Sweet and Spicy Chicken

 

You know, sometimes I don’t have a cool story that goes along with my recipes. Today’s dish is just one that I personally love and have prepared probably more times than any other chicken dish. I’ve been making it for several years, and it’s a relatively easy weeknight dish to prepare. Not only is it super delicious and simple to make, but the ingredients are staples in my cabinets, so when I don’t feel like putting much thought into dinner, I’ve got this! 

If you haven’t heard me mention before, I’m also a sucker for the combination of spicy and sweet flavors, and this is just that. Think bbq chicken with a twist…. 

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Serves 3-4. Adapted from Allrecipes.com.


Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts*

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp butter

1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp salt

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp spicy brown mustard

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce


Directions:

In a shallow dish, combine flour, 1/2 tsp salt and ground black pepper. Coat chicken breasts with flour mixture. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown chicken on all sides. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.


In the same skillet, combine the tomatoes, water, brown sugar, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt, chili powder, mustard, garlic, red pepper flakes and hot pepper sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and return chicken to skillet. Cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.


*I've found that many packs of chicken breasts come 3 to a pack with each breast weighing approximately 7-8 oz each. When using chicken breasts that are this size, I like to flatten them a bit with mallet and cut them into 2 pieces, making 6 pieces that are about 4 oz each. You certainly don't have to do this, I just prefer it.