Red Velvet Puppy Chow

My family and I recently went on a trip to Disneyland this past weekend. Because I'm on bed rest, we decided to rent a room at the resort where I can stay while hubby and our daughter have fun at the park. Some have asked me why we even bothered going if I wasn't going to the park. I really wanted to treat our daughter to something special before the new baby arrives in a couple of months. Because it may be a while before we can go back to Disneyland. And she had such a great time. Which is all I could ever ask for.

Before heading out to Disneyland, I wanted to make some snacks to keep me busy while I'm alone in the hotel room. I remember coming across this Red Velvet Puppy Chow recipe from Your Cup of Cake. I love Chex cereal snacks such as Monkey Munch, Lemon Buddies, and the classic Chex Mix. So I was so excited to find a Red Velvet version of these beloved snacks. My batch didn't turn into the signature red color of red velvet as the original recipe did. I think the boxed cake mix I bought may have more cocoa in it. But it still tasted so good. Just be careful when you eat these. Aside it being addicting, they turn your fingers red.

5 cups Chex cereal (corn, rice, or both)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup prepared cream cheese frosting
1 cup Red Velvet cake mix
1/2 cup powdered sugar
festive sprinkles or M&M's for decoration

1) Place cereal in a large bowl. Place cake mix and powdered sugar in a large freezer bag or large airtight container.

2) Melt chocolates in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth. Be careful not to burn chocolate. Stir in cream cheese frosting. Pour mixture into the bowl of cereal and stir until coated.

3) Transfer cereal into the cake mix and powdered sugar mixture. Shake until well coated. Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet to cool and harden. Stir in decorations. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Baked Sweet & Spicy Buffalo Wings

I've finally found some more time to start updating this blog. Because, frankly, I have no choice nowadays but to work on the computer. You see, I've been put on a 2-week bed rest, which started yesterday. Doctor's orders. If I want me and this baby to be healthy, I have to follow those orders. So in preparation for these next 2 weeks, I was working my butt off in the kitchen, despite it being difficult, to prepare some more make-ahead meals to feed us while I'm incapacitated. I've already made a few dishes from old recipes on this blog, and found a couple of new recipes that I will feature here in the next couple of weeks. I figured blogging would help with the boredom of being on bed rest.

Anyway, before I blog about the make-ahead meals, I had a strange craving from some sweet and spicy buffalo wings in honor of Super Bowl Sunday the other day. Now, everyone knows I'm not much of a sports person. I'll occasionally follow basketball, sometimes baseball (if one of my nephews are playing). Not so much football. But I love the celebration of food that comes with the Super Bowl.

I was watching a show called Homemade in America with Sunny Anderson on the Food Network about a month ago. They were featuring buffalo wings by "Dirty Steve." He made his original wing sauce and also his Carolina Gold Wing sauce, which I gathered was a little more sweet. I like my buffalo wings to be more on the sweet side, rather than the spicy side. So this recipe caught my attention and figured now would be a perfect time to make some wings. The original recipe makes a huge batch of wing sauce, so I've somewhat cut the recipe to a quarter and modified it to what I had on hand and the result were these yummy, sweet and slightly spicy wings that were so finger-lickin' good. The best part of these wings is that they're baked rather than fried. So its a little lighter than your average buffalo wings. I will definitely be making these again.

24 pieces of chicken wings and drummettes 

salt & pepper to taste

garlic powder

onion powder

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Carolina-style BBQ sauce, or any favorite sweet BBQ sauce

1 stick butter, melted

1/4 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

1) Preheat oven to 400 deg F.

2) Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Dredge in the flour. Place chicken pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes.

3) While chicken is baking, combine BBQ sauce, butter, hot sauce, brown sugar and black pepper in a large bowl. Set aside.

4) Once chicken is done baking, place in the bowl of sauce and toss to coat. Serve immediately with blue cheese dressing.