Chicken Wings

Because six wings shouldn't cost 6 dollars, make your own at home. The original "buffalo chicken wing" was deep-fried in oil, then sauced... but that adds a hell of a lot of calories. The following version is baked in the oven. Takes a little longer, but it's a lot easier and won't make you quite as fat. :D

Recipe
about 20 chicken wings*
1 cup flour
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup Franks red-hot sauce (or other hot sauce, but not barbeque sauce)

Pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels. (If frozen, thaw the wings completely a day before.) Try to get them as dry of chicken juices as you can, then lay them out on a baking sheet and put them, uncovered, in the refridgerator for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Mix together all the dry ingredients in a big bowl with a lid (like tupperware). Put your dry, cold chicken wings 3 or 4 at a time in the bowl, secure the lid, and shake to coat the wings with flour mixture. Repeat to coat all the wings. Lay the wings out on the baking sheet and return them to the fridge.

While the wings are in the fridge, melt the butter and mix it together with the hot sauce. (If you want hotter wings, add more hot sauce; for milder wings, increase the butter by 1 or 2 tablespoons, and use slightly less hot sauce.) Now is a good time to preheat the oven to 400°F.

After about 30 minutes of fridge time, coat the wings again with the remaining flour mixture. Lightly grease the baking sheet.

Dip the double-floured wings in the hot sauce mixture, then lay them out on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the wings for 45 minutes at 400°F, turning once halfway.

*for a slightly healthier and boneless version, you can do the same thing with pieces of chicken breast or chicken tender strips, cut to roughly wingish size