Grilled Chicken Wings

Look!  I just got another tool to ward off murderers!

And now I kind of want to be a butcher.

Or a landscaper?*

Anyway, I got this new meat cleaver because we wanted to make grilled chicken wings for dinner.  Truth be told, I wasn't all that jazzed about making grilled chicken wings, but they were going to be the healthier alternative to our fried wings, you know, since I'm on a quest to be less fat.  When we started, I was rather unenthusiastic about the wings (but not the chopping part where I got to use my meat cleaver and make crazy eyes), so much so that I didn't document the process at all.  Fortunately, there wasn't much to document.  Oh, and they're out of control delicious.

So here's what you do.

1.  Chop wings like a psychopath.  Be sure to cut off the tips.  I don't know why, but you're supposed to.
2.  Toss the wings in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, some salt, pepper, and cajun seasoning.
3.  Grill the wings.
4.  Toss them again in a large bowl with sauce. (We used Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce, but you could use whatever you want.)
5.  Eat.  You will get sauce all over your face and hands, so these are not to be eaten around polite company.

They're easier to make than they are to eat, and I think they taste better than the fried ones.


*I've always secretly wanted to be a landscaper, even though I don't know anything at all about plants.
**Oh, and for those of you who have joined Operation: Skinny Unicorn, it's 10 WW points for 8 wings.

Mandy's Famous Rosemary Chicken Salad

You know what I hate? Mayonnaise.


When I was in eighth grade, I was in the school's spelling bee and almost lost because I didn't know how to spell mayonnaise. So, for one, mayonnaise almost ruined my childhood.  Fortunately, though, the other girl didn't know how to spell it, either, so mayonnaise didn't manage to ruin the bee for me.  I later won with the word nougat. Shoot yeah! (Also, maybe I ate a nougat bar--the Big Hunk--every day for lunch in the eighth grade?)

Sure, mayonnaise didn't ruin that day, but it has ruined many a sandwich in the years since my glorious spelling bee victory. Ugh! So gross! The thing is, even though I know what actually goes into mayo, I still have this mental block against it. And even though I'm a much less picky eater now than I used to be, and Matt insists that I actually do like mayonnaise deep down in the depths of my soul, I've been hard core against it. (Plus, do I really need to convince myself to like something that's only going to make me fatter?)

Anyway, because of my aversion to all things mayonnaise, it took me a really long time to eat chicken salad. I'd only eat the less-mayonnaisey ones, and even then I'd have to play mind games with myself to really enjoy them. But lately, I've been playing it fast and loose with mayonnaise. And just this week I made a huge first step: actually putting mayonnaise on a sandwich! Granted, it was a spicy mayo for a banh mi sandwich that Cassie gave me the recipe for (and that you should definitely make), but it was mayo nonetheless.

Look at me growing (in more ways than one)!

Anyway, all that to say that I've been getting over my mayophobia. So I've been making chicken salad lately, and it's hella good. It's not drowning in mayonnaise, and it's an easily adaptable recipe, and even Matt, hater* of chicken salad, has been going BANANAS! for it. I added rosemary to it because that's what my idol Cheryl from Back in the Day Bakery does.  But her cookbook isn't out yet (spring, 2012, baby!), so in the meantime I'll be making this one.  You should make it, too.  And eat it on some delicious bread, or on crackers. Mmmmm. . .

And then get online and order me a case of Big Hunks.**

Mandy's Famous Rosemary Chicken Salad

Ingredients

1 lb. or so boneless skinless chicken breasts (or whatever chicken you want as long as it's not from a can)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (Cassie says you can only use Hellman's)
5 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 cup red grapes, halved
3/4 cup unsalted cashews (or whatever nut you want), chopped
salt
pepper
crushed red pepper

Directions

Salt and pepper the chicken and cook it.  I did it in a cast-iron skillet, but you could bake it, too.  Chop everything else.  Mix it all together. 

Fancy, huh?

 

*Pronounced hate-uh if you want to be hip like me. As in, "don't be a hate-uh."

 

**Also, do not do a Google image search for "big hunk bar" from your workplace.

Kung Pao Chicken

Matt likes his chicken spicy.

Matt likes spicy chicken.

Matt likes to tell Mandy, too, that he likes his chicken spicy, always speaking of himself in the third person.

Matt watched too much Seinfeld.



George and Matt both have an affinity for Kung Pao.  And after Matt shared Kung Pao with Mandy years ago, Mandy began to like her chicken spicy.  (That whole sentence sounds dirty.  Mandy assures you that it is not.)

Matt and Mandy have been working to learn how to cook good Asian food at home, and the other night they tackled Kung Pao.  Matt and Mandy agree that there are three primary benefits to cooking Chinese food at home.

1. It's healthier.
2. It's cheaper.
3. It doesn't make you feel like shit afterward.

It's not the prettiest meal that's ever been, but Mandy and Matt agreed that it tasted very good, and that it was pretty easy to make. 

Here's the recipe.

Kung Pao Chicken (adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into chunks

2 tablespoons rice wine

2 tablespoons soy sauce (Matt and Mandy use the lower sodium one)

2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1 ounce hot chile paste
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
4 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts (Matt and Mandy skipped these because they don't like the crunch.)
4 ounces chopped peanuts

Directions

1.To Make Marinade: Combine 1 tablespoon wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon cornstarch/water mixture and mix together. Place chicken pieces in a glass dish or bowl and add marinade. Toss to coat. Cover dish and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
2.To Make Sauce: In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon cornstarch/water mixture, chili paste, vinegar and sugar. Mix together and add green onion, garlic, water chestnuts and peanuts. In a medium skillet, heat sauce slowly until aromatic.
3.Meanwhile, remove chicken from marinade and saute in a large skillet until meat is white and juices run clear. When sauce is aromatic, add sauteed chicken to it and let simmer together until sauce thickens.

*Note.  Matt doubled the sauce, which Mandy would recommend.

Oh No, the Big 3-0!

As I've mentioned, we celebrated Matt's birthday this weekend.  Really, we'd been celebrating Matt's birthday since the last week of July, when his mom kicked off birthday month with awesome cast iron skillets and some vacation cash. 

And then Cassie showed up with an awesome grill pan for Matt last week.

Annnnnnnnnnnnd. . .that meant that every gift idea I'd had for Matt had been taken.  Matt's super hard to buy for.  He's not so much into having stuff, and certainly feels no need to have more than one of something.  It makes gift buying pretty tough, and I always end up telling other people the few ideas I have for him.  Shoot. 

Matt is, however, a big fan of fun experiences, and we already know that quality time is his love language.  So, for his birthday, we did a few things.

First, we spent Friday night hanging out at the beach with Collin, which was super fun.  Tybee is just such a fun, happy place.  We talked and laughed and passed judgment on the people who decided to feed the seagulls.  Then we ate at Fannie's on the Beach.  The whole evening was just delightful.

Saturday, which was Matt's actual birthday, was less fun since we both had to work.  We decided that we would make up for it on Sunday, which we did.

We started our Sunday birthday celebration by going to B. Matthews for brunch.  The restaurant had recently been featured in Food Network Magazine as having the best breakfast in Georgia.  It did not disappoint.  We ate and talked and just enjoyed the company of one another.  (Matt keeps telling me not to oversell the B. Matthews experience, but omigod, it was so good.  The food was so so so so so so so good and not even expensive.  We ate at 1:00 and weren't hungry again until 9:00, and I kind of want to go there every day this week to eat lunch.  So, it was. . .okay, I guess.)

Then we went shopping at Barnes and Noble (Matt's favorite store), and Fresh Market (Matt's other favorite store).  We took a family snuggle nap and sat around and watched True Blood and ate more delicious food and drank wine and sat at the kitchen table talking.  Today we continued the birthday celebration by going to see The Other Guys (very funny, by the way), taking another family snuggle nap (we're lazy), and making Kung Pao chicken for dinner (tasty!). 

I'm so happy to be kicking off this next decade of Matt's life with him.  I'm even more happy that he will be hitting these landmark birthdays months before I will.  It really softens the blow.

I was going to write a bunch of stuff here about how much I love him and how great he is and how happy I am with him, but I think I already made you puke a little with the two family snuggle naps.  

Happiness Is. . .

What a week it's been! My last seven days have been complete mayhem, mostly because of the 90 ninth graders who are itching to get out of school. Last night I was up until 3:00 a.m. baking cookies and cakes for those ninth graders, my last-ditch effort to end their year in a positive way. I'm going to be a very happy girl tomorrow afternoon, as I bid those little darlings farewell.  But I'll be an even happier one after Thursday's graduation. There's nothing better in the world than summer vacation, and it's so close that I can taste it.

Now, I actually have something even more important to share with you, something that may end up being the one thing my life was actually missing. The time is finally here. I always knew that this would make me happy, but until I experienced it for myself I had no idea the depths of joy it would allow me to tap into.

So without further ado.




Because I want to tell you before I tell even my closest friends or family members.



And because I think this event is going to be life-changing.




Here it goes.




Chick-Fil-A has a new Spicy Chicken Sandwich!  

[source]

And it's really f'ing good. 

I've got a sink full of baking dishes, a dog outside barking at God knows what, thirsty plants, and gritty floors.  And I just realized that my week has been so crazy that I forgot to watch The Hills and The City!  Looks like I've got a busy night in store.  It's a good thing I just ate my Spicy Chicken Sandwich, a.k.a., "Productivity Fuel."  I think that's the campaign that Chick-Fil-A should use to promote the sandwich.  Either that, or, "The chicken sandwich that Jesus would eat."

Pioneer Matt

Matt cooked a super tasty (and spicy!) dinner last night: Pioneer Woman's Cajun Chicken Pasta.

I would have taken pictures and documented the process, but there's no need, because Pioneer Woman already did it--way better than I would ever be able to.

Cheap, delicious, and easy. Just like your mom.

Sorry, that was juvenile, but not juvenile enough for me to delete it.