Chili Lime Chicken Wings

It's turning into a food-focused week, isn't it? Lord knows, I love to eat. And while I wouldn't say I love to cook, I do like trying new things. Something new I tried this past weekend was Chili Lime Chicken Wings. It's a recipe I found on Nom Nom Paleo, my go-to source for easy and interesting paleo-centric cooking.

I made two pounds of these and Tom & I ate them all in one sitting. Honestly, it was ugly. We might as well have been oinking at each other.

I didn't realize how good they were going to turn out or I would have taken pictures right from the start. Maybe I'll have to make them again and update with better pictures. Oh, the hardship. The steps are pretty basic though - you'll have to use your imagination and I'll explain as best I can.

You'll need:

2-6 lbs uncooked chicken wings
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeds & ribs removed
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1/2 cup cilantro (I used cilantro paste because the store didn't have fresh)
2 limes (zest and juice is needed)
black pepper
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons coconut aminos (you can substitute soya sauce if you aren't Paleo)
limes wedges for garnish

Get out your blender and toss in the onion, garlic, peppers, cilantro, pepper, fish sauce, and coconut aminos. Add the zest from the two limes plus a 1/4 cup of lime juice. Blend the whole thing together until you get a puree that looks like one of those "healthy" juicer drinks (Eat your veggies, people, don't drink them!)

Put your chicken wings in a bowl or a  sealable container and pour the mixture over the wings, making sure they're well coated. Yeah, they look kind of creepy and weird, but it'll all work out. Trust me. Cover the bowl or container and let the wings marinate for 1 to 12 hours in the fridge.

You can cook these in the oven or on a grill. They'll be sticky though so make sure you oil the grill first. Lay them out on a cookie sheet - or a rack if you're lucky enough to have one (I'm not) - so that they aren't overlapping.

I cooked them in the oven and even though I oiled the sheet they still stuck a little bit. Bake them for 30-40 minutes - flipping them halfway - or until they're crispy and brown.

Once they're cooked, plate them up and add lime wedges to garnish. Which I didn't do, but you're a better food stylist than I am, right?

You won't believe how good these are. You definitely have to have the time to marinate them, but it's so worth it!

Extreme wing close-up:

What's your favourite chicken wing recipe? 

Share in the comments, I'm always looking for something new.

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I'm linking up here this week!

Smoky Oven-Baked Chicken

Everyone is always looking for a better chicken recipe, right? Well, I think I might have found it. A recipe even better than my last chicken recipe - which was pretty fantastic.

This one is all in the spice blend. It's a modification of the smoky spice blend recipe in Practical Paleo. I didn't have half of the ingredients so I made some substitutions, and, oh my, are they good!

Here is what you need to make 5 tablespoons of spice blend:

1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 tablespoon black pepper

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Take your chicken pieces (I used drumsticks) and toss them in melted coconut oil, bacon fat,or whatever oil you choose. I put the chicken in a bowl, poured some oil on them, and then used tongs to flip them around and make sure they were evenly coated.

Mix your spices in a bag - I use old grocery bags, but a ziploc or a paper bag would work just as well. Put your chicken in the bag, hold the top closed, and shake it up baby.

Once the chicken is evenly coated, lay the pieces out on a cookie sheet or glass dish and bake them for 30-45 minutes, turning once halfway through. You'll have to be the judge on when they're finished.

Serve!

This is my plate. We had the chicken with a potato/onion/sweet pepper semi-mash, and some raw sugar snap peas.

I also used this recipe for chicken wings and it's just as good. Nice smoky flavour with a salt & pepper taste. And check out the colour! Toasty brown and crispy!

This is a recipe you HAVE to try. I'm serious. Don't even hesitate. Do it.

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I'm linking up here this week!

Practical Paleo

Look what showed up at my door yesterday! 

I shouldn't really be surprised since I ordered it last week and I've been hanging out by the mailbox like a crazy stalker ever since. Have you read Diane Sanfilippo's Practical Paleo?

To be honest, I was a bit hesitant to buy it just because of the price, and I already have two Paleo books, but it was recommended so highly that I went for it. And when it arrived I could see the justification for the price - look at how thick this thing is! That's a lot of eating to look forward to. It's not just a cookbook though, it's a guide to Paleo living with explanations of why it just might be right for you, and 30 day meal plans (with links to the recipes).

I've been following Paleo for about a year now, but I'm by no means an expert. I'll direct you to this link for an excellent explanation of what it is. Basically it is eating only natural, unprocessed foods that have high-nutrient value, aren't irritating to your body, and taste good!

I haven't been as stringent as I probably could sometimes (there was a jujube-hoarding incident that we won't go into), but even so I feel so much better. I kicked my potato chip addiction (still working on the sugar addiction), I don't feel bloated in the afternoon any more, and as an added bonus I've lost 30 pounds.

Okay, it's really hard to talk about Paleo without sounding like you're selling something. Let me just show off some of this book! (Though I'm afraid that my photos of her photos don't do it justice.)

bison burgers with sweet potato "buns"

chocolate truffles (yes, you can have dessert!)

food prep

tailored meal plans

Anyone out there tried Paleo or a similar lifestyle change? What did you think? Did everyone around you think you were crazy? 

(and yes, that's Ana White's The Handbuilt Home underneath. I'm saving it for the weekend!)

Holy Guacamole!

I know, not the most original title, right? But this recipe is going to change your life! Okay, not really, but it is pretty darn good.

Let me tell you a little story -

There once was a girl who hated guacamole. She avoided it at all costs. It was wet and slimy and mushy. It had no right to call itself food. She wouldn't even eat avocado (which really limited her sushi choices).

Then she started following the Paleo way of eating, and guacamole was something that everyone in the Paleo-know was touting as the ideal snack.  It was full of healthy fat, fibre, and vitamin K, C, and E. She started to think about trying it again, but just thinking about it. No promises were made.

Nearly a year went by and the girl found herself at a mexican restaurant while on vacation. And there she saw guacamole on her plate. She decided to take the plunge. And guess what? She liked it!

Fast forward a week and she had some avocados in her possession, a recipe in hand, and a party to go to where she was in charge of bringing veggie snacks.

She made the guacamole. It was so good she wants to make more. Every day.

The end.


Ummm, that girl was me. (I'm not sure if you figured that out.)

Here is my first attempt at making guacamole. Along the way I learned that while rock-hard abs are good, rock-hard avocados are not. And I got to witness first-hand how an avocado pit reacts with a metal knife (spoiler - it's like something out of a horror movie.)

You'll need:

1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper (or other pepper of your choice), seeds removed, finely chopped
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4 ripe avocados
3 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder (or cayenne if you like it hot)
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
salt & pepper to taste

I think what appeals to me are all of the "extras" that are added. I also considered mushrooms and celery. You could even add chopped nuts for a bit of crunch.

You'll want to prep all of your other ingredients before you cut up the avocado. Avocado reacts with air very quickly and will start to turn brown so you want to keep it as fresh as possible.

Once everything else is ready, you can cut up the avocado one of two ways. You can cut it in half, take out the pit, and then scoop the flesh out and into a plastic or glass bowl. Ours weren't ripe yet so that didn't work for us. We had to peel the skin, remove the pit, and then chop up the avocado.

If your avocado isn't ripe enough, you can heat it in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, until it softens up. We ended up heating ours quite a bit and it was still firmer and drier than what you'd see in a restaurant. But remember that story waaaaay up at the top? I was happy it wasn't all mushy.

Add the lime juice into the bowl and mash the avocado with a wooden or plastic spoon. Make it as smooth or as chunky as you'd like.

Add in the cilantro, cumin, chili powder, garlic, salt, & pepper. Mix well. Then add in the onions and peppers. Mix again. Taste it and decide if you want to add more seasoning. Lastly, add the tomatoes and stir gently.

Chill for at least 15 minutes. You can chill your guacamole too if you want.

We had already made cinnamon tortilla chips for some fruit salsa so we just made some extra with parmesan cheese instead of cinnamon.(And honestly, I liked the taste of the cinnamon with the guacamole better.)

Take a 10" round tortilla and brush it with melted butter or spray it with butter-flavoured spray.

I combined sugar and cinnamon and put them in an empty spice shaker bottle. Shake the sugar-cinnamon mixture all over the tortilla, but don't get too heavy-handed.

Take a pizza cutter or a knife and cut the tortilla into bite-sized pieces. Lay them out flat on a cookie sheet and bake them in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool.

If making savoury chips instead of sweet, just substitute parmesan, garlic, herbs, or any other spice you favour.

Pull out that fabulous guacamole you just made and enjoy!

You want to know about the pit and the knife though, don't you?  Any place the knife cut the pit would turn bright red within minutes. It looked like it had little cuts all over it that were ready to drip blood. Cree-pee.

Don't think about that any more. Think about puppies and rainbows. And rock-hard abs.

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I'm linking up here this week!

Bora Bora Fireballs

As I mentioned last week, I haven't had a lot of time for crafting or renovations. So how about another fun recipe? There's always time for food, right?

This recipe is again from Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan.  Do you think that eventually I'll have reproduced every recipe in her book?  I hope so. There hasn't been a bad one yet. She's my hero.

Today's recipe is called Bora Bora Fireballs. They are basically coconut-coated meatballs, but that name will get your kids interested, won't it?

You'll need:

2 cups toasted shredded coconut
2 pounds ground meat of your choice
1 can of crushed pineapple
2 eggs
1 finely-chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. soya sauce or coconut aminos
1.5 tsp. ginger
1 tbsp. garlic
spices of your choice

Spread the shredded coconut in a frying pan with the heat on medium high and stir occcasionally until all of the coconut is toasted a warm brown. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with a little salt and cayenne pepper, then set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Drain the pineapple, reserving the juice for later. Make sure the pineapple is very well drained - pressing into it with a spoon to get all of the liquid out. In a bowl, add the pineapple, eggs, ginger, salt, garlic, soya sauce, and chopped onion. Mix well. Now is the time to spice it up as much or as little as you want. Add chopped jalapenos, sriracha, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder - pretty much whatever you have in the cupboard that strikes your fancy. Mix again. Add the ground meat and mix until everything is well combined.

Arrange your bowls of coconut, pineapple juice, and meat mixture so that you have easy access.

Scoop out about a tablespoon of meat, roll it into a ball between your palms, dip it in the pineapple juice, and then roll it lightly in the coconut.

Don't get too heavy-handed with the coconut, just a thin coating. Roll the ball between your palms again to press the coconut in, and then place it on a cookie sheet. 

Once you have the sheet filled, place it in the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the meatballs are brown and sizzling.

These are great with any side dish - vegetables or pasta.  They even work as a snack - just as easy to reach for as a cookie or candy.

Do you think this is something you'd try? 

Less crazy than the "chocolate" cauliflower?

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I'm linking up here this week!

Cocoa-toasted Cauliflower

Are you looking for an easy, oh-so-tasty side dish recipe? 

Well I have one for you. 

Let me introduce you to Cocoa-toasted Cauliflower. 

You think that's a typo don't you? 

Maybe it should be coconut? Or coconut oil? Or Coca-cola? 

Nope, there is no typo. 

Don't worry, it won't taste like chocolate, this isn't a dessert. You have to admit that cauliflower on its own is a little bland. The cocoa has a crisp flavour that gives the cauliflower a much-needed bite.

The recipe comes from Melissa Joulwan's cookbook Well Fed (I've raved about it before.) You won't believe how good this tastes. The first time I made it, it barely made it onto the plates because we kept eating pieces from the baking sheet.

What you'll need:
1 large head of cauliflower
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic (powder or fresh)
2 tbsp. melted coconut oil

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the cauliflower up into bite-sized pieces. 

In a bowl mix the cocoa, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic. 

Add the coconut oil and mix well. Add the cauliflower and toss 

with two wooden spoons until all of the cauliflower 

is evenly coated with the mixture. 

Spread the cauliflower out on a foil or parchment-covered baking sheet 

and roast in the oven until it starts to brown (25-30 minutes). 

Remove from oven and enjoy! 

We paired ours with slow-cooker beef stew but it goes with just about anything.

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I'm linking to these parties this week!