Aaahhh, exhale. Relaxing in a booth after a hard day at work. Plugging $5 into the jukebox, playing old Hank Williams and Johnny Cash. And AC/DC. And The Hits Of The 70's (Angie). Waiting for the onion rings to come out. Chatting with people you know or don't know. Now THAT'S the way to cap off a week!
Yeah, that didn't happen last night.
Tim was dog-tired after working all week in the 100 degree temps and humidity. So instead of trekking to the Hard Luck, I made chicken wings at home and instead of yummy, greasy, crispy deep fried cottage fries, we had the healthy version of that called sweet potato fries. Below is the sweet potato fry recipe. Also below is a recipe for the oven baked chicken wings, a super healthy alternative to the deep fried version enjoyed often by Tim. By the way, this chicken wing recipe is FANTASTIC!
I can not cut up raw chicken, but I'm a trooper and tried anyway. And all it got me was a bunch of energy spent jumping up and down, head shaking back and forth repeatedly, arms waving furiously, and body contorting itself. So I did what any reasonable person would do. I ran out to the shop and hollered to Tim that if he wanted chicken wings tonight he needed to get in here RIGHT NOW and cut them up.
Emeril Lagasse's Oven Roasted Chicken Wings
Emeril says you won't have to clean the fryer or hide from your doctor.
Ingredients
4 pounds chicken wings, wing tips removed, separated at the joints
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (does fresh squeeze mean out of a bottle? Because that's what I used)
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Your favorite sauce, for serving, such as barbecue sauce, ranch dressing, or blue cheese dressing, optional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees
Line large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. In large mixing bowl, combine wings and lemon juice and mix thoroughly. Add pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. While crushing between your fingers, add thyme. (Angie says WHAT? and ignores the crushing finger thing and just casually adds the thyme in). Mix again and add cayenne and butter. Mix thoroughly. (By the way, at this point, the wings smell fantabulous! Not kidding!!) Then transfer wings to baking sheet and arrange in one layer. Roast in oven for 10 minutes, rotate pan and cook 10 minutes longer until wings are nicely browned and cooked through. (For Angie, it was more like 15 minutes each side). Serve alone or with your favorite dipping sauce.
Makes 4-6 servings
Super yummy recipe!! Spicy enough for the adults but not too spicy for the kiddos. Works great for an appetizer as well.
Spicy Sweet Potato Fries
From the Jan/Feb 2009 Clean Eating magazine
Ingredients
3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into strips
1 tbsp canola oil (I use olive oil, I've used both and believe it or not, there's no noticeable difference)
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, depending if you like it hot, if you have kids, probably leave this out)
1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
One: Preheat oven to 425. ( I have learned to keep this at 400, also do not place baking sheet on lower rack, these strips will burn easily). In a mixing bowl, combine sweet potatoes, oil, spices, and salt and mix together until fries are evenly coated.
Two: Spread fries out in a single layer on a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until crispy on 1 side.
Three: Turn fries using tongs or spatula and cook for another 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Angie's note: These are sweet potatoes and therefore will not be crispy like the fries at your favorite burger joint. Nonetheless they are super healthy and delicious just the same. Serve them with honey mustard or ranch or my favorite, a simple vinaigrette.They also refrigerate well for the following day's leftover meal. Again, these aren't crispy fries.
OOOHHH!!!! That's right, this is a car blog!
This sporty 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix SE is SUPER NICE!!
Only 121k miles with all power options, alloy wheels, rear spoiler, AM/FM CD player, and the fantastic 3100 V6 engine.
This super riding/driving car is listed at $4950. As always, all our vehicles are in excellent to super excellent to like new condition inside and out. Check out this car featured on the "Inventory" page. Angie's note: This really is an awesome Grand Prix! Check it out!