I grew up eating dinner on the fly. We did not have the luxury of sitting down as a family (even though there were only the 3 of us). I grew up in a motel that my family owned and our "house" was the middle building. And we had 2 front doors...one that led into our living room and one that opened up to the lobby. The living room front door was rarely used and the lobby front door was open to the public 17 hours a day.
We were a small motel - just 32 units, so we didn't need to hire a full staff to work the desk. We had Angie and Mom and Me. Daddy was really more effective sitting in the lobby with the guests and running for donuts and fixing things around the place...he wasn't quite detail-oriented enough to fuss with day-to-day operations (at least not for my borderline ocd mom - and yes, I get that from her!)
Anyway, we were able to go back into the "house" if no one was in the lobby, but as soon as someone walked in, the doorbell went off - it was loud! And the hours between 5:30-9:30pm were probably our busiest hours for new guest check in and current guest mail/towel/change/candy/message pick-up. Which means - that doorbell went off quite a bit during traditional dinnertime.
So, if mom decided to cook a sit-down meal for us, we were just asking for an interruption. And Daddy, who was the most easy-going person I've ever known, would lose his cool. His face would scrunch and he would throw down his fork and stomp from the table to the lobby...mom and I chasing after him so he didn't use all that frustration to scare a perfectly innocent, potentially cash-paying guest away. (Daddy was 6'4", so if you didn't know he was a teddy bear - it could be intimidating, I suppose!)
My point in rambling on about my dysfunctional childhood dinners - I have always made sure that we sat down as a family to eat AT the dinner table. It's always been a priority. Until recently. I do the best I can, but I am not going to create stress in my life because I have teenagers who are fortunate enough to be involved in a lot of activities...that is, beyond the stress of just HAVING teenagers! So, I am on a mission to create meals that are easy and delicious to eat if you happen to be home at dinnertime or if you happen to get home an hour later or if you need to reheat something even later than that.
Which brings me to my latest experiment - Drumsticks 3 Ways.
I bought a huge pack of drumsticks, so I decided to try and "PaleoPlus" 3 different marinades from Pinterest and see what worked the best. Surprisingly - I loved them ALL!
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| lots of pans, 3 ways of cooking, saucing and finishing...#funinthekitchen PLUS side dishes! |
Here are the different marinades I modified PaleoPlus: These recipes make enough to marinate up to 4 pounds of drumsticks if you don't want to have extra for a dipping sauce - remember if you marinate raw chicken IN the sauce you MUST bring it to boil before using it as a sauce or dip. I bring it to a rolling boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, to make sure any harmful bacteria is destroyed. Also, if you are taste testing your marinades - do it BEFORE it touches the raw drumsticks!
2 T unfiltered apple cider vinegar
2 T raw, unfiltered, local honey
1 T compliant hot sauce (I used Franks)
1/4 c coconut sugar
1 T organic, grade B maple syrup
1/4 c coconut aminos
2 T minced garlic
1 t red pepper flake
sliced scallion for garnish (optional)
Mix all ingredients (except scallion) in a bowl and whisk to combine, pour over chicken in a covered dish or zipper bag and marinate at least 1 hour or overnight.
2 c fresh squeezed orange juice
1 T fresh lime juice
1 T fish sauce
1 T organic, grade B maple syrup
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh parsley
1/4 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, sliced
1 t sea salt
1 t freshly cracked black pepper
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour over drumsticks in a covered dish or zipper bag and marinate at least 1 hour or overnight.
Garlic Ginger Drumsticks
6-8 cloves of garlic, crushed or chopped
1" piece of fresh ginger, chopped
1/2 c of fresh parsley
1/3 c of coconut aminos
1/3 c of avocado oil (or compliant oil of choice)
1 t sea salt
1 t freshly ground black pepper
Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and pulse until the mixture become a loose paste (you can add more avocado oil if needed). Pour over drumsticks in a zipper bag and marinate at least 1 hour or overnight.
To prepare the drumsticks, remove them from the refrigerator 20 minutes before cooking to begin bringing them to room temperature before they go in the oven. BE CAREFUL - this is raw poultry - you don't want to leave them on your counter, unrefrigerated for too long. Preheat the oven to 375°.
Line a casserole baking dish with heavy-duty foil (for easy clean up). Place the drumsticks in the dish and pour the marinade over the top [reserving any marinade you want to boil separately for a finishing or dipping sauce] tossing to make sure the drumsticks are well-coated. Bake for 45 minutes, turning the chicken once after 30 minutes (the top should be browned before turning) until the chicken is cooked through (165° internal temperature). Finish the chicken under the broiler to crisp the skin. I broiled mine on high for 10-12 minutes (but my broiler is wimpy!) You can also finish these on a screaming hot grill.
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| finishing on the grill |
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| from L to R - Garlic Ginger, Honey Hot, Citrus Herb |
I served mine with oven-baked fries and steamed broccoli tossed in melted ghee infused with garlic and sea salt. The best part is...They were great right out of the oven, an hour later and this morning, reheated in foil at 350° for 12 minutes. Enjoy!
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