American Honey, Chicken Chicken, and a whole lot of Catch Up!

First off, I'm sorry that it has been awhile since I've written.  As I mentioned in a previous post, my job has taken a toll on my body putting me in a lot of pain all the time.  My hours had also increased at work, so I have had less time to post and cook.  However, I put my two weeks notice in last Thursday, and I have left my current job.  I have another job lined up that will be easier on my body and more enjoyable for me.  This also will give me the ability to cook more, blog more, and spend more time with my husband.  So now that we've got that out of the way, let's get to what you all are really here to read!

Honey reminds me of summer.  Whether it's the song "American Honey", the smell of honeysuckle, or the fact that my hair goes from mouse brown to honey blonde as soon as the sun begins to lighten it, summer means honey.

As a result, I've been on a little honey kick lately.  We've had several dishes that featured honey as a main ingredient this week, as well as a few non-honey dishes.  Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of this first dish.  It's a Crockpot dish.  I had to work late last week, so my Honey had to serve it up...and forgot the picture.  So you'll just have to imagine the deliciousness.

Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken

Original recipe can be found at: http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2012/08/crock-pot-honey-sesame-chicken.html

Ingredients:

• 6 Chicken Thighs (boneless & skinless)
• 1/2 c. Onion, chopped
• 1 T. Minced Garlic
• 1/2 c. Honey
• 1/4 c. Ketchup
• 2 T. Olive Oil
• 1/2 c. Less Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1/4 t. Red Pepper Flakes
• 4 t. Corn Starch
• 1/3 c. Water
• Sesame Seeds
• 3 Green Onions, chopped
• Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Line your Crockpot with a liner.  (This is optional, but will save you so much time and hassle when it comes time to clean up!  I highly recommend using these if you don't already)
2. Season the chicken evenly with salt and pepper, and place in Crockpot.
3. In a second bowl, combine honey, ketchup, soy sauce, olive oil, and red pepper flakes.  Be sure to mix well.  A whisk works best.  Pour evenly over the chicken.
4. Cook on low 3-4 hours.  If you are in a hurry, you can cook on high for 2 hours.
5. Take the chicken out of the Crockpot.  Dice or shred it.  
6. In a separate bowl, mix corn starch and water thoroughly.  Mix in the Crockpot with the sauce.  Cook the sauce on high for 10 more minutes so that it can thicken.
7. The rest is up to you!  My husband had his chicken and sauce over rice.  I'm not a huge rice fan, so I had mine by itself.  Both of us garnished ours with green onions.  Instead of garnishing our chicken with sesame seeds, we mixed a good amount into the sauce.  This might be good over noodles or quinoa.

The following night I was still on my honey kick.  I did make one recipe without honey though...

Dilled Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Original recipe can be found at: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/dilled-cucumber-and-tomato-salad/bad12a71-dad1-4f2b-a247-0de2c3fa0148

Ingredients:

• 2 Cucumbers, sliced (the thinner the better)
• 5 Vine-Ripened Tomatoes (cut into 8 wedges each)
• 1/2 c. Red Onion, finely chopped
• 1 T. Dill, finely chopped,
• 1/2 c. Rice Vinegar
• 4 t. Sugar
• 1/2 t. Seasoned salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix tomatoes, onion, and cucumbers
2. In a separate bowl, mix other ingredients well.  Pour over veggies and toss.  Cover and refrigerate for one hour to allow the veggies to soak up the dressing flavors.  Toss again and serve.

I'll be honest.  I was super excited about this salad because it didn't have any leafy greens.  However, the dressing turned out to be a little too sweet for me.  My husband really liked it though.  He isn't as picky about salads as I am.  But back to the honey recipes...

Honey Roasted Red Potatoes

Original Recipe can be found at: http://mytastytreasures.blogspot.com/2011/07/honey-roasted-red-potatoes.html

Ingredients:

• 5 Red Potatoes, cut in bite-size chunks
• 4 T. Butter, melted
• 2 T. Chopped Onion
• 2 T. Honey
• 2 t. Dry Mustard
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Spread out your potatoes in the dish, taking care to make sure they do not overlap.  Sprinkle on the onion.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the butter, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper.  As far as the salt and pepper goes, put in as much or as little as you prefer, or even leave it out all together.
4. Drizzle the mixture over potatoes and onions.  Stir them around so that they are all evenly coated.  Spread them back out as best as you can into a single layer.
5. Bake for 40 minutes or until tender.  Stir twice during the cooking process so that the potatoes can be recoated.
6. Serve hot.

As I have mentioned before, I am not a huge potato fan.  These were good though, and my husband really liked them.  The honey gave them a little sweetness, but not too much.  To accompany our potatoes, I made...

Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken Breasts

Original recipe can be found at: http://www.nlrockrecipes.com/2012/04/doube-crunch-honey-garic-chicken.html

Ingredients:

1. 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2. 2 c. Flour
3. 4 t. Salt
4. 4 t. Black Pepper
5. 3 T. Ground Ginger
6. 2 T. Ground Nutmeg
7. 2 t. Ground Thyme
8. 2 t. Ground Sage
9. 2 T. Paprika
10. 1 t. Cayenne Pepper
11. 4 Eggs
12. 8 T. Water
13. 2 T. Olive Oil
14. 3-4 Cloves Minced Garlic
15. 1 c. Honey
16. 1/4 c. Soy Sauce
17. 1 t. Ground Black Pepper
18. Vegetable Oil

Directions:

I have given each ingredient above a number to make this recipe easier to follow.  The original recipe has the ingredients scattered throughout the recipe making it somewhat difficult to read.  Hope this helps!

1. Put chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap.  Use a meat mallet to hammer the meat to a 1/2 inch thickness.
2. Sift ingredients 2-10 in a separate bowl.
3. In another bowl, mix ingredients 11-12 until well blended.
4. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Dip the breasts in the dry mixture, then dip it into the egg wash.  Dip back into the dry mixture, pressing the dry mixture into the chicken.
5. Heat a skillet with about 1/2" canola oil.  Fry the breasts on medium heat until golden brown on both sides.
6. Drain on a wire rack for a few minutes.
7. In a saucepan, heat ingredients 13 and 14.  Allow the garlic to soften but not brown.
8. Add ingredients 15-17 and simmer for 7-10 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool for about three minutes.  Drizzle over chicken breasts.  Serve.

This chicken was fantastic!  I will say, ours was not very crunchy though.  Definitely worth making! At this point I had gotten all of the honey out of my system and for the next night, I needed something easy.

Original idea from Pinterest (The picture had directions, but no blog or website link)

Ingredients:

• 2 Cans Green beans
• 6 Mushrooms, sliced
• 3 Chicken Breasts
• 5 Red Potatoes, cut into large chunks
• 1 Packet Italian Dressing mix
• 1 Stick of Butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Arrange green beans, chicken, and potatoes in a 9x13 baking dish.
3. Top with mushroom slices.
4. Sprinkle with Italian dressing mix and top with melted butter.
5. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.

So easy and quite good!  My only issue was that my chicken was a little dry and the potatoes were a little under done.  However, it was a quick, yummy meal!

I will be playing catch up over the next few days as well as posting some of my current recipes.  Happy cooking!