Chicken with Peach Bourbon Sauce

A couple of weeks ago, my hunny and I had a little trip to Bastrop, Tx to witness his granddaughter graduate. I tell myself that was the reason for going, but in reality it was the thought of a real grocery store, a Walmart, Target and of course Specs... the liquor warehouse. We also made a stop at this cute tourist trap that sold local peaches and pecans. We had been planning on stopping there for a while just had never gotten around to it.

I found this great little jar of Peach & Jalapeno preserves that I bought for my honey since he loves spicy foods. It was a flavor combination I thought would make a great sauce for grilling. Instead, I cooked it down into this wonderful baked chicken that fell apart when I used tongs to get it out of the pot. DELISH! I also used a Hot and Spicy pre bottled BBQ sauce to add to the kick. Unfortunately, the sugars in the preserves over powered the spicy. So if you want it hot, make sure to add some more peppers!

This serves 2-3 people. The original recipe I found calls for a lot more chicken than what I had so I cut it down.

6 boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs
1 tb Butter
1 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Minced Garlic
1 cup Red Stag Black Cherry Bourbon
6oz Bar B Que Sauce
4 oz Peach Preserves
1/2 cup Water
1 tbsp Worechestershire Sauce

Oven to 300

1) Melt butter with oil in heavy pot. Lay thighs in butter and let brown on both sides; remove to platter.

2) Add garlic to the pot and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes and add the bourbon. Stir, scaping the bottom for a couple of minutes to let the liquid reduce down. Pour in BBQ Sauce, peach preserves, water and worechestershire sauce, whisk to incorporate.

Return chicken to pot, draining juices off platter, cover and place in oven.

3) Bake 1 1/2 hours.

4) Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.

Cheesy BBQ Chicken Braid

A while back I was scrolling through the TV Guide and came across a show called "From the Kitchens of:" and figured why not? This particular show was filmed at the Pillsbury Bake Off competition and held some great ideas for me. This Chicken Braid is one of them. It feeds about 4 depending on appetite and can be improvised to fit all sorts of cravings. I think next time it will be a Pizza Braid!

1 cup BBQ Sauce, divided
1 Cup Cheddar Cheese, divided
1 cup Chicken, precooked and shredded
Garlic Powder
Parsley
1 roll Crescents

1) Preheat oven to 400. Line cookie sheet with foil and spray with oil.

2) Roll out crescents in one rectangle. Press edges of individual rolls together to form one sheet about 12x8" (use rolling pin if needed).

3) Spread 3-4 tbs BBQ sauce down the middle. Sprinkle evenly 1/2 the cheese, then all the chicken. Top with cheese and rest of BBQ sauce. Use as much or as little of the sauce as you prefer. I used only 3/4 cup and found even that was too much for my family.

4) Using sisscors, cut strips along the long sides of the dough at 1" intervals. Starting from one end, lay over one strip, then the other on the opposit side. Once you get the first two stips finished, pull up the end to close. Continue "braiding" the dough to the bottom and once again, pull the bottom to close.

5) Optional: Lightly sprinkle garlic powder (I do not reccomend garlic salt) and dried parsley over the top.

6) Bake for 11-14 minutes until the top begins to brown. Let sit 5 minutes before slicing.

Monterey Grilled Chicken

Here is a super easy recipe for a grilled chicken. Yes, even with snow falling we get out on the grill around here... its a Texas thing. But for this one, I would brave sleet, blizzards or hurricanes to have this melting in my mouth!

Chicken Thighs, boneless & skinless (2 per person)
Stubbs Spicy BBQ Sauce
Bacon, 1 strip per thigh, crisp and cut up
Tomato, 1 tbsp chopped per thigh
Cheddar Cheese, 2 tbsp shredded per thigh
Parsley or chopped Green Onion


1) Grill thighs 6-8 minutes per side until no longer pink on the inside.

2) Line a casserole dish with foil and place thighs. Top with bacon pieces, BBQ and cheese. Broil just until cheese is melted and put on plate.

3) Top with chopped tomato and either the onion or dried parsley.