You can serve chicken wings hot or cold, for a meal, or for snacks. They're great as appetizers at parties, or when you're just looking for a tasty midnight snack. Try these four easy recipes:

Baked Chicken Wings

1/2 c. margarine, melted
1 t. dijon mustard
3 c. multi-grain flaked cereal
16-18 chicken wings, broken into two pieces
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
4 t. finely chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In glass pie plate, combine melted margarine and mustard. In medium bowl, combine cereal crumbs, Parmesan cheese and parsley. Spoon onto waxed paper. Roll chicken pieces in margarine mixture, then in cereal mixture to coat completely. Place on rack in baking pan; drizzle with remaining margarine mixture. Bake 35-40 min., or until golden brown.

Hot Chicken Wings

12-15 chicken wings
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1/4 c. Red Hot Durkee's Sauce (or more to taste)

Split wings at each joint and discard tips. Bake in 425 degree oven until crisp, turn halfway through. Drain. Combine hot sauce and butter until butter is melted, stir to mix thoroughly. Dip wings in sauce to coat completely. Arrange on plate.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Wings

3 lbs. chicken wings
Accent seasoning
Oil
1 c. water
Cornstarch
Garlic powder
Beaten egg

Sauce:

3/4 c. sugar
3 or 4 tbsp. catsup
Dash of salt
1/2 c. white vinegar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 c. chicken stock
1 tsp. Accent seasoning

Cut wings into thirds. Boil tips in water for 5 min. for the stock. Sprinkle remainder of wings with garlic powder and Accent and let set for 1 hr. Dip wings into cornstarch, then beaten egg. Brown in oil on high heat. Place in 9x13 pan. Cover with sauce. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Teriyaki Chicken Wings

12-15 chicken wings
1/3 c. water
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 green onions (diced)
1/3 c. cooking sherry (optional)
1/2 tsp. ginger

Combine all ingredients for marinade, heat just to dissolve sugar. Separate wings, pour marinade over. Refrigerate overnight. Place wings in greased pan. Pour marinade over, cover with foil. Bake for 30 min. at 375 degrees. Remove foil, bake 5-10 min. longer to crisp.

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, organizing tips, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at www.creativehomemaking.com.