Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Now that I've been keeping up with this blog for...what?...2 weeks now, I feel like I'm starting to say the same things over and over about recipes.  Here's the form, in case you haven't caught on:

I wanted to try this recipe.  We liked it.  Hope you like it, too.

I really need to change things up a little.  Well, I'll start off by saying that last week, a few days after I made this chicken, my husband took the leftovers to work for lunch.  (He was eating it on a salad.  Have I mentioned that my husband has lost 30 lbs. in the past few months?  He has.  Maybe I should eat more salads for lunch.) 

Anyway...when he got home that night, he said, "Have you blogged about that chicken yet?  Because you need to tell them it's not that great."  You have to understand, my husband has, (in the past year or so), gotten a little more into barbecuing. While he's certainly not a pro (yet), he now actually cares about the spices on the meat. So, in his amatuer barbecuer opinion, this spice rub was only alright--really nothing special.

Really?  Could I post about something that was only mediocre in his opinion?  To be quite honest, I thought it was fine.  Sure it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but as an easy weeknight meal, I thought it was good.  After this kind of an introduction, I'm sure you're chomping at the bit to get it on your grill.  Well, without further ado, here is the recipe.  (Which I found at realmomkitchen.com, and she got from Simple and Delicious.)

Sweet and Spicy Chicken
5 servings

2 Tbls brown sugar
1 Tbls paprika
2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)

Combine spices.  Rub on chicken.  Grill until chicken is no longer pink inside.

NOTES: I have no notes on this one.  Can you believe it?  I had all of the ingredients on hand...and there's not a ton to adjust on this recipe without completely changing it.

Sticky Chicky

Last week, it seemed that I was reaching the end of each day and wondering what to make for dinner.  It wasn't that I didn't have ideas.  I got busy doing something else, (or something came up), and suddenly, Ryan was coming home in 45 min.  And, most of my dinner ideas needed about an hour.  (You know, 30 min., plus time to feed the baby, break up arguments, wipe off the table from lunch, rotate a load of laundry, etc.)  So, I grabbed my Taste of Home magazines and started scanning the index page.  When I got to the May/June 2009 issue, I found a quick and yummy recipe that I actually had all most of the ingredients for.  (And, yes, the picture is one of the worst so far--there is only so much sunlight we get here in WA!)

Sticky Chicky
8 servings

16 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 3 lbs.)
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (use your favorite kind)
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
1 Tbl. chili powder
1 Tbl. Dijon mustard
1 Tbl. grated gingerroot
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbl. cornstarch

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray 9x13 in. baking pan with cooking spray.  Arrange chicken thighs in pan in single layer.

In medium bowl, whisk together remaning ingredients except cornstarch.  Pour evenly over chicken.  Turn pieces to coat both sides  Bake, uncovered, for about 40 min. or until chicken is no longer pink in the center.

Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.  Carefully pour sauce into small saucepan.  Bring to boil over med-high heat.  Combine cornstarch with 1 Tbl. water; mix until smooth.  Add to sauce.  Cook until sauce is thickened, about 1 min.  Serve hot chicken with sauce on top.

NOTES:  When I grabbed my Dijon mustard from the fridge, the bottle was pretty much empty.  So, I swapped it for some ground mustard.  And, Ryan is NOT a fan of ginger--so I used a small amount of powdered ginger instead.  Also, I used a mixture of thighs and breasts--and the thighs were much better.  Then again, thighs are my favorte part of the chicken, so I'm probably biased on that one.