3 Easy to Cook Chicken Recipes for a Lovely Treat

We all love spicy chicken; except if you are allergic or you just can't love spicy food. Being a chicken lover myself, I have collected 3 hot n' spicy recipes for you to try out in your chicken today or anytime you would like to treat yourself for a deelicious meal; they make good family specials as well! Although they have similar names, they are very different. Perhaps their origins differ.

Hot N' Spicy Chicken Recipe #1. Spicy Chicken Wings

- 1 lg. can Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp. oregano
- 4 tbsp. parsley
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 stick margarine
- 4-5 lbs. chicken wings

Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Melt margarine in small pan. Cut up chicken wings. Discard tips. Mix all dry ingredients in bowl. Dunk chicken wings in margarine and roll in cheese mixture. Place on cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 1 hour. Serve warm.

#2. Hot Chicken Wings

Chicken wings
1/2 stick margarine
1 bottle Durkee hot sauce
2 tbsp. honey
10 shakes Tabasco
2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Deep fry wings for 20 minutes. Drain and dip and let set in sauce. Take out to dry and then serve.

#3. Hot-N-Spicy Chicken Wings

5 lbs. bag chicken wings (drumettes)
12 fl. oz. Louisiana Pre Crystal Hot Sauce
1-2 sticks butter

Fry chicken wings until golden brown and drain on paper towel. Mix hot sauce and melted butter and pour into deep pan or crock pot. Add chicken wings to sauce and heat thoroughly.

Convince Skeptics With Easy Vegetarian Recipes

If you are thinking of following vegetarian diet for certain causes - religious belief, health reason, economic reason, animal rights - you will face a barrage of uninformed arguments from skeptical relatives and friends. A common argument about vegetarianism is the difficulty of preparing vegetarian meals. Don't get swayed or discouraged by this argument because there is a lot of choice for vegetarians. A vegetarian diet consists of ordinary everyday foods like grains, vegetables, nuts, and fruits. Legumes and starches like potatoes and rice are also part of the diet. Fish, poultry, and dairy products can also be incorporated depending on what type of vegetarianism you follow. These are all available in your average grocery store. Also, there is a variety of easy vegetarian recipes available in many sources. Books, magazines, newsletters, and even TV shows are veritable sources of healthy vegetarian recipes. You will not miss anything because the choices are limitless.

Vegetarian meals do not deviate much from a regular diet except for the absence of meat. Skeptics argue that this could mean missing out on essential proteins. But this is hardly true nor correct. All healthy vegetarian recipes are well-balanced. They have the required amounts of essential vitamins, minerals, and protein. Examples of protein choices are legumes, nuts, beans, fish, poultry, dairy, and the popular tofu. Calcium, a mineral often associated with milk, is not missed either. Middle Easterners and native Africans are known to have strong teeth and bones but their diets rarely contain dairy or meat. They get their calcium from vegetables and root crops. So there is no reason you couldn't get your calcium requirements from vegetarian foods. In terms of nutrition, a vegetarian diet is even superior to diets with meat. There is less fat and bacteria that enter the body which can cause heart diseases and infections. You can watch meat lover bloat and get fat while maintaining your own healthy body with vegetarianism.

After proclaiming that you are eating healthier with vegetarianism, you'd think that the non-believers will stop bugging you. But no, they're back and possibly bearing the most difficult question for hedonists. They'll ask if you're not depriving yourself of the hearty pleasure and satisfaction only the flavor of meat can give. Fret not because vegetarianism has an answer to that. When vegetarians state that there are easy vegetarian recipes, they don't just mean easy to prepare but also easy on the palate. Contrary to what the skeptics are thinking about vegetarian meals (you know, limp lettuce and carrot sticks), vegetarian meals are flavorful and varied. Recipes range from curries, soups, burgers, steaks, hotdogs, casseroles, pasta, and delicious desserts all made with true vegetarian goodness. In fact, vegetarian meals are more flavorful because they make full use of herbs and natural flavors unlike meats which use a lot of salt.

If your friends and relatives still won't stop bugging you about your vegetarian diet, get a load of healthy vegetarian recipes and cook them a feast. When they see that you didn't even break a sweat preparing the delicious feast, they'll be convinced of the ease of vegetarianism. Give them copies of easy vegetarian recipes and don't be surprised if they'll ask you to go produce-shopping in the following days.

Goji Juice Popsicles: Goji Fun For The Whole Family

Goji Juice is one of the most popular nutritional supplements in the world. Manufactured from the mythical goji berry, it's widely heralded as the most nutritionally dense food on the planet. Thousands of families drink goji juice everyday, and because the juice is so delicious, most of them simply drink a few ounces of pure juice.

However, families with small children might want to add additional fun to their daily intake of goji juice. This is where the imagination comes into play. It's too boring just to simply drink goji juice day-after-day, locked into the same monotonous routine. Where's the fun in that? By making your child's daily goji consumption experience fun, they'll look forward to it and be less likely to forget this important juice. There are numerous fun ways to consume goji juice, and one of the most popular is by making goji juice popsicles! Below is a great recipe for doing just that…

Goji Juice Popsicle Recipe

Ingredients:

3 Ounces package of gelatin/Jell-o (choose your favorite flavor)
8 Ounces of goji juice
1 Packet of Kool-Aid (choose your favorite flavor)
1 Cup of granulated sugar
2 Quarts of water

Instructions:

First, bring the water to a boil. Next, pour the water into a tall pitcher. Combine each of the above ingredients, and stir until fully dissolved. Pour into paper cups and place a tray of the cups in the freezer. Once the ingredients begin to thicken, add popsicle sticks and place the cups back in the freezer until they are fully frozen. The result is a freezer full of delicious goji juice popsicles!

A summer favorite, popsicles have been enjoyed by millions of children in the almost 100 years since they were first introduced. By combining popsicles with the nutritional benefits of goji juice, children learn that maintaining good health can also be fun and delicious! And parents can join in the fun too, and perhaps reflect on the better days of their own childhood.

Serve an Easy Lenten Meal

Lenten meals don't have to be drab, unsatisfying or time-consuming. They can be appealing, healthful and quick.

To be sure meatless meals are nutritious, simply follow the Food Guide Pyramid. Because they have such high-quality protein, eggs are a meat alternate and make a good Lenten choice. They're also one of the easiest foods to cook in a hurry. For a balanced meal, simply combine the eggs with a grain and veggies. Then, for a dairy serving, add cheese or serve with milk.

Just grab a pot or pan, a spoon and some eggs and consider your options. If your family enjoys Latin foods, you might heat up a can of vegetarian refried beans and spread them on tortillas. Top with poached, fried or scrambled eggs and let everyone add their own choice of lettuce, tomato, avocado, shredded cheese or salsa. Another meal, serve a vegetable-based soup with comforting egg salad between slices of whole wheat bread, on bagel halves or in pita pockets. For dessert, offer fruit topped with yogurt.

On an especially busy night, combine all the ingredients in one pan to make a handy skillet supper. For Dijon Rice & Egg Skillet Supper, use rice from the bottom of the Pyramid, your choice of frozen veggies from the next tier and eggs - nature's own convenience food - in place of meat. Season with ready-made condiments and, in short order, you'll have a hearty dinner on the table.


Dijon Rice & Egg Skillet Supper

2 to 4 servings


2 cups water

1 cup uncooked rice

1/2 cup bottled non-fat Italian

salad dressing

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 cups frozen vegetable

blend, thawed

4 eggs

Parsley sprigs, optional


In 10-inch skillet with lid, cook rice in water according to package directions. Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together dressing and mustard until well blended. Stir dressing mixture and vegetables into cooked rice. With back of spoon, make 4 indentations in rice mixture. Break and slip an egg into each indentation. Cover. Cook over medium heat until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard, about 3 to 4 minutes. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Microwave: Cook rice in water as above. Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together dressing and mustard until well blended. Stir dressing mixture and vegetables into cooked rice. Transfer to 9-inch pie plate. With back of spoon, make 4 indentations in rice mixture. Break and slip an egg into each indentation. Gently prick yolks with tip of knife or wooden pick. Cover with lid or plastic wrap. Cook on full power, rotating 1/4 turn every 2 minutes, until eggs are almost done, about 6 to 8 minutes. Let stand, covered, until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard, about 2 to 3 minutes. Garnish as above. Note: Microwave cooking times are based on a full power output of 600 to 700 watts. For a lower wattage oven, allow more time.

Nutrient information per 1/4 recipe using green beans, peas, carrots and zucchini without parsley: calories 285, total fat 5 gm, cholesterol 213 mg, sodium 476 mg, potassium 274 mg, carbohydrate 45 gm, protein 11 gm, and 10% or more of the RDI for vitamin A and C, riboflavin, thiamin, niacin, iron, phosphorus

Bake It Easy

For either baking novices or seasoned pros, a dump cake is a no-brainer. To prepare one, you simply dump the ingredients into a bowl and beat them, then pour the batter into a pan and bake it. Although a dump cake is easy to make, it's just as good as a more fancy cake. Perhaps that's why dump cakes, including pound cakes, have been popular for hundreds of years.

The secret to the cake is in properly beating the ingredients, so follow these tips. Let the butter soften and take the eggs out of the fridge to warm a bit. For an airy batter, beat the softened butter and sugar really well until the creamed mixture looks pale and wispy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until all the streaks are gone. Any curdling you might see will disappear as you beat. Turn off the mixer occasionally and scrape the batter at the sides of the bowl into the path of the beaters so everything gets thoroughly mixed.

Switch to low speed when you add the dry ingredients to keep the flour mixture from flying into the air. Since overbeating the flour can toughen a cake, beat only until the batter has no streaks. Stir in the chips by hand so the mixer does not break them.

Be sure the cake is done before you take it out of the oven. You can use either a cake tester, a thin metal wire with a knob on top, or a wooden pick. Gently push the tester into the middle of the cake and pull it out. If you see liquid batter on the tester, keep baking. If the tester comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool. A silky-textured pound cake is rich and moist all by itself, so you don't need to frost it. Just slice and

enjoy!

Double Chocolate Pound Cake

1 loaf cake or 8 servings


Butter

Flour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened baking

cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

(2 sticks)

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips


With butter, lightly grease bottom and sides of 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 or 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Dust with flour. Shake out excess flour. Set aside. With a sifter or mesh strainer, sift 1 1/4 cups flour together with the cocoa and salt into bowl or onto sheet of waxed paper. Set aside.

In large mixer bowl at medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla until thoroughly blended, at least several minutes. At low speed, gradually beat in reserved flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, beating just until blended and no streaks remain. Stir in chips. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

Bake in preheated 325 degree F oven until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and cake tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 60 to 70 minutes for 9-inch pan or 75 to 85 minutes for 8 1/2-inch pan. (If tester shows dark brown, you've hit a melted chocolate chip. Test again in another spot. To prevent overbaking, remove cake from oven as soon as no light brown batter shows on tester.) Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. With narrow spatula or knife, loosen cake from pan. Gently shake onto wire rack. Cool completely. To retain moisture, store cooled cake in plastic wrap. Serve plain or topped with fruit, ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.