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Dan’s Delish Buffalo Wings

I love footy, this should be no secret to you. If you tune in to the Drive Home, you’ll be well aware, lol. But when it’s more than just a game and becomes an event, let’s say Origin, a Grand Final or Superbowl and you’ve got multiple people watching, getting hungry maybe needing things to throw at that one guy whose team is beating everyone elses. Here it is, wings and dip. I always serve this with veggie sticks or sweet potato fries, you gotta balance it out, because that chicken isn’t really health food, to be honest. It’s a treat. So why not cook up some of my Buffalo Wings for your next party.

Prep Time: 45-60 min     
Serves: However many people it takes to eat a kilo of wings, I say 4 if it’s a footy snack.
Ingredients
Ranch:
1/2 cup mayo
300ml sour cream
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp dry dill
1 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder and coriander seed powder
Salt and white pepper to taste

Wings:
1L of vegetable oil
1 kg chicken wings
3/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp each of paprika, garlic powder, coriander seed powder and salt.
1/4 tsp cayenne 

Buffalo Sauce:
2/3 cup Franks Red Hot
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
1/3 Cup white vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt to taste

Serve up with some Sweet Potato Fries, and your favourite raw veggies to dip.

How to:
First thing, if you buy the wings connected, cut them at the joints and discard the tip. Also, feathers are not appreciated. So get rid of those too.

Mix up your flour and spices in a large mixing bowl. Toss the wings until coated. Refrigerate, could be up to a couple of hours ahead of cooking.

Whisk ranch ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate. The longer this happens the more flavour you’ll get from the herbs in it.

Now to the Buffalo sauce, this is easy, but you’ve got to be focused on it. Add all your ingredients into a small saucepan on a med-low heat. Whisk and as soon as you see bubbles anywhere remove from heat and set aside.

Now you’re ready to wing it! XD If you use a fryer, good onya. I don’t have one, probably wouldn’t get used enough, so I go old school.  In a 20cm pot heat your oil up to about 180C.

Carefully drop in wings, shake or turn to make sure an even cook. Give them about 10 min, remove to drain over paper towel and start the next batch. I can usually do a kilo in 2 batches.

Toss cooked wings in Buffalo sauce and serve hot with ranch dip and lots of veggies.

Dan’s Pulled Pork Tacos

So I’ve mentioned looking at ways to introduce a little spice to my daughter’s diet (and my wife’s tbh :P). Why? Well when you like spicy foods there’s a whole world opened up, and it can really lift some healthy dishes when you add a bit of heat.

We’ve explored successful and some not so successful ones where she’s throwing it straight onto the floor. But finally I found a couple that she seems to love. This one is a new fave, it’s pulled pork tacos! Also before you are amazed at my 16 month old’s ability to eat whole tacos, she doesn’t eat them as you or I would, the word deconstructed comes to mind. 

But I think that’s even more impressive because it means she was eating the spicy part on it’s own, without the aid of sour cream. That’s enough chit chat, here’s your shopping list and the how to…

Ingredients:
Meat:
 1.5kg Pork Loin chopped in large chunks about 8cm

Sauce:
1 1/2 Cups BBQ Sauce
2 Tomatoes Quarted
1 Large Brown Onion Diced
1/2 Red Capsicum
1 Cup Stock (Chicken or Veg)
4 Cloves Crushed Garlic
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tsp Ground Coriander Seeds 
2 Tsp Ground Cumin
2 Tsp Smoky Paprika
1 Tsp Cayenne
Salt and Pepper to taste

Toppings:
15-20 Tortillas
1 Small Pineapple Diced
2 Cups Diced Cucumber 
Shredded Lettuce or Cabbage
Fresh Coriander
Sour Cream
Lime Juice

How to?:

In a medium frying pan at a med-high heat brown your onion and garlic in some olive oil. Throw in the capsicum, cook for 2 minutes. Add all the spices and stir through for a minute or so. Add your stock and bbq sauce and mix until well combined. Take off heat.

Get your slow cooker set to high, place the pork and tomatoes in, pour the sauce over, lid on and forget about it for 4 hrs.

Remove pork pieces to a dish where you can pull it apart. Pour sauce into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

Pour about half the sauce into the pan on high heat to reduce to a slightly thicker stickier consistency. In a 20 cm pan this took me 15 min, but it’s dependent on surface area of your pan, larger ones will allow for more evaporation and faster reduction of the sauce. 

Shred the meat and add to reduced sauce.

Cook your tortillas, you can microwave, but why not cook it in a pan or over the flame of your gas stove and get some light char on it, it’s better. Serve topped with pineapple, cucumber, lettuce, coriander, sour cream and squeeze of lime juice.

Enjoy!



Ever wondered what actually happens when you read to your kids? Find out here!

So great to catch up with good friend Mr Ian McIntosh this morning!

So interesting to hear all about what happens in your child’s brain when you read to them. 🙂

Have a listen to our chat below and you can find the blog post from Ian’s Facebook page here!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Movie Review

By: Bob Hoose

Claire Dearing is different now. She’s had a change of heart.

Whereas she used to be all about the business of managing the dinosaur theme park Jurassic World, she’s now much more invested in protecting the endangered creatures that once populated that mega-vacation attraction.