Our second recipe submission comes from Debra Keil of Eliot’s Eats. These little chicken meatballs are so cute and are perfect for a party appetizer (I’m thinking potentially for this weekend’s tailgate party!). Check out the recipe below, and make sure to visit Debra’s blog for a chance to win some Saucy Mama products!

Stuffed Hot Wing Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3)
1 c. Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
1/4  c. loose flat Italian parsley leaves
1/4  c. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 t. sea salt
1/4  t.  pepper
1/4  c. crumbled blue cheese
1/8 c. Saucy Mama Hot Wing Sauce
For garnish:
2 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, cut into 1 inch ieces
1/8 c. Saucy Mama Hot wing Sauce
1 T. crumbled blue cheese

Directions:

Cut chicken breasts into large chunks and pulse in food processor with blade until you have a very coarse ground.  Place chicken in a large mixing bowl.  Add apple, parsley, bread crumbs, garlic, egg, salt and pepper.  Mix with hands until incorporated.

Using a 1 inch ice cream or cookie scoop, form each meatball around a crumble of blue cheese, sealing the cheese inside.  Each meatball should be about 1 inch.  Place on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and glaze with 1/8 c. Saucy Mama hot wing sauce.  Garnish with celery and bell pepper as an appetizer.  Serve with remaining 1/8 c. hot wing sauce topped with crumbled blue cheese on the side for dipping.

Makes about 42 meatball appetizers (enough for at least 12 people).

It’s finally time! It took us a while to get out all 50 sample orders for our “I am a Saucy Mama” Contest, but the participant’s recipes are starting to come in! This is such an exciting time for us; we get to see fresh, innovative ideas for Saucy Mama sauces and hear what our contestants think about them. Eventually, we will try all the recipes too (that’s our favorite part), and determine the winner, who will receive a $1000 cash prize. This month is going to be filled with trying these new dishes and sharing the recipes throughout our community on the web. Make sure you check back here for great new recipes from your favorite food bloggers…I can assure you, there’s going to be some really fantastic ones!

Here is the very first recipe we have received: Hot Wing Wontons. Submitted by Jodie from Eatin’ on the Cheap, these little babies look absolutely delicious and original, and we can’t wait to try them! The recipe is below; however, make sure you check out her page too, because she has some Saucy Mama goodies for giveaway. Also feel free to download our button for your own page if you like Saucy Mama!

Hot Wing Wontons

Ingredients:

1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken
1/3 cup finely chopped cabbage
1 large carrot, grated
1 celery stalk, finely chopped or grated
1/2 cup Saucy Mama’s Hot Wing Sauce
1 egg, beaten
1 package of Wonton Wrappers
Canola or vegetable oil for frying ( about 1/2 gallon )
Blue Cheese dressing for dipping

Directions:

In a deep sided pot, heat your oil to 350 using a thermometer.
Meanwhile mix together chicken, cabbage, carrot, celery and wing sauce. Lay out a few wrappers and put a teaspoon of filling in the middle of each.Brush all 4 sides with a little egg wash and then fold wrapper over and press out all the air and seal the edges. You can then either leave them in triangles or, for a more bite size package, fold the corners in to create a little purse. Continue until all the wontons are done.
Gently drop 4 or 5 wontons in the hot oil at a time, frying until golden brown all over, about 1-2 minutes.
Remove and drain on paper towels.

 Serve with Blue Cheese dipping sauce and enjoy!

Mozzarella, Basil, & Grilled Cherry Tomatoes

Jan and I got a “come on over for dinner” call from our good friends Mary Alice and Bob. We had been working in the yard, and it was the perfect thing to look forward to for the evening. I love spur of the moment get togethers. There is no pressure to put on the perfect party; it is just good friends having a great time together.
 
I picked basil and cherry tomatoes out of my garden for the appetizer I decided to bring. I had purchased a baguette to go with our dinner I had planned for that night, but I still had to send Jan to the store to pick up some fresh mozzarella. I made crostini by slicing the baguette and brushing both sides of the slices with olive oil and sprinkled them with garlic salt. I placed them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and put them into a 425 degree preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until they were crisp and golden brown. Meanwhile, I put the cherry tomatoes into a grilling basket in a single layer. If you are doing a lot of tomatoes, do more than one batch you because you want them to carmelize, not steam. Grill them over a hot fire until they burst and are blackened on the outside. Don’t worry about the juices leaking onto the fire- what remains of the tomato will be delicious! Slice the mozzarella and place on a platter with tomatoes and whole basil leaves.  Serve with a basket of crostini. 
 
Mary Alice served perfect martinis and made a wonderful pork tenderloin dinner. After dinner, we discussed what were our biggest “nigglies”. Nigglies are, you know, those things that are really of no importance, but still really bug you. Just be careful that your niggly isn’t something that the person sitting next to you does all the time! Or worse yet, that their niggly is something you do all the time. Oh well, when it comes to friends, the nigglies just aren’t nigglies anymore. We had such a great time!

Some cute grandkids!

What a great time Jan and I had at the Oregon Coast with the familly!  Our first stop when we reached Lincoln City was the grocery store where we picked up deli meats and cheeses, made a trip through the olive bar and found some really good bread.  Of course we came supplied with our own Saucy Mama Mustards.
 
For our family, the coast is all about playing on the beach with the kids during the day and trying to beat each other at cards during the night.  We are one very competitive family!  I certainly don’t want to spend any more time than necessary cooking and doing dishes, but I do want delicious food.
 
On Highway 101 just south of Lincoln City is a little retail shop called “The Crab Pot”, and it was the very best place to buy really fresh seafood for our planned dungeness crab and clam chowder feed.  It is not a trip to the central Oregon Coast without a stop there.  If you are not planning on preparing a meal, just pick up a crab or shrimp cocktail, or some of their fabulous house smoked fish. It makes great road food.
 
The crab was wonderful with some of our NEW Saucy Mama Cocktail Sauce (gluten-free!).  The whole thing was so good!

It’s a warm summer evening here in Oregon, and there is nothing better for dinner on these nights than some fresh grilled vegetables! Here’s another recipe submission from last year’s food blogger contest from Laura at Real Mom Kitchen. It’s simple, yet delicious. And it’s what I will be munching on tonight for dinner…along with some grilled chicken! You can see Laura’s original recipe on her own blog as well…check it out! 

Ingredients:

2 medium sized zucchini
1/4 cup Saucy Mama Parmesan Garlic Marinade
Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Wash zucchini. Then cut in half lengthwise and crosswise. Marinade zucchini in Saucy Mama Parmesan Garlic Marinade for 2 hours. You can do it for less if desired, but the longer the better. Grill on outdoor grill approximately 5 minutes on each side until browned. Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

As some of you may know, I just love Mexican food. It’s one of my favorite types of food, and I never get tired of it. In fact, if you follow me on Twitter, you will notice that I am always replying and reposting anything about Mexican recipes…it’s a habit. So today, when I came across this recipe for chicken quesadillas from Deborah at TasteandTell, I just had to post it. Deborah submitted this recipe to us for last year’s food blogger contest, and it is delicious. My favorite part is the chipotle dipping sauce made with Saucy Mama’s Chipotle Mustard. Yum! I’m making this for dinner tonight. Check out Deborah’s blog where you can see her original recipe also!

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts (12-14 oz. total)
1/2 cup Saucy Mama’s Lime Chipotle Marinade
1 red onion, sliced thinly
olive oil
2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 oz. Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 avocado, thinly sliced
4 soft taco sized flour tortillas

Dipping Sauce

2 tablespoons Saucy Mama’s Chipotle Mustard
4 tablespoons sour cream

Directions:

Quesadillas

Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker and pour the Lime Chipotle Marinade over the top. Cook on low until chicken is cooked through to 165F, 3 to 4 hours. When done, removed from slow cooker and cut into thin strips.

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook slowly, stirring often, until caramelized, about 20 minutes.

Heat a few teaspoons of olive oil in a pan. Place 1 tortilla down in the pan, and top with 1/4 of the cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 of the cilantro on top, followed by 1/2 of the chicken and 1/2 of the avocado. Top with 1/2 of the caramelized onions and then another 1/4 of the cheese. Top with another tortilla. Cook until the bottom cheese is melted and the tortilla is browned. Flip over to cook the second side and cook until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is browned.

Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Slice the quesadillas into wedges and serve with the Chipotle Mustard Dipping Sauce.

Dipping Sauce

Combine the mustard and the sour cream; mix well.

The 4^th of July just kind of snuck up on me. I got back from New York and the Fancy Food show on the 1^st and had not planned a thing. Mike and Chris had gone camping with their families at the coast, so Jan and I were on our own. We quickly found others that had no family around for the holiday, and all of a sudden, there was a party at our house!

Anyways, this salad is perfect and light for summer. Sometimes, we even eat it as a main dish. Plus, it’s easy. If you are really pressed for time, you can simply substitute the bread with large croutons. To fill up the menu, our other guests brought some delicious stuff, and we were definitely well fed.

My perfect cherry tomatoes

Bread Salad with grilled Cherry Tomatoes

 Ingredients:

• 8 oz loaf Italian bread, cubed
• 2 lbs cherry tomatoes
• 1 lb fresh mozzarella, cubed
• ¾ cup Basil, roughly chopped
• ½ bottle Food and Wine Balsamic Basil Vinaigrette

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Place bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and spread into a single layer.  Bake until lightly toasted, about 20 to 25 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Place the cherry tomatoes in a large grilling basket that has been sprayed with non stick spray, and grill over hot coals or a gas grill on high until slightly blackened on the outside. Shake the basket to make sure the tomatoes char evenly.  Toss all ingredients together and serve. Quick, easy, and delicious!

Thanksgiving came and went so fast!  Actually planning was pretty darn easy now that Irene and Chris have it at their house in Tualatin.  I love of having adult children.  Irene is wonderful; she is a just great at putting a party together while handling being a Mom with ease.  Actually Irene and Chris are a great team and it is fun watching them work together.  All I had to bring was an opening act cocktail, along with an appetizer.  For the main course I made Cranberry Whiskey Mustard Sauce to go along with Irene’s turkey.  For desert I made Grandma Winkie’s Pumpkin Pies.  Grandma Winkie is Jan’s mother and got that name when the boys were very small and she read them a favorite children’s book whose main character just happened to be Grandma Winkie.   The name stuck.

I have a new favorite Whiskey “Snake River Stampede.”  It comes from the folks at Indio Spirits in Cottage Grove, Oregon.   http://www.indiospirits.com/ .  The taste is very smooth with notes of caramel.  I also have a favorite author of cocktail books and that is A.J. Rathbun.  A.J. has a new book out “Dark Spirits” and I decided to use a recipe from that book for a cocktail called WOW made from whiskey, orange juice and water.  It was perfect for our Thanksgiving, and I’m sure it’s going to be fantastic for Christmas.  Before I give you the recipe for WOW I want to highly recommend A.J.’s books, the cocktail recipes are terrific and the books are just plain fun to read.  A.J is a very entertaining fellow.  If you want to check out his blog it is http://www.ajrathbun.com/ .  You can order A.J.’s books from our website.

WOW

2 ounces Snake River Stampede Whiskey

1 ½ ounces freshly squeezed orange juice

1 ounce simple syrup (recipe follows)

2 ½ ounces hot water

Orange twist for garnish

Add the whiskey, orange juice and simple syrup to a large mug

Heat the water to almost boiling (this is where an instahot really comes in handy

Pour water into mug, and stir briefly.  Twist the orange twist over the top and drop it in.  As A.J. says, “WOW indeed.”

A variation for the young ones and non-imbibers in the group:  Take the whiskey out of the equation; up the orange juice by 1 ounce; the simple syrup by ½ ounce and the water by1/2 ounce; and add ¼ teaspoon ground cloves to the mug.

I am going to make a pitcher of the orange juice, whiskey, simple syrup mixture and have another insulated pitcher of hot water so that the guests can make their own drinks.

I am going to stop by my local grocery store deli for my appetizer.  Anyone who has read this blog knows that when in a rush the olive bar and cheese counter are my best friend.  I’ll pick up a nice crusty baguette, cut it into thin slices, arrange it on a platter with sliced hard salami and wedges of cheese, put out bowls of olives and marinated vegetables and I’m done.  Of course I will put out Saucy Mama Mustard to compliment everything.

I’ll make the cranberry sauce a couple of days before Thanksgiving and bring it to Portland with me.

Whiskey Mustard Cranberry Sauce

¾ cup Snake River Stampede Whiskey

¼ Harlequin Orange Liqueur (or whatever orange liqueur you happen to have laying around)

1 cup sugar

1 – 12 ounce package fresh cranberries

¼ cup Willamette Valley Sweet Hot Stone Ground Mustard

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

Bring whiskey, orange liqueur, and sugar to a boil in a heavy medium sized saucepan stirring to dissolve sugar.  Add cranberries and mustard, return to a boil.  Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in orange peel. Allow to cool to room temperature.  If not using immediately refrigerate until ready to use.  Makes about 2 ½ cups.

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

This was exciting stuff … We didn’t expect bonus write-ups about our Cocktail Onions.  But we’re so grateful to A.J. Rathbun, who shared this wonderful review of our Saucy Mama Cocktail Onions on his blog.

Oh – and speaking of exciting stuff, we have to send a special thanks to those of you who left us a comment on our blog last week.  So we’re going to extend our thanks by sending a six-pack of treats to ALL of you who left us comments.  (Look in your email for a note from us!) Please make sure to stay tuned, because we’re going to host other giveaways soon and often!

In our small town of Pendleton there are so many get-togethers where everyone pitches in with food and even decorating, so  a great time can be had without host and/or hostess stress.  It also makes getting ready for a party as much fun as the party.  I have to bring an appetizer to one of those parties and leave for out of town early the next morning.  I am thinking really easy to make, really tasty, and really appetizing to look at.  Savory Smoked Salmon Spread fits the bill and I will still have lots of time to pack.

Savory Smoked Salmon Spread

2 – 8 ounce packages cream cheese
8 ounces smoked salmon, flaked (reserve about 2 tablespoons for garnish)
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Saucy Mama Horseradish
2 tablespoon minced chives (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish)
1 teaspoon Saucy Mama Hot Wing Sauce

Beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients except for garnish and blend thoroughly.  At this point you can place the spread in a serving bowl or form into ball and wrap with plastic wrap.  Either way chill for at least 1 hour up to 1 day.  Place on serving platter topped with the reserved flaked salmon and minced chives, and surrounded with a sliced baguette or crackers.

I love to have this left over smeared on my morning whole wheat bagel and topped with thinly sliced sweet onion.