Asian-Style Baked Chicken

I stumbled upon the most appetizing chicken recipe recently on a food blog called The Mess Pot by Jade. Jade describes herself as a Southern Cook living in Northern Illinois, married to the man of her dreams. So sweet - ahhh, to be a newlywed again!

Anyway, Jade's recipe is called Sunshine Chicken, but when my kids walked in the door and smelled what I was cooking, they immediately asked if we were having Chinese for dinner. So considering the fact that I tweaked the original recipe a bit, I'm renaming it Asian Baked Chicken.

I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs - they're cheap and easy (not admirable qualities in most cases, but here it works). I hope you'll give this recipe a try!

Asian Baked Chicken

Makes 3 pounds

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

• 1/2 cup ketchup

• 1/4 cup honey

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a medium bowl, make the glaze by combining the ketchup, honey, soy, and garlic powder; set aside.

3. Place boneless, chicken thighs on a cooling rack suspended over rimmed sheet tray (you may want to cover your tray with foil for easy cleanup).

4. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.

5. Place chicken pieces onto the cooling rack, presentation side up, and brush with glaze.

6. Bake for a total of 45 minutes, basting with additional glaze every 15 minutes.

Black Bean Chipotle Chili

Made with either ground turkey or beef, this simple to prepare chili has the most wonderful smoky flavor. The recipe as written will give a gentle kick, but you can certainly adjust the heat accordingly.

Very satisfying!

Start by sauteing a diced onion in a little oil.

When the onions start to look translucent, it's time to add the minced garlic.

Saute a few minutes longer until the heavenly aroma from the onions and garlic drives you crazy!

Now we add the ground turkey or beef. Today I'm using beef.

Season with salt and pepper and brown the meat until cooked through.

I'm using lean ground beef, but there still a bit of fat in the pan after the meat is cooked. I like to dab the excess fat from the pan with a paper towel before proceeding.

Okay, now it's time to add more flavor. You'll need some cumin, chili powder, and just one chipotle pepper packed in adobo sauce.

When it comes to peppers, they say the heat is in the seeds. Since I'll be feeding this to the kids, I scraped the seeds out of my chipotle pepper before I minced it.

Add the minced chipotle, cumin, and chili powder to the ground turkey or beef. Cook for a minute or two before adding the chicken stock, beans, tomatoes, corn, parsley, and chipotle flavored tabasco. Simmer until heated through.

Serve with your favorite toppings.  Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili with Chipotle

serves 8

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey or lean beef

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 canned chipotle pepper, finely minced

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons dried parsley

• 14 ounces chicken broth

• (2) 16 ounce cans black beans, one drained, one with the juice

• 16 ounce can kidney beans, drained

• (2) 14.5 ounce cans diced or crushed tomatoes

• 16 ounces frozen corn (canned will work in a pinch, drain)

• several dashes of Chipotle Tabasco

Directions

1. Saute onions until translucent; add garlic and saute for a few minutes until fragrant.

2. Add ground turkey or beef, brown until completely cooked through.

3. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper; saute for a few minutes.

4. Add chicken stock, parsley, beans, tomatoes, corn, and Tabasco. Simmer until heated through. Serve with your favorite toppings - sour cream, cilantro, cheese, olives, etc.

Note

• Leftover canned chipotles can be chopped up and frozen with the adobo sauce that they're packed in. Just portion them into ice cube trays and pop a cube into your next batch of chili, soup, or stew.  Leftovers can be frozen and reheated in a crock pot on low for 4 hours.