Hot Honey Chicken

In our household, it can often be hard to find recipes that everyone actually likes; this is a household favorite. When I can get my daughter to sit down and eat without interruption, well, that review speaks for itself! This recipe is based on one found on Cheff Recipes.

First things first: let's gather our ingredients. This meal is such a good one because it is inexpensive; most of the ingredients we used I already had in the house. Note: I made a double batch because my chicken needed to be cooked, but I am posting the recipe for a single batch.

For Chicken:

• 4 chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs)

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon pepper

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 2 large eggs, beaten

• 1 1/2 cups of corn flakes

For Hot Honey Sauce:

• 1/4 cup of honey

• 2 tablespoons of hot sauce (adjust to your taste)

• 1 tablespoon of butter

• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (optional)

• 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (optional, for tang)

Before we move on any further, as I said, I have made this recipe many times, in many different ways. The listed ingredients above, and their measurements, are more of a base than a strict guideline. With that being said, let's get into it.

My chicken breasts were a little thick, and it was late when I started cooking. So, I cut each breast in half; this caused me to need to double most of my recipe. My cuts are not perfect, but they got the job done. (Practice makes perfect, right?)

Next, I got my dredging station ready:

• First plate: flour with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and paprika.

• Second plate - 2 beaten eggs (I doubled the recipe, so I used 4; that's why it looks like so much. Yours will look different.)

• Third plate: Cornflakes seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and paprika.

As I mentioned earlier, seasoning measurements are just a base. I do not measure out my seasonings for this part; I measure with my heart. You want the flour to have color, you want the corn flakes to have color. You want to make sure you have a level of flavor in every bite. Even this time I made them, I found what I thought was enough wasn't actually enough. What I'm getting at is, season the crap out of it; you'll thank yourself later.

Let's start dredging! First, dip into the flour. I found I had to press the chicken into the flour to really get it coated. Next, the egg. Lastly, the cornflakes; make sure you press the chicken down into the cornflakes to really get it coated, flip, and repeat. I put them on a greased, lined baking dish.

Let's take a minute to talk about one of the variations from the original recipe: the breading. The original recipe said to use breadcrumbs, which I have done before, and they work and taste just as good. However, my daughter has found that her favorite thing I have made for her was homemade chicken fingers, in which we used cornflakes for the breading, so she requested we do that on this one as well. The first time we tried it on this chicken, I knew I wouldn't make it another way again. The only downside I must point out is, if you have leftovers, they aren't as tasty. Still edible, but they of course lose the crunch and become soggy.

Once all the chicken is ready, pop it in the oven at 400° for 25 minutes. After that, check the temperature!

I would recommend waiting to make the sauce until your chicken is done; it does not take long at all for it to come together. Although, I have made it too early and just had to keep it warm on the stove, and it was fine. To make your sauce, you are going to place the following ingredients in a saucepan:

• 1/4 cup of honey

• 1 tbsp butter

• 2 tbsp hot sauce (adjust for your taste)

• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (optional)

You want to combine these ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted. Note: I have made this sauce with 2 tbsp hot sauce and 1 tbsp; for me, it really depends on what kind you are using. Most recently, we tried out a Carolina Reaper hot sauce, so it's safe to say there was only 1 tbsp used! Once the sauce is smooth, you can also add that optional 1 tsp apple cider vinegar.

Once the chicken is done (and fully cooked!), you can choose to sauce it however you like. We always let everyone sauce their own chicken since we have some individuals in our house who like less, and some altogether who think the sauce is too hot sometimes.

This meal can be elevated or paired with your favorite boxed sides! In our home this week, we needed a quicker option due to sports, so I served it with boxed mac and cheese and peas!

Hope you enjoy this one as much as we do! See you next time!