What's for dinner tonight????  Have I ever said I love wings???  Well, I do and I have a wing recipe for you plus a side dish.  The nice thing about these wings they are baked which to me is a good thing kinda makes them healthy or in my mind it does :)  There is also, a dipping sauce for the wings.  The wing recipe comes from www.easyappetizerrecipes.net .  I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted to go with the wings and again that light bulb went off and said how about pasta salad well, I can't argue with the light bulb so, this one comes www.navywifecook.com and it is a very cool blog.


                                    Old Bay Oven Baked Chicken Wings

2 pounds chicken wings
3/4 c. old bay seasoning
1/2 c. beer
1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
   nonstick cooking spray

                                       Homemade Ceasar Dressing

1/4 c. plus 2 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbls. vegetable oil
2 oz. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves
1/4 c. lemon juice

Combine the Ceasar dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender until mixture is smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and refrigerate the dressing until you need it.
Wash the chicken wings and pat them dry.  Put them is a Ziploc bag.
Stir together the beer, vinegar, vegetable oil and old bay seasoning and pour this mixture into the Ziploc bag, shaking it well so the wings are covered.
Put the bag on a big dish and refrigerate it overnight or for at least 2 hours, turning it a few times.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees/
Spray a pair of aluminum foil lined cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray.
Take the marinated chicken wing out of the Ziploc bag and spread them on the sheets in one layer.
Bake the wings for about 40 minutes or until they are crispy and brown.
Serve the wings with the chilled ceasar dressing for dipping.

My note:  I only had garlic and herb old bay seasoning and I also, had to tweak the ceasar dressing just a bit I like mine with just a little bit more garlic.  On the original post they said to leave out the anchovy in the dressing so, I did and I believe that is the right decision.   I also, forgot to spray my pan with the nonstick spray but, thank goodness I lined it with foil highly recommend doing this.  Not spraying it did not make a difference they came off the pan just fine.  I used Bud Light for the beer just cause that is what is most likely to be in our house.

 

These wings were so stinking good I couldn't stop eating them and when dipped in the sauce heaven :)  The bearded fella didn't much care for sauce but, that's ok he ate plenty of wings.  I can't wait to try this one again with different old bay seasonings and maybe different beers.  I'm thinking their blackened seasoning just need to think of a beer to pair that with.  Now for the pasta salad.

 

 

 

                                                Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

 

1 pound medium shell pasta

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 c. crumbled bacon pieces

1 pkg. dry ranch mix

1 1/4 c. mayonnaise

1/2 c. sour cream

 

Cook pasta according to directions.  Rinse with cold water until pasta is cool.  Drain and pour into a large bowl.

Add the tomatoes and cucumber to pasta.

In a small bowl, mix together dry ranch, bacon pieces, mayonnaise, and sour cream.  Pour over pasta and toss until well combined.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.  Note: Can add frozen peas.

 

My note:  I didn't have a cucumber so, I added frozen peas and also thinly sliced just a bit of a red onion.  I like my ranch dressing just a bit tangier so, I used a cup of sour cream and only 1/4 cup mayo.  As, with any recipe you can do what you want to meet your families taste and needs!!

 

As you can see, I didn't use shells.  I almost always have frozen cooked pasta in my freezer just because, there is only two of us and I cook the whole box when doing pasta.  All you have to do is just defrost it or if in a hurry bring a pot of water to a boil throw it in for a few minutes and you have pasta.  Don't add salt you've already done that.  We didn't have grape tomatoes only a couple of Roma tomatoes just slice and de-seed them and throw them in.  All in all a very good pasta salad add some chicken and you have a meal.  Enjoy!!!!