Spicy Honey Brushed Chicken Thighs

To make the understatement of 2013, this post is overdue.  To be honest, after the holidays I needed a little hiatus from blogging. I needed to just get in the kitchen and cook without worrying about taking photos or finding the time to write up a post.  But I knew the blogging bug would come back eventually, so I didn't want to scare you into thinking yelleBELLYboo was gone forever.



So, I probably shouldn't be admitting this, but I was so lame on Friday night.  We came home from work, had a few snacks, and were lying horizontally on our bed looking at cookbooks to find a recipe for dinner.  The next thing I knew, it was 9:30 and I couldn't get myself to fully wake up.  To be fair, we had an incredibly busy week!



Side note - highlight of the week was seeing Book of Mormon.  We went to a great dinner at Bistro Voltaire first (they have an excellent $29 prix fixe pre-theater menu) where we had fabulous french onion soup, creme brulee, and lots of other French favorites.  Then we went to the show - my Chanukah/Christmas present - and laughed the entire time.  It was one of my favorite dates we have ever been on.



Anyways, my week was like that.  Every night was something.  Including a Thursday night gym trip after work that somehow turned into over 2 hours at the gym and not getting home until 9.  By Friday I was exhausted.  So when I couldn't revive out of my coma, I sent the Monkey Scientist to the store and he came back with all of the ingredients to make this recipe.



It reminds me a LOT of one of my favorite recipes - Spicy Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Avocado Salsa from Cooking Canuck - and I think it was every bit as good.  We (of course) made it spicier than it originally called for.  Good news - I think my taste buds are growing back because I actually tasted the kick in this one.  The boys? Not so much.  This was a late night dinner, but it was fantastic, quick to put together, and easy as pie.  So easy my brother could make it - and with an ingredient list short enough that we had everything in the house except the chicken.  Served with a salad it was just what I needed!



Spicy Honey Brushed Chicken Thighs
slightly adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ancho chili powder (regular chili powder would work fine)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Cooking spray
6 tbsp honey
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp sriracha

Instructions
1. Combine the garlic powder, ancho chili power, salt, cumin, paprika, pepper and red pepper in a large bowl.
2. Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and toss to evenly coat with all of the spices.
3. Line a cookie sheet with heavy duty foil and spray with cooking spray.  Lay the chicken thighs flat on the cookie sheet.  Broil (on high) for 5 minutes on each side.
4. While the chicken is broiling, combine the honey, vinegar, and sriracha in a small bowl. 
5. Once the chicken has cooked on both sides, remove from the oven and brush one side with the honey mixture.  Broil for an additional 1 minute.  Remove from the oven and flip, then brush the other side with the honey mixture then broil 1 minute or until the chicken is cooked through.  Serve immediately.

What we had for dinner this week

OK I'm still behind on blogging.  I have no pretty pictures for you.  But I wanted to share the recipes we made this week to give you cooking inspiration!

Sunday night: Bibimbop from Cooking Light  We used steak instead of tofu (the Monkey Scientist is from the Midwest, I can't just be feeding him tofu!).  Bibimbop is my favorite Korean dish.  My favorite is from Kang's in Ann Arbor - I love how the hot stone makes the rice at the bottom crispy.  This recipe simulated it well by crisping up the rice in the cast iron skillet.  Lots of wonderful Asian flavors.

Monday night: Roasted Chicken with Red-Skinned Potatoes and Carrots
Washed a 5 1/2 lb chicken, covered in olive oil, chicken seasoning from the Christmas Tree Shop, and freshly ground black pepper, inside and out. Stuffed it with a lemon, cut in half.  Filled a dish with quartered potatoes and carrots (did nothing else to them beside clean and cut) and then put the chicken on top.  Baked at 475 for 25 minutes and then at 400 for 45 minutes.  I cooked it breast-side up for the first 45 minutes and then flipped it for the last 25.  Perfection, and still eating leftovers for lunch.

Tuesday night: We ate at Tesoro in Van Ness.  Not overly impressed.

Wednesday night: Spicy Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Avocado Salsa from Cookin' Canuck  - I'm now completely obsessed with this recipe.  Took 15 minutes to throw together, including cooking time, and tastes AMAZING.  The ancho chili powder (which I got at World Market) and cumin have almost a cinnamon-like spice to them.  The honey in the salsa is the perfect amount of sweetness and the lime gives just the right tang.  I loved the load of vegetables on top of the chicken - I didn't even need to make a grain to fill us up.  We made it on a cookie sheet with sprayed with olive oil rather than a rack and it was fine.  Definitely give this one a try!

Thursday night:  BBQ night!  Our friends have been organizing barbecues every Thursday at my apartment building.  This week I'm bringing Peanut Butter Cup S'mores Bars from Mel's Sweet Life.  The assembly wasn't so easy (forming that last bit into an 8x8 square? All I had was crumbs.)  But they've been sitting on my counter overnight and I'm quite confident they'll be delicious.

Hopefully I can get you some full recipes and pics over the weekend... I will do my best!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Tacos are such a fun and easy weeknight dinner.  Meat, vegetables, shell or lettuce wrap - easy as pie.  And in college, we always flavored that meat with taco seasoning.  Have you ever read the ingredients on taco seasoning?  Check out what Ortega puts in theirs:
Yellow Corn Flour, Salt, Maltodextrin, Paprika, Spices, Modified Corn Starch, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Citric Acid, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Natural Flavor, Caramel Color (sulfites).


Lots of salt (430 mg). Maltodextrin. Autolyzed Yeast Extract. Caramel Color?  The only other food I know with Caramel color in it is Coca-Cola.  Probably not the best things to be throwing into your ground beef.



As it turns out, making taco seasoning couldn't be easier.  I used all ingredients that I had in my house. I altered it a little below, based on what I had, but feel free to go back to the original recipe and add in some of the things I removed (like onion powder).  I also kicked up the spice for the Monkey Scientist, so feel free to cut back if you're not into that.



I made the seasoning with these super cute measuring spoons that my mom bought for me. How adorable are they?  I thought about giving you the ingredients in these cutesy measurements, but I figured it might not be that useful.  I just love them though - especially because they remind me of Mom.



This seasoning is super flavorful - we loved it.  I made lettuce wrap tacos to cut down on the carbs (and then loaded it with cheese, fair tradeoff!) and thought they were tasty and filling.  The seasoning does make a little more than you need for 1 lb of beef, so I put the extra in a ziploc for another day.  Make sure you label it!  Then you can have an easy weeknight dinner, and without all those unnatural ingredients and extra salt, in no time!



Homemade Taco Seasoning
adapted from Food Renegade

Ingredients:
1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika (I used sweet)
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions
Combine all spice and use to season your favorite taco meat!