Championship Chicken Wings & Wing Sauce

With another football season just weeks away and the tailgating menus in our thoughts... I wanted to repost our popular Championship Chicken Wings and wing sauce (with photo tutorial!) These are always a hit, and always gone before game time. 

CHAMPIONSHIP CHICKEN WINGS 10 chicken wings 1/2 C all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp paprika 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1 dash ground black pepper 1/4 tsp salt Oil - Enough for frying In a small bowl mix together the flour, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Place chicken wings in a large non-porous glass dish or bowl and sprinkle flour mixture over them until they are evenly coated. Cover dish or bowl and refrigerate for 60 to 90 minutes. (Tip: Use a sifter to sprinkle on flour mixture evenly then flip to coat the opposite side.) Heat oil in a cast iron skillet, pan, or deep fryer to 375° F. (I usually put my stove dial at just over Medium.) The oil should be just enough to cover wings entirely, or at least half way up. While your oil heats you can make your wing sauce listed below. Once oil has reached the desired temperature, carefully place wings into hot oil. Fry coated wings in hot oil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until wings begin to turn golden brown and juices run clear. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Once the wings have drained, place the wings in serving bowl, add hot sauce mixture and stir together or spoon some sauce over the top. Serve with or without sauce. Wing Sauce 1/4 C Butter 1/4 C Hot sauce (We HIGHLY recommend Franks Hot Sauce!) 1 dash garlic powder Combine the butter, hot sauce, pepper and garlic powder in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir together and heat until butter is melted and mixture is well blended. Remove from heat or set on low heat to reserve for serving. Stir occasionally if left on low heat. (Note: For hotter sauce, use LESS butter. For a more milder sauce with less heat, use MORE butter.)

Photo Tutorial 

Skyline Chili Dip

     A version of this might be on the back of the box but I wanted to share this great dip because it gets so many rave reviews when I make it. 

     Skyline chili is a birthright in Cincinnati, Ohio. It's practically an unknown in the South however. I was introduced to Skyline Chili when I was doing a clinical internship for school. It's classically served a-top a bed of spaghetti noodles. Not until I was walking through the frozen food section of my local Publix supermarket did I cross paths with this great and unique tasting chili again. 

     Having eaten for several weeks, I decided to try the dip recipe (listed on the back of the box) for an upcoming party. It was devoured in under 10 minutes. The recipe was ask for several times, and I would tell them exactly where I got it and what to do. Since it was such a hit, and few folks around here know about it, I decided to share it. Check your local stores to see if they carry Skyline chili or if they can get some for you (It runs ~$2.99 around here for a 13.25 oz frozen package). It will be a guaranteed hit! 

SKYLINE CHILI DIP 2 (6 oz) pkg Cream cheese, softened 1 (13.25 oz) pkg Skyline Chili, thawed/cooked 1/4 C onion, finely diced 1-2 C Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (Use more if desired) Heat your frozen chili in the microwave as instructed on the package. Allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes. During it's cooking/cooling time...Evenly spread softened cream cheese in a 9" x 13" casserole dish. Sprinkle finely diced onions (as even as you can) on the cream cheese layer. Open the thawed chili and carefully spoon chili onto the cream cheese and onion layers. Spread the chili until it completely covers the bottom layers. Evenly sprinkle on shredded cheese on top of the chili layer. When you are ready to serve, microwave for 2 minutes or heat in an oven at 350° until cheese melts. Serve warm with Santitas Tortilla Chips ($2 Only!) or any chip of your choice. *Note - Sometimes I will half this recipe and make two smaller casserole dishes. Eg. 4" x 8" instead of 9" x 13". I will keep one in the fridge while the other one is eaten. Once it's gone, I will pop the fresh one in the microwave. This tends to ensure a hot dip for my all of my guest whenever they may arrive. Either way, there is never any of this dip left. That makes cleaning super easy!

Photo tutorial after the link...

Chicken, Cheese, & Broccoli Braid

This is a pretty simple dish that looks like you spent hours putting it together. Basically, it can be a "hodgepodge" of things you like... rolled in dough. The recipe below is what we most commonly put in it. I recommend putting in whatever you like. Experiment a little... it's pretty hard to mess up. (Also, below the recipe is a photo tutorial of how we make it... Just hit the break and Enjoy!)

CHICKEN, CHEESE, & BROCCOLI BRAID 2-3 Skinless boneless chicken breast, cook & shredded 1 C Broccoli, cooked & chopped 1 Clove crushed garlic 1 C Cheddar cheese, shredded (use more if desired) 1/2 C Mayonnaise 1 tsp dried dill weed 1/4 C Onion, diced Salt and Pepper to taste 1 pkg/can Pizza dough 1 egg white, beaten *optional 1/2 C red bell pepper, chopped Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, mix together chicken, mayonnaise, broccoli, garlic, cheese, dill, and onion (you can also add other optional ingredients at this point. Use what ever you like.) Salt and pepper to taste. Mix until ingredients are combined well. Next, open your pizza dough. Unroll it onto a lightly greased, tinfoil lined cookie sheet. Spread the dough until touches, or almost touches the edges of the cookie sheet. Using a pizza cutter or scissors, cut 1 inch wide strips toward the center down the long sides of the dough. Be sure to leave about 3 inches of solid (uncut) dough in the center. (The strips will look like a fringe on the two long sides.) Spoon the chicken mixture onto the center strip as even as you can. It will form a little mound down the length of the dough. Take a strip and gently pull/fold over the chicken mixture, alternating strips from side to side. (If you pull at about a 45° and angle, it will give a nice braided appearance.) Fold or pinch the ends. Brush the braided dough with the egg white. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown and dough is done.

For the photo tutorial hit the link!

Homemade Draino

Drano and other clog removers can be expensive when you're on a budget. But, if you're stuck with a sink that's clogged or just drains dreadfully slow, there is a much cheaper alternative that might already be in your pantry.  Baking Soda + Vinegar =  A sad plumber with one less job.

Step 1 – Put the DRY baking soda down the drain. I use about 3/4 of a cup. ( If you're having a hard time removing the sink stopper to put in you baking soda, click here to find out how to remove it correctly.)
Step 2 – Pour 1/2 cup of vinegar down the drain after the baking soda. Be sure to cover the drain immediately afterwards with a rag or plug, filling the hole completely so nothing can escape. This is because the interaction of the baking soda and vinegar will cause a “mini volcano” that will want to come up and out of the drain..you want to keep it down there to break up the clog.
Step 3 – Leave this concoction in the drain for about 30 minutes. While you are waiting, boil a tea kettle full of water.
Step 4 – After 30 minutes, remove the plug and slowly pour the HOT water down the drain.

Thats it... by now, all should flow smoothly. If not, just repeat the process 1-2 more times to break up the stubborn clog.