Paula Deen's Chicken Noodle Casserole

This is a really easy weeknight dish.  It is a comfort food dish and my kids gobbled it up.  I mean what's not to like about chicken, noodles and cheese??  It is basically a take on macaroni and cheese but with chicken thrown in the mix.  It is a great dish for those picky eaters!!!!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
4 cups egg noodles, cooked and drained (approximately 2 cups uncooked)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
3 cups cheddar cheese, grated
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x13 inch baking dish.
In a large, tall-sided saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the onion, sauté until near translucent. Stirring frequently, add garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for two minutes more. Stir in the flour and cook until the flour is absorbed. Slowly add the milk and 2 cups of cheese. Reserve 1 cup of cheese for casserole topping. Once the cheese is melted add salt and pepper to taste. Combine chicken, sour cream and noodles into cheese mixture. Stir until the noodles are coated with mixture.
Pour mixture into a prepared baking dish.  Top with remaining cheese. Bake the casserole for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.
Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Grilled Chicken Wings

Wings....they are the ultimate appetizer or in our case, the perfect meal!  Fried, grilled, it doesn't matter.  I'm just a wing lover!  We were craving some grilled wings this weekend and I did mine 3 different ways because we have little picky eaters living in our house.  The first way is really easy and it is just to sprinkle the wings with kosher salt and pepper on both sides and grill for 30 minutes or until no longer pink.  Here is the other way I did it and it is delicious!!

Grilled Wings:

Make the marinade-
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup italian dressing

Pour in a bag with the wings and let it marinate overnight or at least 4 hours.

You can grill them with just the marinade which is so good or the third way I did our wings is to take some of them after they are grilled and toss them into a wing sauce. Grill for about 30-40 minutes or until no longer pink. Here is the wing sauce if you like to spice things up!  I even tossed a few of the salt/pepper wings in with the sauce as well.

Wing Sauce:

1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup franks redhot sauce

Melt butter in a skillet and whisk in the soy and hot sauce.  Pour into a bowl and toss the wings in it.  Delish!