Who doesn't like buffalo wings?!?

Sorry it's taken so long to update my blog. With finishing grad school and moving, I haven't had much time to cook. But, that's all going to change now that I am home living with my fiance full-time. I love cooking for him!

So, like most guys, one of Z's favorite recipes is buffalo wings. This doesn't make the best or most healthy meal in the world, but I found a recipe that could perhaps change all of that. I found this recipe in Cooking Light and made it for Z and one of his friends. It was delicious! So of course I had to share. :) I serving has 392 calories. If you cut down the filling, this could cut it down even further.

Blue Cheese-Stuffed Chicken with Buffalo Sauce

Fire Level: yellow-red

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
• 1 tbs. reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbs. 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 tbs. butter, divided
• 6 tbs. finely chopped, drained, bottled roasted red bell peppers (you can find these in the same grocery aisle as the olives, capers, etc.)
• 2 tsp. water
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
• 1/2 tsp. hot sauce (we like things FIERY at our house, so I added more like 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. To make this a yellow recipe, remove this ingredient completely)

STEP 1: Prep the Ingredients

Get all your ingredients out, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grab a mixing bowl, spoon, a large oven-proof skillet, and small sauce pan. Also get out a few shallow dishes (wide bowls or plates with high edges will work). Place the flour in one dish, the panko breadcrumbs in a second, and mix the egg and milk in a third.

STEP 2: Prep the Chicken

Take the chicken breasts and make a "pocket." To do this, identify the thickest part of the chicken breast. Take a knife and cut a slit along the upper corner of the breast about an inch or so long depending on how long the thick portion of the breast is. Be sure to cut the slit deep enough to be able to stuff the cheese mixture into it, but make sure you do not cut all the way through or else the cheese mixture will melt out the other side of the breast. If this sounds confusing, check out this cheesy video which demonstrates how to do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEtgIXLIt9A

STEP 3: Make the good stuff!

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Don't worry about getting the mixture smooth or making sure the blue cheese chunks are all blended. Chunky is good!

STEP 4: Finish off the chicken

Stuff the chicken with the mixture, dividing it evenly among each breast. Unless you want to stuff a little extra in the chicken breast that is going to your honey. :) Then, take each breast and bread it. First, dredge each chicken breast in flour, then dip it in the egg mixture, and finally dredge it in the panko bread crumbs.

STEP 5: Freak out your honey

After finishing each chicken breast, you will notice your fingers are caked in a floury, flaky, paste-like substance. Chase around your kids or sweetheart with your zombie hands! Well, I thought it was funny...

STEP 6: Cook the Chicken

Heat a large, oven-proof skillet over medium-heat. An oven proof skillet will not have plastic or rubber handles, anything that would melt in the oven. I didn't have an oven-proof skillet, so I first cooked the chicken in a regular skillet, then transferred the chicken to a casserole dish for the oven portion.

Add 1 tbs. butter to the pan and swirl it around until the butter melts. Arrange the chicken in the pan and cook for 4 minutes or until browned on the bottom side. Turn the chicken over and place the skillet in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until done.

STEP 7: Make the Sauce

While the chicken is baking, combine the remaining butter, bell peppers, water, Worcestershire, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the ingredients to a simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in the hot sauce right at the end.

STEP 8: ENJOY!

Pour the sauce over each chicken breast and dig in!!

Sides: I served this dish with homemade mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. It was a delicious meal!!

Enchiladas you can't beat!!!

Hi everyone! I am sorry I haven't posted in a while. Time just got away from me. Plus, I haven't been cooking a whole lot of great meals. It's so hard to cook for one person. I always end up having so many left overs that just sit my refrigerator forever because I get tired of the meal and end up throwing it out. As an apology, I am finally going to post my enchilada recipe so many of you have been asking about!! This is one of my favorite recipes to make for large groups of people. Not only is it delicious, but it is also inexpensive and you can make it ahead of time and just pop it in the oven 30 minutes before you are ready to eat! It's a great dish for summer pool parties and lake days when you want to spend minimal time in the kitchen. Enjoy!!

Ashley's Beef Enchiladas

Fire Level: yellow-red

Ingredients

• 3 pounds ground beef (or sirloin, or chuck, depending on how lean and inexpensive you want to go)
• 1 large can refried beans
• 2 10 oz. cans enchilada sauce (I prefer the red sauce. Get the mild for yellow fire level, medium or hot for orange-red fire level)
• 1 package of burrito size flour tortillas (you can go wheat if you want to be healthier, but come on, this isn't a healthy dish, the flour is soooo much better!)
• Lots of your favorite salsa (remember your salsa will affect your fire level too, so choose accordingly)
• Pickled jalapenos (this is optional of course, depending on how fiery you want to get)
• 1 package shredded cheddar cheese (you can substitute a Mexican blend for an extra kick)

Step 1: Cook ground beef

Cook up all your ground beef in a large skillet, making sure to break it all up. Then drain it in a colander under hot water. This is a trick my mom taught me a long time ago to rinse some extra fat and grease off of the meat. For this recipe, it also cools off the meat which is necessary. You will see why below! :)

Step 2: Add in the Flava!

In a really large mixing bowl, pour in your grand beef, your large can of refried beans, and about a cup or so of salsa. You want to mix it all together really well. What you will find is the refried beans like to clump together, so it's really hard to get everything mixed in well. This is where the fun part comes in! Take off all your rings, wash your hand really well, and dig into the mixture with those claws!! Any break or pizza dough maker will tell you, no utensil mixes better than the two instruments God gave you. Kneed all the mixture together so that everything is well blended.

Step 3: Wash your hands

Your hands will feel gross and gooey once you remove them from the mixture, so you will want to give them a good washin'. :)

Step 4: Put it all together

Cover the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish with enchilada sauce. Take each flour tortilla one by one and scoop a couple large spoon fulls of the beef mixture down the middle of a tortilla. Wrap them up really tight and lay them into the pan. Once all your enchiladas are in the pan really tightly up against one another, cover them all with more enchilada sauce. You want to make sure every inch of tortilla is covered with sauce.

Step 5: Top it off with my favorite

CHEESE! Cover the top of the enchiladas with cheese. You can also cover the enchiladas witih jalepenos before the cheese to add in an extra bet of fire! Then, you want to cover the enchiladas with aluminum foil. This is VERY important. When cooking, you want to keep the aluminum foil on at all times or else the cheese will become crispy and rubbery.

Step 6: Store or Cook

If you are not planning to eat for a while, you can put the enchiladas in the refrigerator until you are ready to pop them in the oven. When you are ready, cook them at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes, depending on your oven. Once the cheese is all the way melted, they will be ready!!

Step 7: Serve

Let the dish set for a few minutes. I don't cut out each individual enchilada/burrito tortilla as one individual enchilada. It's better if you cut them in squares as if you are cutting brownies.

Sides: Serve with jalepenos, salsa, and sour cream. I also like to serve with Spanish rice. Lipton has a rice side dish packet that is really delicious and easy to make. I think it makes a great addition to the dish.

ENJOY! This is the recipe I get more requests for than any other, so eat with caution, and yes, it's ok to go back for seconds. :)

Ashley's Best Turkey Chile Chili

Yesterday I was in the mood for chili so I decided to whip up a batch from some things I had lying around the house. It turned out to be wonderful!! The best chili I have ever made. Here is what I did. Enjoy!!

Ashley's Best Turkey Chile Chili

Fire Level: yellow - red

Ingredients (for orange)

• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2 hatch chiles
• 1 can diced zesty tomatoes (drained)
• 1 can stewed tomatoes (drained and tomatoes torn into pieces)
• 1 can whole kernel sweet corn (drained)
• 1 can red kidney beans (drained)
• 1 can chili beans
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 packet chili seasoning mix
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• **For yellow, remove the chiles and used regular diced tomatoes rather than the zesty.
• **For red, add a tablespoon of red chile peppers, or add in some diced jalepeno

Step 1: Roast the chiles

Cut the chiles in half lengthwise, deseed and destem. Put them on a baking sheet, skinside up, and into the oven on broil. Once the skins have turned black, peel the skins off the chiles and cut the roasted chiles into pieces.

Step 2: Cook Turkey

While the chiles are roasting, cook the ground turkey until no longer pink.

Step 3: Saute

In a large pot, saute the onion and celery with a little bit of olive oil until softened.

Step 4: Simmer

Turn the burner down to Medium Low. Add the tomatoes, diced chiles, corn, and chili seasoning mix into the onion and celery mixture and let the whole batch simmer for about five minutes.

Step 5: Add it all In

Add in the beans, sauce, and turkey. Let the whole batch of chili simmer on Medium Low for about an hour, letting all of the flavors mix together.

Add-In Options:

Mix up a batch of corn bread to go with the chili. An easy and cheap mix is made by Jiffy.

You can also sprinkle with some cheddar cheese to add some creaminess.

A Sweet Treat on a Snowy Day

So, what are you all doing on this snowy evening? If you are like me, you are getting a little cabin fever. When I get that way I like to whip up some cookies. Here is a great go to recipe that takes ingredients often found around the house. Enjoy!

Fire Level: yellow

Almond Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt

Step 1: Preheat the Oven

Duh! For any baking recipe the first step is always to preheat the oven. In this case it's to 375 degrees.

Step 2: Mix up the "wet" ingredients

Mix the sugar, butter, vanilla, almond, and egg until creamy

Step 3: Mix the "dry" ingredients

Mix the flour, powder, and salt together

Step 4: Combine

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and continue to beat until well blended.

Step 5: Choose your baking method

Choose whether you want to make almond bars or cookies. Either spread the dough onto a greased cookie sheet for bars or place teaspoon full amounts of dough onto the cookie sheet to make individual cookies.

Step 6: Bake

Bake 'em up! cook 7-9 minutes until the edges are golden brown.

Step 7: Serve

If you are making bars, cut the cookie sheet into strips. Let cool and serve!

Step 8: Frost

If you'd like, you can frost the cookies. Simply mix some powdered sugar and milk together until the frosting is the right thickness.

Easy Breezy Pasta

I saw a really simple pasta dish on the Today Show one morning and I modified it with items I had lying around my kitchen. This is the perfect dish when you want something new, light, colorful, or when you are just cooking for one. I made this one night and ended up with three different meals out of the leftovers.

Fire Level: yellow – red

Ingredients

• Your favorite pasta noodle (I prefer angel hair)
• Chopped bell peppers (vary the amount depending on how many people you are cooking for. Half a bell pepper for one serving, or one chopped green and one chopped red bell pepper for a more plentiful and colorful dish)
• Crushed red pepper (for orange-red spice, leave out for yellow)
• Minced garlic
• Parsley or Dill (Fresh is preferable but I used dry spice and it was just fine)
• Olive oil (also vary depending on how much you are making)

OPTIONAL ADDITION

I also added a little lemon juice and shaved Romano cheese to the finished product to give it an extra pop of flavor.

STEP 1: Sauté the Peppers

Heat olive oil over a large skillet. Use slightly more olive oil than you normally would for sautéing. You want the bell peppers to be coated well in the oil

STEP 2: Cook Pasta

Meanwhile, bring your pasta to a boil and cook it until al dente.

STEP 3: Spice it Up

Add your crushed red pepper and minced garlic to the bell peppers. Make sure your pasta is finished before you do this. You don’t want to cook the garlic too long. Stir the spices in with the bell peppers for just a couple minutes until the garlic is tender but has not turned brown.

STEP 4: Add your Pasta

Add the pasta into the large pan with all of your spices and bell peppers. Mix until the noodles are coated in olive oil and the flavors are all mixed together.

STEP 5: Garnish

Poor your almost-finished pasta into a serving dish and sprinkle with either fresh parsley or dill, whichever flavor you prefer.

Serve with some baked bread (I like the "everything" bread from the Walmart bakery) and a dish of EVOO, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and thyme. You're set for a yummy dinner!

LEFT OVER OPTIONS

Since I was cooking for one, I had a lot of pasta left over. The next day I heated it up with a can of fire roasted, diced tomatoes. This gave it a completely different flavor and was delicious!

Spicy Poppers

Another great recipe from the Taste of Home Cooking School! These jalapeno poppers are delicious and the addition of the crescent dough takes away a little of the kick so that they aren't as spicy.

Fire level: orange-red

Crescent Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients:

• 4 jalapeno chiles
• 1/3 cup Boursin cheese with garlic and herbs
• 8 slices packaged precooked bacon, halved
• 1 can (8 oz.) crescent dinner rolls
• 1/2 cup pineapple or fruit salsa for dipping

Directions:

STEP 1: Prepare your peppers

Destem and Deseed the chiles. The more seeds you leave in, the spicier the chiles will be. Cut each chile lengthwise, and then lengthwise again, creating four long jalapeno chile pieces from each pepper.

STEP 2: Prep your poppers

Spoon about 1 teaspoon of cheese into each chile quarter. Wrap a half slice of bacon around each stuffed chile quarter.

STEP 3: Wrap your poppers

On a cutting board, unroll the crescent dough. It should show 8 triangles. Cut each triangle in half from largest corner, creating 16 pieces. Place the chile, cheese side down, onto the middle of the dough triangle. Fold one point of triangle over filling, fold two remaining points over the first point. Place all of the poppers on ungreased cookie sheet.

STEP 4: Cook your poppers

Bake the poppers 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with the fruit salsa and it will cut out some of the spice. Enjoy! They are quite tasty.

Beautiful Appetizer for the Holidays

Some friends and I went to a Taste of Home Cooking school a couple months ago and we witnessed a lot of yummy dishes being prepared. One appetizer in our recipe booklet stuck out to me and I made it over the Thanksgiving holiday. It looked beautiful on the table and is perfect for Holiday get togethers.

Fire level: yellow

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Ingredients:

• 10 bacon strips
• 20 large fresh basil leaves
• 20 uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used precooked frozen shrimp and they worked just fine)
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup finely crumbled goat cheese

Directions:

STEP 1: Prepare your shrimp

Cut each bacon strip in half widthwise; set aside. Wrap a basil leave around each shrimp. Wrap a piece of bacon around each; secure with a toothpick.

STEP 2: Bake the shrimp

Place all of the shrimp onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for around 15 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

STEP 3: Flavor the shrimp

Brush with barbecue sauce; sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 2-4 minutes more or until they are heated through.

If you want to increase the fire level you can buy a spicy barbecue sauce. The presentation of these is beautiful. Spread them out on a nice serving dish and heat up some of the barbecue sauce for dipping. Enjoy!