spicy honey chicken*

Oh man, this stuff if my new favorite thing! We made it last night for dinner for the students, and I loved it so much I made it tonight for my hubby! The chicken is great all by itself, but tonight we made it as a salad and I honestly could live off of it for the rest of my life (if the salad had croutons of course - my FAVORITE food)! At the school we actually baked the chicken, instead of BBQ (since it's FREEZING outside), and it was still very tasty! But tonight for dinner I had the husband BBQ the chicken and it was AMAZING!

The original recipe actually calls for chicken thighs, but I have a thing with chicken on the bone. I don't like it - for two reasons actually. First, seeing the bones just freaks me out. Second, it's just a pain in the behind to eat chicken on a bone. I like effortless eating. I am going to admit, I am a lazy eater. I want to sit down and enjoy my meal, not wrestle through it. Maybe that's why I don't like steak?? There's a lot of wrestling and chewing and effort put into eating steak. I think I just had a breakthrough.... :)

Ok so spicy honey chicken. I think the kids actually liked this meal! The first dinner this week they actually didn't complain too much about. I think we have a KEEPER people!! WAHOO!

I got this recipe from Our Best Bites. You really should peek around their website! I use tons of recipe from these girls and have loved every one of them!

Spicy Honey Chicken
from Our Best Bites

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 2lbs - (I used breasts, but they swear on the thighs!)

2 t vegetable oil

Rub:

2 t granulated garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder

Glaze:
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

 

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.

Use kitchen shears (or a pair of clean scissors) to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well.  

Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it's not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.

I'm gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It's sugar, and it's gonna drip. But the smelly smoke is worth it for a minute or two. Just leave your grill on for a few minutes after the chicken is done to burn off any excess glaze. It's totally worth it once you taste this stuff.

If you don't have a bbq, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler. Just be sure to open a window in case you burn your glaze!

Remember how I had you reserve that extra couple tablespoons of glaze? Ya, drizzle that on top now. Your taste buds will thank you.

 Make it on a salad...

or it's just as amazing all by itself!

We served this with a side of roasted butternut squash (recipe coming tomorrow). Another shocker that the kids actually tried the squash, too. Maybe they are trying to expand their horizons..?!

-alyssa*