Now before we get to the recipe, I am going to show you the cast of characters for the sauce and discuss wings. You can buy with the entire wing or the separated wing parts (the drummies and the sections). I prefer all drummies if I can find them, but definitely choose to buy the separated wings over separating them myself.

I know some people that make them altogether. I don’t recommend that because you end up with that wing tip that you cannot eat so it’s just a pointless feature on the plate. If you live in the Dayton area you can usually find some excellent wings at Dorothy Lane. Other options include EarthFare or in a pinch some commercial chains carry Tyson All Natural wings, which aren’t too bad.

Onto the sauce:

The sauce ingredients are pretty straight forward.

Sauce Ingredients:
Squeeze Garlic (Recommended: Spice World)
Hot Sauce (Recommended: Frank’s Red Hot)
Butter (Recommended: I Can’t Believe It’s Not…)
Cracked Black Pepper

Directions:
Melt a 1/2 cup of butter in the microwave or on the stovetop. With the butter, mix roughly a half a bottle of Hot Sauce (more or less depending on taste). Add in 1-2 TBSP Cracked Black and 1-2 healthy squirt of the garlic. Mix up and set aside.

You end up with something that looks like this:

For the wing prep, I do things two ways. I fry the wings first in a good canola or peanut oil to get them crispy. After they have fried, I drop them in the sauce for a few minutes, lift them into a baking dish, drop the rest of the sauce over them, and finish them in the oven. They come out incredibly crispy, moist, colorful, and amazingly delicious. I made the sauce because I love mild wings and I love garlic wings. This gives you the vinegar-y bite from the hot sauce with the strong sharp flavor of a good garlic wing. You can eat them without sauce, as I do not find them too hot, though they are always better with some fresh bleu cheese dip (recipe to follow).

Before frying the wings I just dust them with some simple salt, pepper, and garlic powder before putting them in the hot oil.

Based on the size of your pan (I use a large Marcus Sammuelson pan that is to die for) you can cook anywhere from 4-8 wings at a time. I try not to do more than that because the fuller your pan, the lower your oil temperature will get. As this affects the grease factor in the wings, I would rather cook less and have them taste better. Leave them in for about 20-25 minutes until they begin gaining a light brown color and begin to have that crunchy, crispy skin on them.

Next, they are dropped in the sauce and then put on the pan to bake.

Bake the wings at 350 for 15 minutes. This gives the earlier batches a nice warm-up and it gives the sauce a good chance to soak into the wings.

With the wings goes Bleu Cheese Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:
Mayo (Recommended: Hellman’s)
Sour Cream (Recommended: Something Organic/All Natural)
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Bleu Cheese Crumbles

Directions:
In a bowl mix together two cups sour cream, 3/4 cup mayo, a pinch of salt, 1-2 TBSPs both black pepper and garlic and mix together until well incorporated. Add as much Blue Cheese as is necessary to get to your desired cheesy-ness. I usually go with 1/2-1 Cup of fine crumbles with a few bigger chunks in there. If you find it is too thick for your liking you can always add a small splash of milk to thin it up, but for wings, I like it chunky.

Complete directions are listed below! I hope you enjoy and you come back to let me know how they turned out for you

Buffalo Garlic Wings

Sauce Ingredients:
Squeeze Garlic (Recommended: Spice World)
Hot Sauce (Recommended: Frank’s Red Hot)
Butter (Recommended: I Can’t Believe It’s Not…)
Cracked Black Pepper

Directions:
Melt a 1/2 cup of butter in the microwave or on the stovetop. With the butter, mix roughly a half a bottle of Hot Sauce (more or less depending on taste). Add in 1-2 TBSP Cracked Black and 1-2 healthy squirt of the garlic. Mix up and set aside.

Wing Cooking/Prep:
Before frying the wings I just dust them with some simple salt, pepper, and garlic powder before putting them in the hot oil.

Based on the size of your pan (I use a large Marcus Sammuelson pan that is to die for) you can cook anywhere from 4-8 wings at a time. The fuller your pan, the lower your oil temperature will get. As this affects the grease factor in the wings, I would rather cook less and have them taste better. Leave them in for about 20-25 minutes until they begin gaining a light brown color and begin to have that crunchy, crispy skin on them.

Next, they are dropped in the sauce and then put on the pan to bake.

Bake the wings at 350 for 15 minutes. This gives the earlier batches a nice warm-up and it gives the sauce a good chance to soak into the wings.

Bleu Cheese Dip Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Mayo (Recommended: Hellman’s)
2 Cups Sour Cream (Recommended: Something Organic/All Natural)
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
1/2 Cup (to taste) Bleu Cheese Crumbles

Directions:
In a bowl mix together two cups sour cream, 3/4 cup mayo, a pinch of salt, 1-2 TBSPs both black pepper and garlic and mix together until well incorporated. Add as much Bleu Cheese as is necessary to get to your desired cheesy-ness. I usually go with 1/2-1 Cup of fine crumbles with a few bigger chunks in there. If you find it is too thick for your liking you can always add a small splash of milk to thin it up, but for wings, I like it chunky.

EAT!

Technorati Tags: Recipes, Food, Wings, Buffalo Garlic, Fried Wings, Bleu Cheese Dip, Baked, Mayo, Sour Cream, Dorothy Lane

Ingredients:

Nacho Chips (You can make your own with tortillas or buy a brand you like)
Cheddar Cheese (I use melted cheese and shredded for texture and extra cheesiness)
Black Olives
Ground Beef (Taco-fied)
Diced Tomatoes
Re-fried or Black Beans
Taco Sauce
Salsa
Sour Cream

Optionals:
Lettuce
Rice
Guacamole

Directions:

You can opt for either taco seasoning or making your own, but for this recipe we are going to assume you’ve already made your taco meat. Make sure all of your items are ready to go and assembly will be a breeze. All you do is layer the chips on the plate and assemble. My chosen assembly goes something like this:

Chips
Melted Cheese all around the chips
Beans topped with meat in the center
Sour Cream
Taco Sauce
Shredded Cheese
Tomatoes
Black Olives
Salsa

EAT!

So, now that I’ve shown you mine, why don’t you tell me what you put on yours!

Technorati Tags: Food, Recipes, Nachos, Meat, Beans, Sour Cream, Taco Sauce, Dinner, Appetizer, Snack

It’s sad and it has to stop.

So when we moved into our new apartment (more on that move later) we decided to make some other changes, too. Some of the changes were little things. You know, things like no frivolous spending. We also eliminated the majority of dyes from our diet (for our son’s sake) and high fructose corn syrup. We also attempt to eat mainly organic or all natural (nothing we don’t recognize on the label). When we made this change I decided to make smoothies at home because frankly, most of the places that sell them offer syrup and ice as opposed to fresh fruit and they cost an arm and a leg. Making them at home helps me stick to at least two of our new life changes.

We’ve been making smoothies as often as possible. Usually we start off the day with one. Of course, by that I mean that everyone gets a nice, big, frothy glass but me. I have to remember to make more next time! We play with the flavors occasionally, but generally stick to fresh fruit.

While we stick to fresh fruit there are some staple ingredients used in every single smoothie. Those ingredients include:

Ice
Lemonade (Preferably something organic or Simply Lemonade)
A small scoop of Banana Pudding

You could use orange juice or another juice (depending on the flavor you’re going for), but I love the tartness that the lemonade adds. The banana pudding, which got me some strange looks when I told Dominick what was in it, adds a little velvety smoothness to it. I add about two to three handfuls of small ice chunks (we get small bags of ice at the grocery store), though I would say you could use about six ice cubes from a tray.

The smoothie pictured above is strawberry banana. To the above listed ingredients I added two fresh bananas, a half-cup (about four) of fresh strawberries cut up, and a nice dollop of frozen strawberries with juice that I let thaw in the fridge. The result after a good blending is a thick, icy and fabulous smoothie that is actually pretty healthy. It’s a way to get fresh fruit into the entire family.

We’ve also switched things up by using peaches and blueberries or whatever fresh/frozen fruit combinations we have sitting around.

How do you take your smoothies? Share your favorite smoothie recipe in the comment section or let us know when your try our recipe!

Ashtyn’s Delicious Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

Recipe Ingredients

Ice (2-3 handfuls chunked ice or 5-6 cubes)
Simply Lemonade (a couple of splashes depending on how thick you want things)
Fresh Strawberries (about 1/2 cup)
Frozen Strawberries in Juice (about 1/2 cup, plus or minus to taste)
Fresh Bananas (2)
Banana Pudding (1-2 Spoonfuls) – Optional

Just pop everything into the blender and that’s it. You end up with 2-3 delicious smoothies!

Technorati Tags: Smoothie, Recipe, Fresh Fruit, Bananas, Strawberries, Frozen, Organic, All Natural, Ingredients, Money Saver

I am a huge fan of Reubens made the traditional way (with Russian dressing). Without any corned beef in the house, I decided to make a variation on my traditional Reubens and my other favorite dish, pizza. I call them Reuben Mini Pizzas. These pizzas were full of flavor and will be a nice alternative from traditional sandwiches and traditional pizza.

Reuben Mini Pizzas

Ingredients:
One Large Links of Polish Sausage (they come in Two Link Packs)
Sauerkraut (to taste – I did about 1/2 cup on four)
Swiss Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
English Muffins (I used 2 split in half)
Russian Dressing

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 375.

Slice Polish Sausage Link into bit sized pieces. Brown in pan.

Line a Baking Pan with Tin Foil (or not if you have good pans!). Place four sides of two English muffins down, face up in the baking pan. Drizzle Russian Dressing like you would Pizza Sauce.

Place slices of Swiss Cheese on Each Muffin half, over the dressing.

Add Polish Sausage and Sauerkraut (as much as you like) to each Muffin. Top with Mozzarella.

Put in oven and bake for 10 minutes (or until cheese is bubbly).

Once the Muffins are out of the oven, drizzle Russian over the top lightly and serve (or you can put it on before as I did, because the Russian flavor baked into the cheese).

All recipes (unless otherwise noted) are copyright to Ashtyn Evans. Please do not share unless you give credit and a link back to LI Kids. With proper credit, I am delighted to share this recipe with others.

Technorati Tags: recipe, Ashtyn Evans, Home Cookin, Reubens, Reuben Mini Pizza, Pizza, Polish Sausage, Cheese, Sauerkraut,

These “Phat” (really should be Fat) burgers were made on the spur of the moment. I asked Dom if he wanted to try something “different” and he reluctantly agreed (he is often a creature of habit). It was all the better he did because he is in love with these burgers.

You have to remember that I am from Michigan, so burgers with green olives are the way to go! All of the flavors melded together perfectly making a sweet yet tangy, cheesy, delicious burger.

Ingredients:
(This recipe is for one patty – multiply ingredients to add patties for meals)

Hamburger (in a patty – mine was about 1/3 of a lb.)
2 pieces of Bread (I used Sara Lee Honey Wheat – but it would be good with Rye, too)
2 pieces thinly sliced Black Forest Ham
2 deli sliced pieces of cheddar cheese (reduced fat is what I used, but any cheese will work)
thin sliced, fresh mushrooms (canned is okay, too)
sliced green olives
Russian Dressing (a drizzle)
Steak Sauce (a drizzle)
Hellman’s Mayonnaise
Salt, Pepper and Garlic to season burger

Directions: Season Hamburger to taste. Fry to your preferred level of cooking (I cook to medium) in an iron skillet. Toward the end of cooking, toss your mushrooms into the pan to sauté them. Remove your burger from the skillet.

Butter one side of your bread, put the butter side down. I put mine in the Dupont Flip-It (you can use any frying pan for this process). Add a slice of ham and then cheddar cheese to the bread. On top of the cheese put in sliced green olives (to your preference), another slice of ham and a drizzle of Russian dressing on top of the olives.

Add your hamburger patty on top of where you drizzled the Russian dressing. Then add a second piece of cheddar cheese, sauted mushrooms and a drizzle of steak sauce. Place the second piece of bread on top, butter side up. Then I closed my Flip-It and cooked until the bread was golden brown on both sides. This can be done in a pan the way you cook a grilled cheese or patty melt.

Serve with a dollop of mayo on the side for dipping.

This is an easy and delicious way to serve burgers. I plan to add a picture of this the next time I make them for us!

If you use this recipe, feel free to post a comment, telling us what you think.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Burger Recipe, Hamburger, Green Olives, Russian Dressing, Ashtyn’s Home Cookin, Phat Burgers, Delicious, Food, Mushrooms, cheese, Steak Sauce, Sandwich

I have not really heard of anyone else making this salad that my mom makes, but I am sure that it is made by others. If you have never heard of it, I’ve included a recipe below for those who wish to give it a try.

If you try it, let me know if you like it! Either way – we here at Ashtyn’s Home Cookin’ hope that you have a happy holiday season!

Cottage Cheese Fruit Salad

1 pkg. Dry Jell-o (we use Strawberry or Cherry but you can use what you like)
1 Small tub of Cool Whip
1 Small carton of Cottage Cheese (small curd recommended)
1 Can Chopped Pineapple (you could use other fruit, if you prefer)
Maraschino Cherries

In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese with the Jell-o mix. When dissolved, stir in fruit, and add Cool Whip. Salad will be a soft and creamy color depending on the flavor of Jell-o that you choose to use. In my house, using Strawberry makes certain that it always comes out pink. When I was a kid, we would call it the pink stuff because of this. Add some Maraschino Cherries for an optional touch. We add between five and ten, but you could add as many or as few as you like.

Technorati Tags: Cottage Cheese, Fruit Salad, Jell-o, Pink Stuff, maraschino cherries, cool whip, recipe, my mom

Last year, Dominick wanted French Silk Pie, so I thought we could do that with Pumpkin, making a pumpkin silk. Mom wanted pumpkin cheesecake. So, I did the only thing I could. I experimented.

The resulting pie had a bottom layer of pumpkin cheesecake, the middle was pumpkin silk, and the top was whipped cream. The pie was all held together in an Oreo crust. It was absolutely delicious. I wish I had taken a picture. Come to find out, everyone liked it so much by the time I was ready to take one, the whole pie was gone.

I have no doubt this is something we will be making again, so next time around I will make sure to take some pictures!

Here is the recipe for anyone that wants to try it out:

Ashtyn’s Pumpkin Cheese-Silk Pie

1 pkg. (8 oz) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 – 1 cup Canned Pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 3/4 cups White Milk
1 tub (16 oz) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 Graham Cracker or Oreo Pie Crust (6 oz)
1 pkg. Jell-O Pumpkin Spice Pudding

Begin by beating softened cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in 1-1/2 cups of the whipped topping.

Spoon cream cheese mixture into crust 1/3 way full and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Prepare Pumpkin Spice Pudding according to pudding pie directions on the box. Mix pudding with white milk and beat with whisk for two minutes or until thick.

Spoon the pudding mixture into pie crust on top of the cheesecake layer. Make sure to leave room for the final layer of whipped topping that will complete the pie. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Spoon on the whipped topping until the pie is full. For a little extra flavor sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice onto whipped cream.

Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Note: To lessen the calories you could substitute the whole milk with 1% (this is what I used, but either should work fine) and use Cool Whip Lite.

Technorati Tags: recipe, Ashtyn, pumpkin, cheesecake, silk pie, cheese-silk, food

Thanksgiving is approaching faster than ever this year and if you’re still planning the menu (and you’re like me) you’re mulling over the dessert. The plain facts are that it’s not Thanksgiving (at least for me) unless there is some pumpkin pie somewhere in the mix. There are so many other great desserts that have pumpkin in them though that this year I have decided to branch out and try something new. I still want pumpkin, don’t get me wrong, but you can still pull off the feeling of the holidays with a pumpkin trifle, a cake, or any other number of desserts. With that in mind, here is a list of the top five non-pie pumpkin desserts for the holidays.

5. Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes
Why I like em: First off, you usually cannot go wrong with a recipe made by Paula Deen. The woman is magic in the kitchen. These days she is, hands down, my favorite chef on Food Network. The recipe for this appeared in Paula’s Southern Thanksgiving episode. It comes highly recommended by users that have made it and it’s simple as pie to make.

Note: If you do not like pumpkin or want to switch this up, there are variations on the recipe page for Peanut Butter Gooey Cake or Pineapple or Banana. So, if you don’t want to do pumpkin you have a number of options to consider here.

4. Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake
Why I like it: This recipe was on the show, The Cookworks. If you’re looking for a good alternative to pumpkin pie and you like cheesecake and bourbon this should be it for you. It’s relatively easy to make, it looks delicious, and chances are the family will be fighting over the leftovers. What more could you want in a holiday dessert?

3. Pumpkin Bars
Why I like em: This Paula Deen recipe was a product of her Southern Thanksgiving Leftovers show. One of the things that I love about this recipe is that with the exception of the pumpkin I have every item sitting around my kitchen or in my pantry. This is one of those easy, on the fly desserts that turns out great for everyone in the house. You can decide whether to make these small or large and they are easy to make so there’s no reason not to give them a shot.

2. Fried Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cream Cheese and Orange Frosting
Why I like it: Paula has outdone herself with this one. Just the idea of this makes my mouth water. I know Deep Fried Cake sounds like a bad idea. It’s not healthy and people just don’t need to deep fry things like this. That’s true. If you want to indulge and you have the cooking skill to work it out, I recommend you try it. If you don’t (in either case) you can just as easily prepare this cake without deep frying and it should still be just as delicious and a little more healthy, too.

1. Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle
Why I like it: Just look at this thing (picture is up above). It signifies the best about Thanksgiving desserts. Trifles are incredibly easy to make so anyone should be able to handle one of these. Not only that, but they taste delicious! If you’re all about pumpkin and gingerbread then this will be right up your alley. Don’t miss out on this one!

Note: Photos copyrighted to Food Network and their respective photographers.

Technorati Tags: Thanksgiving, Desserts, Pumpkin, Ginger, Gingerbread, Bourbon, Trifle, Pie, Deep Fried, Paula Deen

Ashtyn’s Four Cheese Cheddar Macaroni Bake

Ingredients:
2 Cups Elbow Macaroni
3/4 Cup Shredded Cheddar
1/3 Cup Shredded Asiago
1/3 Cup Feta
1/3 Cup Shredded Romano
3 Tbs. Butter (Cut Up)
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
2 Eggs
2 Tbs. Worchestershire Sauce
1 Cup Milk (I used 2%)
1 Tsp. Garlic Powder (or to taste)
1 Tsp. Salt (or to taste)
1/2 Tsp. Pepper (or to taste)
Optional: Breadcrumbs

Note: I tend to use more pepper than the average person, but that is just how my family likes it! I ended up using about 2 tsp. in this, but cut it back when writing the actual recipe. Ultimately, I recommended you judge how much garlic powder, salt, and pepper you put by your own individual taste.

Instructions:
Cook the Elbow Macaroni in boiling water until the pasta is cooked. Make sure you add a little salt to the water as this is your one chance to season the pasta. You can follow the instructions on the package of pasta to cook it. Usually, it takes my pasta about 12 minutes to cook. I do not recommend cooking this al dente. This pasta needs to be cooked all the way through.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, as you will be needing to use it later.

When the pasta is done, strain it. Put it in a bowl and add of the various types of cheese that are being used. You don’t have to use the cheeses I used. You can use other kinds. Feel free to add a little bit more or a little less cheese to add to your personal taste and preferences.

In a separate bowl mix eggs, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, milk, butter, and your seasonings. Do not mix it with the pasta!

Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add the pasta to the pan. Add your mixture in the other bowl by pouring it over the pasta.

Optional Addition: Feel free to sprinkle breadcrumbs onto the top of the pasta mixture in the pan. I used Italian breadcrumbs. This is by no means necessary, but can be added for those who like the added crunch!

Place in the oven and cook for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and serve.

Technorati Tags: Ashtyn, recipe, four cheese, macaroni bake, macaroni and cheese, food, cooking

If you try it out, let us know how it goes!

REESE’S Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Ingredients
1-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) REESE’S Peanut Butter Chips, melted
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE(recipe follows)
Whipped topping
HERSHEY’S MINI KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
Directions
1. Heat oven to 300°F. Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa and butter; press into bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

2. Beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, then melted chips, until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Pour over crust.

3. Bake 60 to 70 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven. With knife, loosen cake from side of pan. Cool. Remove side of pan. Garnish with CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE, whipped topping and chocolates. Refrigerate until cold. Store covered in refrigerator. 12 servings.

CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE: Melt 2 tablespoons butter over low heat; add 2 tablespoons HERSHEY’S Cocoa and 2 tablespoons water. Cook and stir until slightly thickened. Do not boil. Cool slightly. Gradually add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, beating with whisk until smooth. About 3/4 cup.

TIP: If desired, spoon drizzle into small heavy-duty plastic bag. Cut very small piece from corner of bag. Squeeze drizzle over top of cake.

UPDATE: I made this and Dom absolutely LOVED it. Mom liked it a lot, too and I am a sucker for anything this rich and delicious. Even the picky teenager enjoyed a slice!

Technorati Tags: Delicious, Recipe, Sweet Treats, Cheesecake, Bake, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake, Reese’s, Kraft, Halloween