Balsamic Glazed Chicken Wings

Finger lickin' good.

I found the inspiration for the recipe in Meghan's blog, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. I modified it slightly but it was perfect because I too am addicted to balsamic vinegar. Instead of using on the grill (its about 20 degrees outside!), I baked the wings.

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 1/2 pounds chicken wingettes and drumettes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a soft boil and simmer for about 10 minutes, until thick and coat the back of a spoon.

Lay wings on a cooling rack positioned over a baking sheet (mimicking a grill inside the oven). Season wings with Italian seasoning. Place wings in oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and glaze both sides of the wings and return to the oven. Glaze wings about every 10 minutes until they are cooked through (mine took about 45 minutes and I bumped the oven up to 375 for the last 10 minutes).

Yields 4 servings of wings.

WW info:
flex: 4 points
core: included

Hoisin Barbequed Beef

I guess its not really barbeque if you don't grill it. But the hoisin sauce is Chinese BBQ sauce. Who knew? (Well, maybe you did but I sure didn't.)

1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp brown sugar

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Baste beef (or chicken) for grilling or use as stir-fry sauce.

Yields 1/2 cup sauce.

WW info:
1 point per serving.

Sesame-Soy Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/8 cup cold water
2 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp ginger root, grated
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp scallions

Whisk first 6 ingredients together. Stir in scallions.

Yields 1 cup.

Vodka Sauce

This recipe was adapted from Rachel Ray's You Won't Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Sauce. If you make it her way, its waaaaaaay to thin to be defined as a cream sauce. In my version, I cut down on the broth and upped the cream, but thats because I used half anf half, not cream. Its nice and light with a "tang" that is interesting against the fresh basil taste. Best tossed with a ridged pasta and crusty bread. It also freezes nicely.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
3/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup half and half
20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn

Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring sauce to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Toss in basil leaves.

Yields 4 cups of sauce.

WW info:
3 points per serving (1/2 cup per serving)

Filet Mignon with Merlot Reduction

Holy stink! Boiling the wine made my house smell SOOOOOO bad! But the end result was delicious, so I won't complain too much. I made this for a friend's birthday dinner and it was really good. I've slightly adjusted the recipe below as I found the original to be way too salty. Another problem was that the steaks got cold after cooking them and setting them aside to use the pan again...so i added the "cover with foil" part. Next time I may grill the steaks and make the sauce seperately, that way everything is ready at the same time.

1 750-ml bottle Merlot
3 (14.5 oz) cans low-salt beef broth

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 6-ounce filet mignon steaks (each about 1 inch thick)
Freshly cracked pepper
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

Boil wine and beef broth in heavy large saucepan over high heat until mixture is reduced to 2 cups, about 1 hour. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Mix butter and flour in small bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle steaks with salt and cracked pepper. Sauté steaks until medium-rare, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and cover with foil.

Add shallots, garlic and thyme to skillet; stir 30 seconds. Add 1 1/2 cups reduced wine mixture to skillet (reserve remainder for another use). Bring mixture to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add butter mixture and whisk until smooth. Boil sauce until thick enough to coat spoon, about 2 minutes. Serve steaks with sauce.

Yields 6 servings.

Roasted Pepper Marinara

This came out so good!!!! After roasting a couple of peppers the other night (check me out!), I let them sit for a few days before I decided to use them. The recipe calls for one pepper, but i used about 1/3 each of a red, yellow, and orange pepper.

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (28 oz.) can of crushed tomatoes
1 (6 oz.) can of tomato paste with italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
pinch of sugar
pinch of salt
1 roasted pepper, cut into strips

Heat EVOO over medium heat in a medium sauce pan. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes and add garlic. Cook for another 3 minutes or so. Stir in tomato paste and let it "melt" for about one minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, salt, and bay leaf. Stir well and simmer.

Place 1/2 the strips of pepper into a food processor with some of the liquid from the peppers and pulse until the peppers are broken up and almost pureed. Add to sauce. Take rest of peppers and pulse in the food precessor until just broken up unto small pieces. Stir into sauce.

Let simmer for about 60 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Yields about 3 cups of sauce.

WW info:
core - all included
flex - 1 point per 1/2 cup serving

Turkey Meatballs & Sauce

I like to make meatball subs with these. Use a light multi-grain hamburger bun to keep it light. Also great over pasta. (Obviously! They are meatballs!)

Sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste
1/3 cup fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
1 (28 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
pinch of sugar
garlic powder, dried pregano, dried basil, salt, ground pepper (to taste)

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic until soft, but be careful not to brown onions and garlic. Add paste and broth and mix well. Add crushed tomatoes and pinch of sugar. Stir well. Season to taste and bring to boil. Allow to simmer for at least one hour.

Meatballs
1 egg
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs (If following Weight Watchers Core plan, substitute with 1/4 cup oatmeal, ground in food processor)
garlic powder, dried pregano, dried basil, salt, ground pepper (to taste)
1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat egg in a large bowl. Add in breadcrumbs, garlic, and seasonings and mix. Add ground turkey and fold into seasoned egg mixture. Don't over mix or meatballs will be tough.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Form balls about 1" in diameter and place on the cookie sheet. You should be able to get 20-25 meatballs out of this batch. Bake for about 15 minutes, until outside surface of meatballs is firm.

Add to sauce and bring to boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer for one hour.

Yields 5 servings of 4-5 meatballs with sauce. Serve over pasta or on a bun for meatball sub.
WW info (without pasta or bun):
FLEX: 5 points per serving
CORE: all included (no extra points need to be taken)