Spicy Honey Marinated Chicken

Tonight was one of those happy nights when I tried out a new recipe and it turned out really well the first time. I started off with a recipe from "Cooking Light" called Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs, which I then modified to suit my family's preferences. Not only does the spicy honey marinade lock the moisture into the chicken so that it doesn't dry out in the oven, but it also gives the chicken a great flavor and a beautiful bronze color. I served the chicken with quinoa, but I think it might go better with something else, perhaps a Mexican or Caribbean rice, like the one in Help! My Apartment Has a Dining Room. Michael thought it would go well with something lime-flavored. If it were summer and not 27 degrees outside with piles of snow everywhere, I would love to grill the chicken breasts on our deck and then serve them on top of a leafy salad with a honey and lime dressing. I could add some fresh tomatoes from the tomato plant we will have on the deck, and perhaps some fresh herbs.... But I shouldn't start thinking too much about that, because winter has only just begun and, really, these chicken breasts were quite tasty cooked in the oven in our nice warm kitchen.

Spicy Honey Marinated Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt, without any anti-caking agent added
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• dash of ground red pepper
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. canola oil
• 2 to 3 boneless, skinless half chicken breasts

Instructions:

In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients, except the chicken breasts, to form the spicy honey marinade. Then on a cutting board trim any fatty bits off of the chicken. Place a piece of wax paper over the chicken breasts and pound the thicker parts with the flat side of a meat mallet until the breasts are a uniform thickness. Then place the chicken in a quart-size zip-loc bag. Pour the marinade into the bag, seal the bag, and move the chicken around until the marinade covers all of the surfaces of the chicken. Put the zip-loc bag in the refrigerator to let the chicken marinate for about 1 hour. After 30 minutes I would recommend turning the bag over and moving the chicken around again.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet for the chicken breasts by placing a piece of aluminum foil across the entire surface of the baking sheet. (This will make clean-up much easier.) After the chicken has marinated for an hour, take the chicken breasts out of the bag and place them on the baking sheet. Do not wipe the marinade off of the chicken; in fact, if any parts of the chicken do not have a thin layer of marinade still on them after you have put them on the baking sheet, pour a little bit more marinade on top of the chicken pieces. Then put the baking sheet on the middle oven rack and bake the chicken for 15-20 minutes, until it is done.