Easy Weeknight Meal: Honey Baked Chicken Drummettes

We all love those easy weeknight meals that basically cook themselves so we can take on other tasks like helping kids with homework during the school time or spending some one on one time with that special someone. Yeah, that's what I like to do sometimes. This past week when I got home late from work and hubby did as well, I needed a quick meal that will satisfy us both and leave little clean up. Chicken drummettes and rice did the trick!

When I was growing up, we ate lots of chicken. After my parents split, we were rather "financially challenged" so we ate even more and chicken wings and drummettes were pretty inexpensive. My mom got very creative in her cooking methods for chicken wings. Whether it was "Shake & Baked" or just grilled, she knew how to create variety so we didn't feel like we were eating the same thing every day. I guess that rubbed off on me since I now do the same thing.

This recipe is simple yet yields amazing results.

Ingredients - Serves 2
4 Tablespoons Honey
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, chopped
7 chicken drummettes (I used Great Value Frozen, but thawed it first)
salt & pepper to taste

For nutrition information, click the magic button

 

Directions
So easy... take the first give ingredients and mix it in a bowl. Place the chicken drummettes in a baking dish. I used a bread loaf pan since it fit the seven drummettes in there just fine. Why such an odd number of drummettes? It's because that's all I had left in the bag!  Sprinkle the drummettes with salt and pepper then baste the chicken with the honey mix. Bake for 20 minutes at 350. Be sure the chicken is done by using a meat thermometer.

Paired with instant rice, this is a wonderful light meal. I also had some green beans but any other veggie of choice would do. Simple, tasty and easy. And the kids would love it too!

Easy Weeknight Meal: Tangy Baked Citrus Chicken

So what do I do with a near empty jar of apricot pineapple preserves? There isn't enough to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I could probably spread it on a cracker and call it a snack. But it was close to dinnertime and I was hungry and had a couple of chicken breasts staring me in the face, challenging me to create something tasty. I looked at that jar of preserves and thought "that's what I'm going to do……" And citrus chicken was born. 

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, cut in half and pounded thin
1 Tablespoon apricot pineapple preserves
1/2 cup orange juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon dry parsley
salt and pepper to taste

For nutrition information, click the magic button
 

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350. 

After pounding the chicken into a thin patty, salt and pepper both sides to taste.  On a quick side note, when I'm tenderizing meat, I place it on a large cutting board and cover it with plastic wrap before starting. This keeps any juices from flying out and getting all over the kitchen. 

In a small bowl, mix the preserves, orange juice and garlic. 

Arrange the chicken in a shallow baking dish. Spoon the citrus mix over the chicken and sprinkle the parsley on top. Pour any remaining juice into the dish around the chicken. If you want to add additional salt and pepper, by all means do so. 

Bake the chicken 20 minutes or until juices no longer run pink. I'm a huge fan of a meat thermometer so I always check to make sure my chicken is fully cooked. The orange juice kept the chicken very moist and gave it almost a tropical taste. Perfect for summer and this recipe can be easily transferred to a foil pack and cooked on the grill. 

Featured on JamHands.net Recipe Sharing Monday August 12, 2013