Bold and Spicy Chicken With Cranberry Glaze

Ingredients:
1/3 c. frozen cranberry juice cocktail concentrate, thawed
3 T. prepared yellow mustard
2 T. brown sugar
2-3 t. Tabasco
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
6 whole chicken wings or 4 chicken breast halves

Directions For Wings:
Preheat broiler with oven rack 5-6 inches from the heating element. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with nonstick spray.
Whisk together concentrate, mustard, brown sugar, Tabasco, and Worcestershire in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until mixture becomes syrupy, 5-8 minutes.
Cut tips from chicken wings and discard. Cut each wing in half at the joint to make 2 pieces.
Season chicken with salt and pepper, place on prepared baking sheet, and broil 10 minutes on one side. Flip chicken and baste with cranberry glaze. Broil an additional 6 minutes, flip again, and baste the uncoated side. Broil until chicken begins to brown and caramelize, about 3 minutes. Chicken is done when an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the wing meat registers 160.

Directions For Chicken Breast:
Season chicken with salt and pepper, place on prepared baking sheet and broil 6 minutes.
Flip chicken and baste with glaze. Broil 4 minutes, flip again and baste. Broil until chicken begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Chicken is done when cooked through and the temperature is 160.

Makes 4 chicken breast or 4 servings of wings. Total time 30 minutes.

Verdict:
I used the boneless skinless chicken breasts when I made this. Both Blake and I really liked it. It was spicy so the kids were a little less inclined to eat it. Laney did eat a couple of bites though.

Asian Ragu With Rice Stick Noodles and Quick Pickled Cucumbers

For the ragu:
8 oz. dry rice-stick noodles or rice vermicelli
2 T. peanut oil
1 c. shallots, diced
2 T. garlic, minced
2 T. ginger root, minced
1-2 tsp. red curry paste, or chili garlic sauce
1 lb. ground beef
3/4 c. chicken broth
2 T. fish sauce, or soy sauce
1 tsp. brown sugar
fresh basil and mint
chopped dry roasted peanuts

For the cucumbers:
1/2 c. rice vinegar
1/4 c. sugar
kosher salt and red pepper flakes to taste
2 c. cucumbers, thinly sliced


For the ragu:

Cook rice sticks according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
Heat oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic, and ginger to pan. Saute until shallots are translucent, 3-4 min.
Stir in curry paste until combined with shallot mixture.
Add ground beef to pan and cook until browned breaking up bigger pieces.
Whisk together broth, fish sauce, and brown sugar until sugar dissolves. Stir into meat mixture. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 min. Serve ragu over cooked rice stick noodles.
Top with basil, mint and peanuts.

For the cucumbers:

Whisk together vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper flakes for the marinade. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Add cucumbers to bowl . Toss and chill until ready to serve.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 30 minutes.

Verdict:
First off I used red curry paste and soy sauce. I only used 1 tsp. of the curry paste because I didn't want it to be too spicy. I should have used less. It still was too spicy for my kids to eat or like. This was really good besides that. The cucumbers on the side took away some of the heat and added a nice fresh flavor. I will make this again...but I will only use 1/2 tsp. curry paste.

Chipotle Chicken Sandwich With Bacon & Smoked Cheese

For the sandwich:
8 slices bacon
4 chicken breast, boneless, skinless
6-8 slices smoked mozzarella (I used provolone)
1 tomato, thinly sliced
leaf lettuce
4 kaiser buns, halved

For the chipotle sauce:
1/2 c. frozen limeade concentrate
1/2 c. honey
3 T. cider vinegar
1/4 c. yellow mustard
1 T. chipotle in adobo, minced

For the sandwich:
Preheat grill to high.
Cook bacon in skillet until crisp. Set aside.
Pound chicken breast until thin.
Grill chicken 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked though. Brush with sauce and cook another 1-2 min. per side.
Top each breast with cheese and melt. Toast buns. Place lettuce on bottom half of buns and top with chicken, tomato, bacon and reserved sauce.

For the sauce:
Simmer limeade, honey and cider vinegar in a saucepan 3-4 min. Stir in mustard and chipotle in adobo.
Reserve 1/4 c. for basting and set the remainder aside to serve with sandwiches.

Makes 4 sandwiches. Total time 40 minutes.

Verdict:
When I was doing my regular grocery shopping I could not find smoked mozzarella. I was kinda sad about that. These were good. They did have a little bite to them but not too bad. If you wanted to make them with less heat just remove the seeds in the chipotle in adobo. The seeds is what makes it more spicy.