Honey Chicken and Squash

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I'm still trying to catch up with my posts, so this one is a few weeks old. You can tell the ones that I made up in Montana, because my mother-in-law has these beautiful blue and white plates. She got them from her sister-in-law Joy - who happens to be one of my favorite in laws (and not just because she lives on Oahu and my hubby and I got to visit her many moons ago when we were childless). So now you can decode my pictures. Blue and white plates = Montana cooking. But I digress.
   While I was visiting my in-laws I did most of the cooking. I love to cook, and I felt like I was contributing. One night I decided to try a recipe for Honey Chicken. I saw the original recipe for Honey Sauced Chicken on Pinterest, but I adapted it to my time and what I had on hand. I also added some Zucchini because we had some that needed to be used up. I'm sure you could substitute any vegetable that you like or need to use up. It's very simple and is ready in less that 30 minutes.

Here's what you do.

Put 1/2 cup honey in a bowl. You can eye ball this, or if you have the compulsion to measure everything, then spray the measuring cup with no-stick spray first. The honey will slide out easily and you can thank me later. - You're welcome.

To the honey, add about 1/4 cup of Worcestershire Sauce. The original recipe said soy sauce, but my in-laws don't keep that on hand. This tasted really good too.

Squirt in 2 Tbsp of ketchup,

and add 1 tsp granulated garlic.

Whisk until well combined. Set aside for later.

If you haven't already, you might want to think about what you are going to serve this chicken with/over. I chose plain, long grain white rice. I used one cup of uncooked rice.

I put it into a container, covered it with water and stirred it around to rinse all the starch off. I let my 2 year old do this for a little while, and then I took over again when she started flinging wet rice kernels all over the kitchen. I dumped the water and rinsed the rice a total of three times. You just want the water to be clear - not milky looking. When I'm at home, I just put the rice into my fine mesh strainer and run water over it until the water runs clear, but since my in-laws don't have a strainer like that (none that I could find anyway) I improvised. It was fun for the two year old.

When the starch is all rinsed off the rice, it went into a pot of bowling water - just shy of 2 cups.

I stirred the rice, put the lid on, turned the heat to a simmer and let it cook for about 18 minutes - until done/tender.

While the rice cooks, finish the rest of the meal. You'll need about 1/4 cup of onion, diced.


Put it into a large pot with 1 Tbsp of oil (I used EVOO). Cook over medium high heat until browned.


Next comes the chicken. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts, but thighs could easily be substituted if that is what you prefer.  You'll need about 1 lb of meat.

Just cut up the meat into bit sized pieces.

The onions should be nice and brown now.

Add the chicken to the pot. Add salt and pepper. Continue cooking over medium high heat for a couple minutes, until the outside of the chicken is cooked, but still raw in the center.

Add the honey sauce you made earlier. (This makes a lot of steam. Good for cooking - not so good for picture taking.)

Let the chicken cook - still over medium high heat, stirring occasionally to create a nice glaze.

Add the squash (or you vegetable of choice). I used 1 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 moons - it was probably 1 1/2 cups worth.

When the chicken is cooked through, and the sauce has thickened slightly it's done. Serve it over the rice and you're golden. Enjoy!

It was a big hit with everyone - from Grandpa to everyone down to the two year old. I hope you like it too.

Here's the recipe:

adapted from MMM Cafe

Honey Chicken and Squash

3/4 to 1 pound boneless skinless chicken (of your choice), cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 tsp. salt (to taste)

1/4 tsp. black pepper (to taste)

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 cup diced onion

2 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbs. oil (I used EVOO)

1 tsp granulated garlic

1 zucchini (or about 1 1/2 cups other veggie of your choice) cut into bit sized pieces

cooked rice (to serve the chicken over)

In a small bowl, mix together the honey, Worcestershire, ketchup and granulated garlic until well combined. In a large pot, over medium-high heat, add the oil and onions. Cook until the onions start to brown around the edges. Add the chicken, salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes, until the chicken starts to brown on the outside, but is still raw on the inside. Add the honey sauce and cook, still over medium high heat. It will bubble a lot. Add the zucchini (or veggie of your choice) and continue cooking a couple minutes more - until the chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice.
*If you want to make this in the crock pot, just leave the chicken whole and add all the ingredients (minus the cooked rice) to the crock. Set on low and cook for 3 hours or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve over cooked rice.