Two weeks. Two weeks until the book publishes. Two weeks until 'Dinner at 1800: A Military Wife's Kitchen' exists on bookshelves in bookstores and base exchanges and libraries and the living rooms of women I've never met.
The pre-publication buzz is building. RecipeSpinoff published a teaser article: 'Meet Rachel Abernathy: The Military Wife Who Wrote the Cookbook Your Mother Wishes She Had.' The title made me laugh and also made me send it to Mom, who said, 'I don't need a cookbook. I AM the cookbook.'
Donna. DONNA.
The Instagram campaign is running — daily recipes from the book, photographed in my three-square-foot desert kitchen, with Hazel's bouncer visible in the background of most shots because she's ALWAYS there. The audience loves it. 'The baby in the background is the most relatable thing on food Instagram,' someone commented.
Relatable. A one-month-old in a bouncer while her mother photographs meatloaf. That's relatable. That's real. That's the book.
I did my first LIVE virtual event this week — a Zoom talk with a military spouse group at Fort Bragg. Hazel was on my lap. She nursed during the Q&A portion. Nobody cared. Everyone understood. Because the audience was military wives and military wives breastfeed during everything, including Zoom events about cookbooks.
The question that hit hardest: 'My husband deploys next month. What's the one recipe I should learn before he leaves?'
I said: 'The crockpot chicken. Chicken breasts, cream of chicken soup, ranch seasoning. Slow cooker, six hours. It requires nothing from you. Nothing. You put it in the pot and you go about your day and when the day is done, dinner exists. Learn that one recipe. It'll get you through.'
She cried. I cried. The Zoom screen was full of crying military wives and a baby who was obliviously nursing.
The crockpot chicken. The survival recipe. The recipe that saved me. Now saving someone else.
Made Mom's fried chicken tonight. The pre-publication celebration chicken. Two weeks early, because celebration should be ongoing, not a single event.
Hazel slept through dinner. Caleb ate two pieces. Ryan ate four.
The book is almost here. Two weeks. Eight thousand copies. For all the Donnas.
Two more weeks. And then the kitchen goes public.
The fried chicken I made that night wasn’t just dinner — it was a statement that celebration belongs in the middle of waiting, not only at the finish line. Mom’s fried chicken has always been the reward chicken, the “something good happened” chicken, and these garlic-cheese chicken wings have that same spirit: crispy, generous, unapologetically indulgent. Caleb ate two pieces. Ryan ate four. That’s the review that matters most.
Garlic-Cheese Chicken Wings
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings, split at joints, tips removed
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Lightly coat the rack with cooking spray.
- Make the coating. In a shallow bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir until evenly mixed.
- Prepare the butter mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, olive oil, and minced fresh garlic.
- Coat the wings. Pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels. Dip each wing into the butter-garlic mixture, letting any excess drip off, then press firmly into the breadcrumb-cheese coating on all sides.
- Arrange and bake. Place the coated wings in a single layer on the prepared wire rack. Bake for 40–45 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the coating is deep golden and the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature 165°F).
- Finish and serve. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Serve hot.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 420 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 26g | Carbs: 10g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 620mg
About the cook who shared this
Rachel Abernathy
Week 312 of Rachel’s 30-year story
· San Diego, California
Rachel is a twenty-eight-year-old Marine wife and mom of two who has moved five times in six years and learned to cook a Thanksgiving dinner with half her cookware still in boxes. She married young, survived postpartum depression, and feeds her family of four on a junior Marine's salary with a freezer full of pre-made meals and a crockpot that has never let her down. She writes for the military spouses who are cooking dinner alone in base housing and wondering if they're enough. You are.
