Countdown to the Super Bowl- 5 Different Chicken Wings Recipes

What would football be without chicken wings? What would chicken wings be without football? Do people actually order chicken wings once the football season ends? I certainly don't, and since I have 5 days to eat all the chicken wings I can justify eating, I decided to make 5 different recipes for wings. After all this cooking, and eating, all I can say is they are super easy to make! I fried some, and baked some, and loved them all. The baked ones actually came out crispier on the outside than the fried ones, but the meat did dry out a little bit. The fried ones had the perfect texture for the meat, and had just the right amount of crunch. If you want to keep things light, or don't want to make a mess in the kitchen, by all means bake them. They are still really delicious, and especially pair really well when you are using one of the Asian inspired sauces. I wish I could post the pictures of me frying them, and coating them in the sauce, but alas as mentioned in the earlier post, I only have one picture to share with you. So go into that kitchen, and fry/bake some of your own. I promise it's much easier than you think!

Countdown to the Super Bowl-Chorizo Nachos

I was watching the news last night, and I felt a sudden rush of panic when the anchor said "Anddd we are officially in Super Bowl week!". It's not because my team is playing this Sunday or anything since Mark Sanchez decided to become the most disappointing player in the NFL (sigh, but don't worry, I still love you Mark). It's also not due to a lack of menu planning on my part, since I already tested out recipes and decided on what I would be making. It's because last Friday somewhere between rushing out of work and going to meet my friends I dropped my phone, and after spending $85 on a new screen, I've lost everything that I once had on it. You should have seen the sheer horror on my face when I found out that my icloud was updating anything but my photos, and the last time I backed up to my computer was on November 30th. Therefore, my nachos post planned for this week now consists of a single instagram picture, rather than the step-by-step photos I had taken for you guys. I'm sure you won't run into any trouble anyway, since it really is not complicated at all, and more importantly it really does not matter how you layer nachos. The beauty of nachos is everyone makes them differently as there are no rules. They always look like a purposeful mess, in a there is a method to my madness kind of way. You can swap the ground chorizo for ground beef or chicken. Since there is a lot going on in this dish, I wanted to use something with lots of flavor. The spicy chorizo really stands out and doesn't get lost in the dish. And my favorite part of course is the cheese sauce. It tastes just like (actually better) than the kind you get at the football stadium. Oh, and it's made from real cheese and real ingredients rather than the artificially flavored highly-processed stuff you can't even pronounce.

No, this is not a January Detox post

I hate January, and the forced “I'm on a diet” stance everyone usually takes. I went out to get lunch yesterday, and the salad counter had about 30 people in line, and the other counters had zero (actually, I don’t hate that part, no waiting in line for me). I know we eat more sweets in December than we probably do the rest of the year, but does that mean you have to eat lettuce for the duration of January? Isn’t that the reason everyone looks miserable in January? And do these detoxes ever work, or just make you depressed? Can anyone stand it long enough to lose weight, and actually keep it?  

Here's to a 2013 filled with comfort

Sometimes there is nothing as comforting as soup on a cold night. Especially if it's made by your mom. Do you notice that things taste better if your mom cooks it? It's like a hug warmed up. Like a warm blanket on a cold night. I was back at home for a few weeks nursing my broken ankle, and my mom made this soup one night. The mini meatballs and the potatoes make this a hearty meal, but the broth keeps it light. I haven't made a list of resolutions for 2013 yet, but I'm determined to have a winter filled with cozy nights in at home with a warm bowl of soup and my favorite DVDs.