Buffalo Drums

8 chicken drumsticks (about 2 pounds), skinned
1/4-1/2 c wing hot sauce (mine is super hot so 1/4)
1/4 c tomato paste
1 TBSP cider vinegar
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c  dairy sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (2 ounces)
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or bottled hot pepper sauce
Celery sticks

Place drumsticks in a 4- or 5-quart slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine hot sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over chicken in cooker.


Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, blue cheese, and cayenne pepper.  Cover and chill the remaining dip until ready to serve.

Using a slotted spoon, remove drumsticks from cooker. Serve remaining drumsticks with some of the cooking juices, the blue cheese dip, and celery sticks. Makes 4 servings

EASY Mac and Cheese .... no box required

These days, even the classic, beloved blue box of mac and cheese is off my grocery list. How do I substitute without lots of time and effort, and make my kids happy at the same time? EASY.

I have 2 kids, so this is just about enough for (2) 1 cup servings. Multiply as needed.

4 oz dry small whole wheat/grain pasta (shells, elbows, spirals, ABC's, etc)
1/2 c orange vegetable puree OR 1 c shredded orange vegetables
1 c milk
1 TBSP corn starch mixed with 2 TBSP cold water
1/2 c shredded mild cheddar cheese
salt and pepper (pinch to taste)

Cook pasta to package directions. If you are using shredded veggies, add them to the pasta during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

When you drop the pasta into the boiling water, start cheese sauce. Combine puree (if using), milk and cornstarch mixture in a small saucepan. Whisk often over medium low heat. When it starts to bubble, add cheese and turn off burner as soon as sauce has slightly thickened (WHY? the cornstarch mixture will thicken the sauce once it boils, but you don't want to overboil because it will curdle). Stir until cheese is melted in well, and add a little salt and pepper.

 
Drain pasta and return to pot. Pour cheese sauce over and stir well. VIOLA!

HE LIKES IT!

(Note: This will need a minute or two extra to cool since the temperature was slowly brought up to a boil unlike the milk/powdered cheese sauce)

I recommend for this recipe you use: carrots, butternut squash, pumpkin, yellow squash, or sweet potatoes. You can cook the vegetables and make a puree, use canned pumpkin/squash/sweet potato, or use raw and shred them up. (If your kids are texture or vegetable fussy, I highly recommend puree). You can also use baby food to save time or if you have them laying around.

MDP's Vegtastic Meatballs- NEW and IMPROVED

1 lb lean ground turkey
1 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion
1 large zucchini
6 cloves chopped garlic, grated
2 egg, beaten
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 TBSP Italian seasoning
1 TBSP grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp MDP's seasoning
1 c bread crumbs

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut onion and zucchini into large chunks and place in a food processor. Run on high until very finely chopped.
Mix veggies and remaining ingredients together until combined (I take my ring off and mush it up good with my hands or give it a good few rounds in the kitchenaid).

Form meatballs of desired size. I use an ice cream scoop for dinner size meatballs, and a melon baller to make appetizer/soup size.

Use a broiler pan (I just put a baking rack over a baking sheet or roasting pan) and spray the top rack with cooking spray. Place formed meatballs on sheet making sure they are at least 1/2".

Roast meatballs until they are well browned. Time will vary on oven and meatball size, but I find anywhere from 20-45 minutes.

Place in a crockpot with your favorite marinara sauce. To bump up the nutrition stats with a jar of sauce, throw a couple shredded carrots in. Cook 4-6 hours on low to set the sauce absorb.

You can also finish cooking them in a pot of hot sauce. Add meatballs to warmed sauce and cook 30-45 minutes on medium-low heat.

This makes 100 3/4" mini meatballs, or 25 regular 1 1/2" meatballs.

Stats each ball: (made with 85/15 turkey and pork, and homemade breadcrumbs)
Mini:
27 calories
1 carb
2 fat
2 protein
0 fiber
25 sodium

Regular:
108 calories
4 carbs
8 fat
8 protein
0 fiber
100 sodium

Strawberry Banana Muffins

3/4 c. white flour 
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. turbinado or "raw" sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1 TBSP flax seed
2 egg whites
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 overripe banana, mashed
1 c. sliced/chopped ripe strawberries

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 6- 3" muffin cups with cooking spray for large muffins, or 12- 2 1/2" cups for small.

In large bowl mix flours, sugar, baking powder and strawberries, tossing to make sure they are all covered in flour to reduce sinking. Make a hole in the center of the dry mix.

In a small bowl, whip whites until foamy, then add in buttermilk, banana, and vanilla and mix until blended.

Add wet mix into the well in the middle of the dry mix and gently stir until just moistened.
Spoon the batter into cups and bake 22-25 minutes for large, 18-20 minutes for small. Use a toothpick in the center of the muffin to make sure they are done and cool 5 minutes on a wire rack before eating.

This is a kickspin on my Sunny Morning Blueberry muffins, check them out here!

Super Stats:
127 calories
27 carbs
1 fat
4 protein
2 fiber
144 sodium

This recipe is in the Myfitnesspal database under: Momvsfood website--Strawberry Banana Muffins :)

Baked Stuffed Fish

4 white fish fillets
2 TBSP butter
1/2 c bread crumbs or crushed crackers
lemon pepper seasoning

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Sprinkle each fillet with lemon pepper seasonings. Divide bread/cracker crumbs between the fish. Cut butter into small squares and place on top of crumbs.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until butter melted and topping is browned