Tag: sweet

Sweet and Spicy Baked Chicken Wings


On a recent episode of The Chew, Daphne Oz and Mario Batali had a chicken wing cook-off, and after seeing Daphne’s ingredients (and that hers were baked), I had to try them right away. Needless to say, they did not disappoint. I love the fact that the marinade on these babies caramelize while baking, which makes them a bit crispy. Oh, and the dipping sauce… yummy!!! Since I’m a huge fan of anything sweet, the sauce was perfect for me, but if you’d like it with a little more twang, reduce the half cup of honey by a couple of tablespoons (1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons).

Sweet and Spicy Wings

Ingredients

For the Wings:

  • 2 dozen chicken drumettes
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 2 garlic cloves (minced)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the Dipping Sauce:

  • 1 tbsp. sambal chili paste
  • 1/2 cup Honey
  • 2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp. grated ginger

Directions

  1. Combine all the ingredients for the drumettes in a bowl and toss the wings to coat.
  2. Place in the refrigerator and marinate a minimum of two hours and preferably over night.
  3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove drumettes from the marinade and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange the drumettes so they are not touching. Brush generously with the leftover marinade.
  5. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until deep golden brown, rotating the tray half way through and flipping the wings over.
  6. While chicken is baking, combine all of the dipping ingredients and whisk together.
  7. Serve the drumettes with the dipping sauce.
Shown with my guiltless blue cheese dressing.
Shown with my guiltless blue cheese dressing.

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Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs


I discovered this recipe last summer and totally fell in love with it, and just realized that I didn’t post it on here. My bad. The combination of the spices with the cider vinegar and honey, makes this both a sweet and spicy dish, which I just can’t seem to get enough of.

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 2 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
  • 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
  • Cooking spray
  • 6 tbsp. honey
  • 2 tsp. cider vinegar

Directions

  1. Preheat broiler.
  2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat.
  3. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.
  4. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.
  5. Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well.
  6. Remove chicken from oven; brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute.
  7. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.
Source: Cooking Light

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Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Chili


I had been thinking about making chili for quite a while, and after recently chatting with a friend about one he tried (and said was delicious) that was sweet, but also had a good amount of heat, I decided to start researching similar recipes. As you can probably imagine, there are a TON of different chili recipes on the net to choose from! So, after looking at a bunch, and narrowing it down, I decided to go with one that appealed to me the most (of course, with some of my own modifications). I was a little taken-back with the number of ingredients this recipe has, but decided to just go for it. And I’m glad I did, as this is possibly the best chili I’ve ever tasted.

To be noted, this recipe yields a lot of chili (it almost filled up my 6 quart crock pot), so unless you’re feeding a large family (serves 10-12) or plan to bring it to a party, I recommend dividing the recipe in half.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 16 oz. sweet Italian turkey sausage
  • 12 oz. top sirloin, cubed into 1/4″ chunks
  • 2 medium yellow onions, chopped into 1/4″ dice
  • 1 shallot, diced fine
  • 2 tbsp. finely chopped garlic
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced 1/4″
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced 1/4″
  • 1 cup tomato paste (I like Hunts)
  • 1/2 tsp. fine-ground instant espresso
  • 1 15 1/4 oz. can pineapple bits/chunks, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. dark brown sugar
  • 4 tbsp. chili powder
  • 1 tbsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 3 15 oz. cans kidney beans
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1 28 oz. can peeled plum tomatoes, chopped (drained, but reserve juice)
  • 12 oz. dark beer (I recommend Guinness)
  • 3 jalapeños peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped
About 3 hours to go, but already tasty!

Directions

  1. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the onions in the vegetable oil. (This step is optional, but I prefer the onions softer by this process).
  2. Add the sausage to the pan, and brown. You may need to do this in batches.
  3. Remove the browned sausage and set aside.
  4. Add the steak to the pan and sear on both sides.
  5. Chop/dice all of the vegetables, and add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker, including the meat.
  6. Set the crock pot on low and cook for approximately 6 hours.
  7. Serve and garnish with cheese, sour cream (or substitute plain or honey Greek yogurt)  or your favorite topping.

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Sweet & Sour Chicken


Another wonderful recipe from Clean Eating

To save time & make this Asian-inspired meal even simpler than it already is, pre-chop your vegetables and let your chicken marinate in the fridge for up to 8 hours ahead of time. Then, when you’re ready to eat, it’ll just take 10 minutes to get dinner on the table.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp raw honey
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp fresh ging, grated
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 1/4 lb boneless,  skinless chicken breasts (about 4 breasts), chopped into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks (about 1 cup)
  • 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks (about 1 cup)
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
  • 1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into 1 inch cubes (about 1 3/4 cups)
  • 12 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (optional)

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger and pepper flakes.
  2. Place chicken in a large shallow dish and pour soy sauce mixture over chicken, tossing gently.
  3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.
  4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  5. Add chicken and marinade, saute for 5 minute or until vegetables are slightly tender.
  6. Add pineapple and cook for 2 more minutes.
  7. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve immediately over rice for a complete meal, if desired.

Honey Ginger Teriyaki


I could talk about sauce/marinade all day, and personally, I tend to favor them more on the sweet side than the spicy. Here’s an easy recipe that can be whipped up in no time and add quite a nice flavor to fish, meat, vegetables and chicken.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger (use garlic press)
  • 1 tbsp garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp powdered onion
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
  2. Refrigerate in an air-tight container.

If you want an amazing store-bought teriyaki, I highly recommend East-West Specialty Sauces. My personal favorite, Sweet Ginger Teriyaki  🙂 They have some great sauce recipes on their site, so check ’em out.