Paula Deen has been in more than a little hot water lately for her much delayed admission that she has Type-2 diabetes, while recipes from her television show continued to be laden with sugary, high-fat foods. As Paula would say, "Everyday you wake up on the right side of the dirt is a good one," but too much of a good thing, much too often, could start some people diggin' Paula. I am not going to get all Anthony Bourdain about this, but I hope you are reading this Paula, because these recipes are some of your favorites and some of mine with the calories shaved off the top, so you can enjoy the Superbowl without any health penalties. Check out the video for Paula Deen and her son's bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers, if you have some ideas on how to take the calories down, but not the flavor, leave them in the comment section.
Deen's Do-Over Buffalo Wings
Paula Deen's recipe for chicken wings is fried, no surprise there, and it uses an entire stick of butter in the sauce. This recipe calls for poaching the wings in a stock-based wing sauce and quickly baking them to give them a brown crust. It's messy but easier to peel away the chicken skin after they've been poached. The blue cheese dressing is low in fat but high in flavor with Greek yogurt as the base.
INGREDIENTS
2 dozen fresh chicken wings, drummettes and wing portions separated
1 cup low sodium, organic chicken broth
Heat over to 425 degrees.
1 12 ounce bottle wing sauce (I used Captain Spongefoot Trading Co. brand, because it's a Colorado brand that doesn't contain ingredients that make me nervous)
In a 2 quart saucepan, heat the broth and the wing sauce, bring to a low boil. Add the wings, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes (this may take 25 minutes if wings are frozen).
Remove the wings from the sauce (set the sauce aside for a bit). Put in some gloves, and peel away the skin from the wings, they are slippery devils, but this will save you some calories for other goodies. Return the wings to the sauce and coat well.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, non-stick foil or a silpat. Place wings on the pan and bake for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring sauce back to a low boil and reduce until thick. Brush wings with thick sauce and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with blue cheese and celery sticks.
Blue Cheese Dip
1 cup O% fat, Greek yogurt
1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
4 Tablespoons blue cheese
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Celery seed (optional)
Mash blue cheese into a paste. Stir on yogurt and sour cream. Add lemon juice, vinegar, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the top with celery seed. Serve with celery sticks and wings.
Play Review Chicken Tenders with Buffalo Sauce
This recipe is the reverse of buffalo wings, the chicken tenders are mild, the sauce is hot, hot, hot. Use panko bread crumbs for extra crunch.
1 1/4 pound of pre-cut chicken tenders
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 eggs whites
2 Tablespoons course ground mustard
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Buffalo Cream Cheese Sauce
4 ounces reduced fat whipped cream cheese
3 Tablespoons buffalo wing sauce
1-2 Tablespoons milk to thin the sauce
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, non-stick foil or a silpat.
Get out two bowls and one shallow dish, like a pie plate. In one bowl, mix flour and chile powder. In the other bowl, whisk egg whites, mustard and olive oil. Stir cheese and panko bread crumbs in the shallow dish.
Dredge chicken in the flour, then the egg mixture then the panko crumbs. Place tenders on the baking dish.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve with sauce.
Meanwhile, make sauce. Add cream cheese, buffalo sauce and milk to a sauce pan, heat until cream cheese is melted and creamy. This sauce make a great nacho sauce as well.
Lean, Mean Creamy Scallion Dip
Paula Deen's version of this dip uses full on, full-fat sour cream. I took the fat down a notch and upped the flavor with chipotle. Serve with vegetables and baked tortilla chips. This makes a great topper for baked potato skins.
11/2 cups 0% fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup reduced fat chive and onion cream cheese
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chipotle powder
1 lime, juiced
6 scallions, chopped
Chives or green onion tops for garnish, chopped finally
Salt and pepper
Stir ingredients together, thin with a little milk if too thick. Serve with baked tortilla chips, vegetables or top baked potato skins.
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