Homemade Garlic Parmesan Wings

These homemade Garlic Parmesan Wings make a nice hot lunch, or an appetizer, or make them in quantity and share with friends. I make this is batches of 5 wings, because it’s just me.  So if you want more - scale up the ingredients. 

5 Wings – fresh, or thawed fully. I like the bigger ones if you can get them. 

Dry mix - Put together in a bowl 1 cup of flour and about a tsp or so of Italian dried herbs. I use something called McCormick’s Perfect pinch Italian seasoning but you could make your own blend easy enough. Add about two tablespoons of Parmesan cheese… either the stuff that comes in the green canister or if you’re using fresh you’ll want it grated very fine, like tiny breadcrumbs. Some folks would add a shake of salt to this, but that’s up to you.

Wet mix – crack either one extra large or two regular eggs into a separate bowl. I use two. Add a tsp or more garlic – fresh, or the stuff that comes in a jar from the store.  Add a few drops of olive oil.  Beat that all up til frothy.

I heat up a little marinara or spaghetti sauce to dip in, and add a little more Parmesan to it.

Take the wings, roll them quickly in the dry mix, and then let them sit for a bit – at least 15 minutes.  This helps the chicken dry so the crust will form better.   While they are sitting, mix up the wet mix. 

Take your wings that have been sitting resting and dip into the wet mix to coat them.  Then dip them again into the dry mix fully covering them. Lay them out on a small rack or plate that will fit in the fridge.  This works best if one hand coats with the wet mix, and another coats with the dry mix.  The wings now sit either overnight or for at least a hour or so in the fridge. Don’t stack them up, lay them flat. This seems like a silly thing but I’ve discovered that this resting cold with the dry-wet-dry coating really makes a difference in how crunchy they are.

I deep fry these wings in Crisco. I’m lucky enough to have a secondhand deep fryer (a Presto – Granpappy fryer), but you could do it in a cast iron Dutch oven on the stove. You’ll want about three inches of Crisco, so get yourself a couple of big cans, and just commit that fat to deep frying*.  Heat the fat up to 350 degrees before you start.  Make sure there’s plenty of room for them to fit – I add one at a time, and sometimes if they are bigger only do three at a time, In a Dutch oven, probably 5 at a time is fine. The wings should reach an internal temp of 165 degrees. In the Fryer this takes 7-8 minutes, but your time may vary.



* Once you’re done cooking the wings in the cast iron pan, let the whole thing go cold. The Crisco can be used again for a number of times.

Greeny's Lasagna

Lasagna Noodles
3 quarts of water
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
16 strips white or green lasagna noodles

Cheese and Egg Mixture
1 egg
1 (1-lb.) carton small curd cottage cheese
1/2 (1-lb.) carton ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Meat Sauce
1-1/2 lbs. lean ground beef (I have also mixed in ground sausage & shredded chicken)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 (1-lb) cans stewed tomato
2 (16-oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1/3 cup dry red wine (optional)
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

1 lb. mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

Prepare Meat Sauce. Butter a 13" x 9" baking dish; set aside. Bring water to a rapid boil in a heavy 5-quart pot or Dutch oven. Add salt and oil. Gradually add lasagna noodles being sure the water continues to boil. Cook noodles uncovered until tender but firm, stirring occasionally. Drain.  In a medium bowl, beat egg, stir in cottage cheese, ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese; mix thoroughly.  Place a thin layer of Meat Sauce in the prepared dish.  Layer 4 lasagna noodles on top of sauce. Spread ¼ of the cheese mixture over noodles and cover the layer with ¼ of the meat sauce. Arrange mozzarella cheese slices over sauce. Repeat 3 times with remaining noodles, cheese mixture and meat mixture. Place in cold oven. Set temperature control at 375°F (190°C). Bake 20 minutes. Remove lasagna from oven. Cut remaining mozzarella cheese into thin strips and arrange on lasagna. Bake 10 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Pizza Dip

Ingredients:

Thin sliced baguette pieces or bagel crisps

Mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Pizza sauce

Italian herb mix

some kind of topping - sausage crumbles, chopped pepperoni, mushrooms, pepper pieces,etc.

In a small baking pan, layer the pizza sauce, any toppings you choose, the cheeses and then the italian herb mix. Bake until slightly bubbly.  Serve with the Baguette slices.

Italian Herb Mix:

This would be a combination of Basil,  Oregano, Garlic powder, and Parsley.

Freezer Meatballs

Yes, a recipe for meatballs. I know you probably throw them together like I often do - some ground beef, some seasoned breadcrumbs from the store and a tad bit of milk, and I've got enough to make dinner. There's a lot of things you can do with meatballs besides just spaghetti. So this recipe makes a whole lot of meatballs. Put them in the freezer and then you can just whip them out and make - Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. Sorry. This ia starter recipe. To follow will be other recipes of things you can do with meatballs - these meatballs, which you make up and then freeze in packages of 24.

Freezer Meatballs:
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3 cups soft breadcrumbs ( from 4 slices bread)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 pounds ground beef  The ground beef can be partially replaced with other ground meats such as chicken, turkey, pork, lamb, venison. Don't replace all of it, because its too lean the texture and flavor change.

In large bowl, beat eggs and then add alll but the meat. Once that has been throughly combined, mix in the ground meat.  Then chill it until cold, usually an hour is plenty of time.

With wet hands,  shape mixture into 6 dozen 1 inch meatballs. Bake meatballs in a couple of baking dishes at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or so. spread meatballs on a sheet pan, put into the freezer just til frozen. Then take frozen meatballs and package into three 24 meatball containers.

Now you 've got the beginnings of a few meals. Make Spaghetti and Meatballs. Make Sweet and Sour meatballs using my Something Sweet & Sour recipe over rice or hot chow mien noodles. Make...

Meatball Rolls
Take a container of Freezer meatballs, and add a jar of your favorite spagetti sauce. Simmer that until heated through.In a small skillet, take a whole green pepper, cut it in strips, and fry in butter with a medium onion until tender. For each roll, put four meatballs on the bottom, add some onions and pepper and then spoon more of the spaghetti sauce over the roll. Top off with a tad bit of Parmesan cheese and you're all set to eat.

Fondue Italiano

1/2 pound ground beef
2/3 jar of spaghetti sauce
12 ounces Cheddar cheese (about 3 cups)
4 ounces Mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup Chianti
Italian bread cut into bite sized pieces
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Brown ground beef in a saucepan and drain off excess fat. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Add cheese gradually, stir over low heat until the cheeses are melted.  blend cornstarch and wine, add to cheese mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Transfer to fondue pot and transfer over heat source. Spear bread cube with fondue fork. Dip in mixture, swirling to coat.

If fondue becomes too thick, add a little warmed Chianti. Serves about 6.

Italian Meatloaf

Simple to put together, and fine for a family dinner. However, its showy enough to serve to company as well.

Mix together a couple of pounds of ground beef (this could be in combo with ground turkey or ground pork) with just enough milk to make it squishy.  once all of the ground beef is wet, Then add italian bread crumbs and a little garlic powder until everything will clump together.

Instead of forming a loaf, create a 3/4 inch thick, 8 inch wide rectangle on waxed paper. The length will vary based on how much meat you used.  Sprinkle on the rectangle some parmesan cheese, staying away from the edges. Then add a layer of mozzerella cheese. This can be slices or shredded cheese. now, the tricky part - roll up the rectangle. make sure you seal the ends well.  Grease your loaf pan with non-stick baking spray, then put the rolled up bundle into the loaf pan. Bake as you would any meatloaf in the oven at 375. About 15 minutes or so into the baking, pour about a cup of spagetti sauce over the top.

Make pasta ( I use fetticini but spagetti or angel hair is great too), spagetti sauce, and garlic bread to go with the meatloaf. Cut 1 inch slices of the loaf when cooked, serve over the pasta. The cheese spiral baked into the meat looks good and tastes great too.
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Italian Turkey Tenders

INGREDIENTS:
l egg, beaten
1/2 cup fat-free creamy
Italian salad dressing
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups dry bread crumbs
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 lbs. boneless skinless turkey breast halves, cut into 1-in. strips
Cooking spray

1. In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and salad dressing. Place flour in another shallow bowl. In a third shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs and seasonings. Coat turkey with flour, then dip in egg mixture and coat with bread crumb mixture.


2. Place on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Spritz turkey with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until juices run clear, turning once.