Asian Drumsticks

I was skeptical about this recipe, but since chicken drumsticks are cheap and the rest of the ingredients are pretty cheap, I figured I give it a shot. And it was great! The chicken really had a lot of flavor- but maybe a little too much cayenne pepper. We'll cut that down next time to 1/2 of the amount. But otherwise, I heard zero complaints and it gave me another recipe to throw in the mix when I have a craving for Chinese Food. We served these with fried rice and the recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens "Dinners for Less" magazine.

Asian Drumsticks

8-12 chicken drumsticks (about 2-3 pounds; I also removed the skin)
2/3 cup frozen pineapple-orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 Tbl soy sauce
1-1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 Tbl packed brown sugar

Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish. In a small bowl, combine the juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic salt, and cayenne. Reserve 1/3 cup of the marinade for sauce. Pour the remaining marinade over chicken. Seal bag; turn to coat chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours, turning bag occassionally.

In a small bowl, combine the reserved marinade and brown sugar; chill sauce until needed.

Preheat oven to 375* F. Drain chicken and discard marinade. Place chicken in a shallow baking pan (I used a baking sheet lined with foil). Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Brush both sides of chicken with some of the sauce. Bake for 15-20 minutes more, or until chicken is no longer pink (180*F; my chicken took about 30 minutes after the initial 25- so make sure to check!), brushing twice with the remaining sauce.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I saw these taquitos over at Our Best Bites awhile ago, and when my mom tried them and loved them, I knew I'd have to have a go at them. I'm so glad that I did! My mom's only complaint was that the recipe was really spicy, and since my husband can't handle much spice I made a couple of changes (the recipe below is what I did). And the result was delicious! I was skeptical about if the tortillas would actually crisp in the oven and they did! We used around 16 fajita size flour tortillas for one recipe of the filling, and they were perfect! I also served our taquitos with extra salsa, sour cream and guacamole. We will definitely be making these again. (And thanks mom for letting me steal your picture- I hate it when my 2 year old steals my camera batteries! :)

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C salsa
1T fresh lime juice (about the juice of 1 lime)
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t chili powder
1/4 t garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1/2 C grated pepperjack cheese
1/2 C grated cheddar cheese
small corn or flour tortillas (I used flour fajita sized tortillas)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. (Our Best Bites notes: It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.) Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Tuna Salad Boats

This post is more of an idea than an actual recipe. But it made for a healthy and tasty dinner.

All I did was make a simple tuna salad with 2 cans of tuna, and the following to taste: salt and pepper, mayonnaise, and shredded cheese. You could also add onions, chopped hard boiled eggs, pickle relish/chopped pickles, or anything else you want. Then I scooped the seeds out of the middle of cucumbers and stuffed the tuna salad into the cucumber boats. This idea would probably work just as well with chicken and ham- either canned or leftover from a previous meal! :)

Very Best Egg Rolls

I ended up with a lot of cabbage in my refrigerator and decided to make something Chinese. I found this recipe on Recipe Zaar and it had good ratings so I gave it a whirl. They were delicious and are very welcome in my small, but growing, collection of Chinese recipes. I served them with the sweet and sour sauce from My Kitchen Cafe's Sweet and Sour Chicken, some brown rice cooked in chicken broth and some veggies. To make these a little more economical (they're already pretty cheap), you could use either the whole head of Napa cabbage or the whole head of green cabbage. Next time (because there will be a next time!) I'm thinking I'll add some shredded zucchini and maybe some finely diced mushrooms. But they were great the way I made them, too!

Very Best Egg Rolls

2, 12 oz. packages frozen spring roll wrappers (I used 1 package of the large square wraps found in the produce section, usually by the Chinese vegetables)
1/2 pound pork, finely diced (I just used some pork chops)
1/2 head Napa cabbage, finely chopped
1/2 head green cabbage, finely chopped
1 large carrot, grated
2-3 green onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used my garlic press)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 egg, beaten (for wrapping)

Defrost spring roll wraps as directed on package.

Mix cabbages, carrot, garlic, green onion, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add pork and soy sauce; mix well.

Lay wrap in front of you so it looks like a diamond. Place 2-3 tablespoons pork filling in center (so it is like a log going from right point to left point). Fold bottom point up over filling and roll once. Fold in right and left points. Brush beaten egg on top point. Finish rolling wrap. Repeat with remaining filling.

Heat 2-3 inches oil in large frying pan to 350*F (I used canola oil). Place a few egg rolls in pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side- be careful not to crowd the pan so they rolls brown nicely. Drain on paper towels and serve with your favorite sweet and sour sauce.

Devilled Eggs

I've been letting my recipes pile up on me! AAAAH! I'm really behind in blogging, so hopefully I'll be able to catch up over the next couple of days and then stay on track! :) I made these eggs for a church activity a couple of weeks ago and they were delicious! They are definitely going to be a go-to dish for an economical, yet crowd pleasing appetizer or side dish.

Devilled Eggs (from cooks.com)

6 eggs
1/4 tsp prepared mustard
1/8 tsp dill
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp salt
1-2 tsp milk

Boil your eggs however you like to do it. (I put my eggs in the bottom of a pot, cover them with water, let the water come to a boil over medium/high heat, cover the pot and remove the eggs from the heat. Let them sit for about 20 minutes and they'll be cooked perfectly!)

Peel under cold running water. Slice eggs in half. Place egg whites on a plate or serving tray rinsed and dried, and the egg yolks in a bowl.

Mash egg yolks with a fork and add remaining ingredients, except for paprika.

If desired, you can add more mayonnaise with a little bit of milk (small amounts at a time, as you can always add but not take out or you'll end up boiling another egg or two)

Fill each half about a teaspoon and sprinkle with paprika. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours before serving.

Chilean Pevre

This makes A TON! My mum, who still has five kids at home, cuts it in half when she makes it for our family, so you can adjust it accordingly. This is really a party-sized amount, but it's the recipe Vero gave us.

NOTE: Pevre is kind of like a salsa, which means you can chop the ingredients as big or as small as you want. Vero keeps them fairly small, but they're still definitely chunks.

2 white onions, chopped
10 tomatoes, peeled and chopped (again, adjust according to your family)
fresh cilantro - rinse in cold water; twist off stems; twist to tear in half; chop
2 lemons, juiced
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. salt - I know it's a lot. You'll really use it to taste
Mexican style tomato sauce, to taste (typically between 1/4 and 1/2 cup

1. Combine onions with salt (to taste). Mix and let set for 10 minutes.
2. Peel tomatoes, chop cilantro, mix together.
3. Squeeze out excess moisture in onions. Mix with tomatoes and cilantro.
4. Add rest of ingredients and mix together.

It's really good on chips, french bread, or you could even toast the bread a little to make a sort of bruschetta. Tasty!

Pineapple Chicken Kabobs

I bought a fresh pineapple the other day for $.79 a pound (saving over $5.00!) and I couldn't wait to use it. I decided I wanted to pair it with chicken and some sort of Asian sauce, but I couldn't find one that looked appetizing AND called for ingredients I had on hand. So I improvised, and this is what I came up with. I only marinated the chicken for about 20-25 minutes, and it didn't seem to have soaked up too much of the flavors. So I'd suggested maybe marinating for a couple hours, or maybe even overnight.

Pineapple Chicken Kabobs

Cubed fresh pineapple (you could also use canned pinapple chunks- tidbits would be too small)
1" cubes raw chicken
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp garlic powder (or 2 cloves fresh garlic finely minced)
1/4 tsp ground ginger (I used the powdered stuff, if you have fresh use probably about 1/2 to 1 tsp)
1 tsp dried chives (If you have fresh, use 1 Tbl- you could also use green onion)

Combine everything, leaving out the pineapple, and let marinate for several hours. Place chicken and pineapple on wooden skewers, alternating between the two. Grill until chicken is cooked all the way through- I used my George Foreman and it took about 2-3 minutes per kabob. If you are using a BBQ grill, cook for about 2-3 minutes per side (or longer) until done.

***Note: I didn't actually measure the sauce ingredients when I threw this dinner together. Just play with it until it tastes right to you. You could even add in some red pepper flakes for a little spice!***