Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

These vegetarian treats are definitely a party favorite.  My friend, William, gave me this recipe and I made them recently for a group of friends. Many could not believe that they were cauliflower.  This dish is definitely for everyone, not just vegetarians. If you like a little spice and less fat than wings, these are right up your alley.  Served with Blue cheese or even plain, I bet you can't eat just one.

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Bites

1 cup water

1 cup all-purpose flower

2 tsp. garlic powder

22 oz. (6 ½ cups) cauliflower florets

¾ cup Franks Hot Sauce

1 Tbs. butter, unsalted, melted

Blue Cheese Dressing

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly spray a large non-stick baking sheet with cooking spray (I used aluminum foil for easy clean up, but still use the spray).

Combine the water, flour, and garlic powder in a bowl and stir until well-combined.

Coat the cauliflower pieces with the flour mixture (shake off excess) and place on the baking sheet; bake for 20 minutes. While the cauliflower is baking, combine the hot sauce and butter in a small bowl.

Pour the hot sauce mixture over the baked cauliflower and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes (I brushed mine with the sauce instead of pouring...it doesn't waste it). 

Serve with skinny blue cheese dressing if desired and celery sticks.

Serve this and see if you don't cause a stir.  Remember to comment! Enjoy!

See a full index of The Orange Skillet Recipes here.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Believe it or not, Chinese take-out is an huge part of American meals. It's delicious and somewhat sinful. Meat fried in fat dipped in sugar, sweet and sour chicken is one of my all-time favorites. There is no way that any of that is actually good for you, but there is a way to make it yourself with fewer calories and all the flavor. Today, I'm going to share with you a baked version of the sweet and sour chicken.  You still have to fry the chicken for a little bit, but it won't absorb nearly the amount of oil and fat as the regular sweet and sour chicken.

Anytime you're frying foods on the stove, be very careful.  The oil is very hot and can burn you very easily.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Coating

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

Salt & pepper

1 cup corn starch

2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup canola oil

Sauce

¾ cup sugar

4 Tbs. ketchup

½ cup distilled white vinegar

1 Tbs. Soy sauce

1 tsp. garlic salt

Preheat oven to 325.

Rinse chicken breasts and cut into cubes. Season them with Salt & Pepper, to taste. Dip chicken into corn starch to coat and then dip into eggs.

Heat oil in large skillet and cook chicken until browned, but not cooked through. Place chicken in 9x13 greased baking dish.  Mix sauce ingredients in a bowl with whisk and then pour over chicken.

Bake for 1 hour and turn chicken every 15 minutes.

Have this with fried rice or serve as an appetizer.  Enjoy!

See a full index of The Orange Skillet Recipes here.

Chipotle Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

It's grilling season.  Tis the time to be outdoors and enjoying all the wonderful sights and sounds of nature.  With this recipe you can definitely improve that experience with the wonderful smell of shrimp and bacon on the grill. 

You can prepare this recipe two different ways.  The first is to use long bamboo skewers with multiple bacon-wrapped shrimp on each one.  If you are going to have only a few people over and they will eat several, this would be the best way to go.  To serve as an appetizer for larger crowds, I would use individual toothpicks to prepare each one. 

If you want to make this dish and don't have a grill, it's still very easy. You can line them up on a baking pan and put them in the oven on broil.  Watch them closely, though, because the shrimp cook very quickly.

Chipotle Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

20 strips bacon (about 12 oz)

30 medium-large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1 lb.)

½ cup barbecue sauce

¼ cup canola oil

3 Tbs. lemon juice

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

3 Tbs. chopped chipotles in adobo sauce

½ tsp. red pepper flakes

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

Freshly ground pepper

Soak 5 to 8 bamboo skewers (or toothpicks) in water for about 20 minutes to keep them from burning on the grill or under the broiler.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet until halfway done, about 4 minutes. Drain and cool on paper towels. Wrap a piece of bacon around the middle of each shrimp; skewer with bamboo through the point where the bacon ends meet to keep it from unraveling (for individual bites, use toothpicks). Thread 3 to 5 shrimp on each bamboo skewer. use kitchen scissors to cut bacon to appropriate length

Puree the barbecue sauce, oil, lemon juice, mustard, chipotles, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and ¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper in a blender. Set aside half of the sauce for dipping.

Preheat a grill, grill pan or broiler. Grill or broil shrimp (on a foil-lined baking sheet, if broiling) for 5 minutes, basting with the sauce once they begin to turn pink. Flip, baste again and grill or broil until just cooked through, about 4 more minutes.

Serve with extra sauce.

I've made these several times and never get tired of them.  They're a terrific addition to any party.  Enjoy!!

See a full index of The Orange Skillet Recipes here.