I’m cooking chicken wings for the first time. Sounds simple right? Well, did you know, unlike boneless chicken breast, that it takes at least 35 minutes to bake in the oven? I bet you didn’t, especially if you are starving like I am! Oh, there’s a banana.

Now that we have covered that I am a)baking chicken wings and b)snacking while waiting, we can continue with the rest of this post.

Growing up, I always loved when my parents baked mini chicken wings with teriyaki sauce. I could devour the whole pan if there weren’t four other people to feed. I love everything about them.

The small size makes it easier to get every last bit of meat off the bone, the juices running down your hand, sometimes getting down your sleeve because you are too busy to notice anything but the tiny feast between your fingers. And the sticky ring of sauce left behind on your face, from the tip of your nose to the sides of your mouth and upper chin; only a shower can disintegrate the gooey mess.

I’m not sure why it has taken me so long to bake these mini chicken wings, but hearing my sister speak of a batch she made, I decided to give it a shot.

First lesson learned: When thawing in the fridge, in the bag they are sealed in, it will leak after you take it out. Be sure to place the bag in a bowl so when you take it out, you don’t have chicken juice on your kitchen floor.

After cleaning up the chicken juice, place the wings in pans that have tin foil on the bottoms. My pans only hold about 10-12 wings per pan, so I am using two pans to bake everything at once.

If you don’t already have a plan or have not looked at www.allrecipes.com, take the 30+ minutes while wings are baking to decide on what tasty sauce you will eat with them. Either teriyaki sauce or BBQ are always a great choice since those are two products you are sure to have in your pantry.

I’m actually trying something a little different. I still have the BBQ sauce, but am going to add honey to the equation. I might even try some slivered almonds on one to see how it mixes. I don’t like to add too many foreign ingredients, since I’m starving and want to make sure I enjoy what I’m eating. No experimenting tonight.

In the other pan, my husband is mixing garlic, grated parmesan cheese and butter on the stove and brushed over the wings. Franks Buffalo Hot Sauce is being used as the dipping sauce. I can only imagine the mouth watering flavor this will add to the wings. I’ll have to make sure to have a bit or two while he isn’t looking.

While you are enjoying the photos of these tasty wings, and while we are scarfing them down, here are some links from www.allrecipes.com that I am sure you will enjoy.

Wing-ya later! Ok, was that too much?

Basic Easy Chicken Wings
Candied Garlic Chicken Wings
Thai Chicken Wings
Sweet and Gooey Chicken Wings
Sesame Oil Chicken Wings