directions: 

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown your ground beef in a splash of EVOO.  Once brown, sprinkle in a little S&P and reduce heat to low and stir in your tomatoes and BBQ sauce.  Simmer uncovered about 8 to 10 minutes.

Take your toasted Texas toast and spoon your Sloppy Joe mixture down over the top.  Sprinkle a little cheese on top and garnish with your jalapenos.

Chocolate Spice Bundt Cake

One of my favorite winter drinks is mexican hot chocolate.  Have you ever had it? 

It's amazing.  Chocolate and cinnamon come together in a warm cup of bliss.   

If it's warm where you are, I recommend the mexican mocha ice storm.  You'll thank me later! My love for the combination of cinnamon and chocolate is the reason I chose to make this cake.  

Results:  Perfection.  It's mexican hot chocolate in a cake.  The only change I made was adding a bag of cinnamon chips to the recipe.  I added half of the bag to the cake batter.  I melted the other half and poured it over the cake (after it had cooled).  Enjoy!

Chocolate Spice Bundt Cake

Courtesy of Mix and Match Mama 

Ingredients: 

1 box of chocolate cake mix

2 small boxes of instant chocolate pudding

1/2 cup of veggie oil

1 1/4 cups of water

4 eggs

4 tablespoons cinnamon, divided

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

3-4 splashes milk

 

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease a 10 inch bundt pan

In mixing bowl, combine cake mix, puddings, oil, water and eggs with electric mixer.  Mix in 2 tablespoons of cinnamon.  Pour into prepared bundt pan.

Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cake rest on counter in pan 10 minutes. Then, invert cake onto serving plate to finish cooling.

To make the frosting, beat cream cheese with powdered sugar and milk until creamy.  Beat in remaining 2 tablespoons of cinnamon.  Spread on cooled cake.

 

Easy Pumpkin Centerpiece

I've been in search of the perfect fall centerpiece for our kitchen table.  

I wanted to make something but didn't really know where to start.  

Then a friend texted me a picture of a pumpkin centerpiece she made.  

It looked so simple.  I ran to Hobby Lobby that afternoon picked up supplies. 

I bought everything for under $10, thankfully they had 40% off all of their fall decor.  

The centerpiece took 10 minutes to make.  It's the perfect addition to our kitchen table. 

Materials: 

Craft pumpkin (any size)

Twine

Decorative fillers (floral stems)

Knife 

Marbles (1 small bag) 

Directions: 

Cut the top off the pumpkin (I would cut the circle smaller next time).  

I used a regular kitchen knife, doing a little at a time. 

I poured the marbles into the bottom of the pumpkin.  

I used marbles for the weight and to hold the stems in place.  

After that, I added the floral/ fall stems.  

It took a few minutes to get them arranged the way I wanted.  

I finished off by tying a bow using twine I already had around it.  

Simple as that.

Ranch Breaded Chicken

The night I made this meal, chicken was not on the menu. 

It was a pork chop kind of night, problem was I didn't take the pork out of the freezer. 

Of course I didn't realize it until 4pm. 

What I did have was a package of chicken in the fridge I hadn't separated into freezer bags yet. 

I  jumped on the computer in search of a quick chicken recipe I could throw together. 

Without having a chance to run to the store and only having about an hour before dinnertime.  

I had all of the ingredients for this recipe and it didn't take a lot of time. 

Win win.  

Results: One of the most flavorful chicken recipes I've ever made.  Each bite was full of flavor.  My only complaint is how long it took my chicken to cook.  I should have butterflied the chicken to make it thinner because my pieces were too think to cook in a matter of minutes.  I also think I will try to bake this next time.  Maybe brown it on the stove and then throw it in the over.  I'll keep you posted on that one but nonetheless, still a recipe you won't be sorry you made! 

Ranch Breaded Chicken

Courtesy of Love, Pomegranate House 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 envelope Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Seasoning Mix
• 5 tbsp butter divided
• 6 boneless chicken breasts

Instructions

1. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine Panko, cheese, garlic powder, and Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Seasoning Mix.
2. Dip chicken in butter, then roll in breading mixture to coat, pressing the breading into the chicken breast.
3. Melt remaining 4 tbsp butter in a large frying pan. Once melted, place breaded chicken into pan. Cook for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Turn and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. Chicken is cooked thoroughly when the center is no longer pink. 
   
   

One Pot Italian Pasta

If you're looking for a quick and easy dinner recipe, look no further! 

My favorite part of this dinner is the clean up!  

Everything (except meat if you include it) is cooked in ONE POT! 

I was a little skeptical about this meal but it did not disappoint.  

My parents were in town when I made it and everyone enjoyed it.  

I now keep all these ingredients on hand for those days I forget to plan dinner or don't have lots of time.  

Italian Wonderpot

Adapted from A Tasteful Texan 

Ingredients: 

4 cups vegetable broth

2 Tbsp olive oil

12-16 oz whole wheat fettuccini,  linguini or spaghetti 

8 oz chopped frozen spinach 

1 can diced italian tomatoes (28 oz)

4 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 tbsp italian seasoning 

salt and pepper to taste 

*optional- 1 package of italian sausage*

Directions: 

Pour vegetable broth into the pot.  

Break pasta in half and add it to the pot.  

Next, add tomatoes, spinach, garlic and seasoning.  

Make sure all ingredients are under the liquid.  

Place the lid on the pot and bring the broth to a boil. 

Once the broth is at a full boil, remove the lid, bring it down to medium heat and continue to cook for an additional 15 minutes.  Stir every few minutes to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom.  After pasta is cooked, it's ready to serve.  You can add cheese if you wish.  We opted not to add the cheese but did all grilled italian sausage.  

German Chocolate Baked Donuts

Saturday morning donut dates are something I look forward to each week.  

Last month my family moved from FL to TX.  

We went from having a Dunkin Donuts on every corner to having 3 in our city.  

Closest one to us is 20 minutes away. 

So I went out and bought a donut pan, similar to this one.  

I decided if we couldn't go out for donuts, we would make them at home.  

It would become a little tradition of ours.  

It's much cheaper than our weekend trips to Dunkin Donuts and also a {bit} healthier.  

The first week we made them, I made pumpkin donuts.  They were good, little one and I loved them. 

Hubs wasn't a huge fan.  He doesn't share the same love for pumpkin that I do.  

Last weekend, I let the husband choose the kind he wanted.  

He picked chocolate and chocolate is what he got!

I love making donuts now.  Even my one year old loves them.  

I use the spice cake mix with a can of pumpkin for hers.  

It's fun to make different kinds each weekend, while in pajamas enjoying coffee as the little one tears up the house.  It's our new Saturday tradition, one that I hope is around for many years to come.  

Enjoy! 

German Chocolate Baked Donuts

Adapted from Duncan Hines 

Ingredients:

1 box of german chocolate cake mix (or any cake mix)

1 cup of milk (I used almond milk)

2 large eggs

1 stick of butter (melted) 

1 can of frosting (I used chocolate)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease donut pan.  

Mix eggs, butter, milk and cake mix.  

Stir until smooth. 

Pour batter into donut pan (1/3 filled). 

Bake 11-13 minutes.  

Let them cool completely.  

Put about half of the container of frosting in a microwavable bowl. 

Microwave for about 20 seconds and stir.  Repeat until the frosting is melted enough for you to easily dip and coat the donuts.  

I dipped them upside down, put them on a cooling rack, coated with sprinkles and let them cool a bit.  

Store in an air tight container for 3 days.  I also froze the leftover donuts in a freezer bag.