What a weird year.
What a weird life.
If you'd asked me at any point growing up where I envisioned myself at this point in my life there's a strong chance they involved a law degree from Harvard, 2 kids, the northeast, a luxury vehicle, a swimming pool in the backyard, and a picket fence around my perfectly manicured yard.
I had big, yuppie, dreams, guys.
Life tends to take a far more circuitous and unexpected route than we plan as kids, doesn't it?
I'm not going to lie: my life is fabulous.
Just not fabulous in the way I envisioned it as a child.
My family is fabulous, my needs are covered, I've had incredible experiences thanks to my love of cooking, and I get to spend my days learning incredible things at a school whose campus legitimately takes my breath away some days.
A school populated with adults so young I often have to remind myself they're not children.
But lets be honest...they're kind of children, right?
I certainly was at their age, even though it took the perspective of time to recognize it. :-)
So here I am, 37, halfway through my time as an undergrad with years more of higher education to follow.
And I'm so happy with where I've landed.
Just saying.
Happy enough that I'm ok with the fact that this is only the second time I've touched this blog all year.
I've spent the last few weeks since finals breathing, enjoying the sun, and easing my way back into the kitchen.
Slowly easing my way back into the kitchen.
The other day I was looking for a quick and easy meal that wouldn't require a trip to the store (because sometimes I like to go at least one whole day without gracing them with my presence, you know?) and I stumbled across a recipe called "Best Baked Chicken Ever."
Ummm...here's what I know.
All four members of my family will eat chicken (even the picky one).
I have SO MUCH CHICKEN in my freezer!
Baked chicken is the easiest to cook of all the chickens and if this is truly the best ever then there really wasn't a question as to whether or not I should make it.
Nope, I had to make it.
It was really a predestined fate.
So, dinner decided, I set about my summer day with the kids until it was time to cook.
Oops.
I somehow missed the fact that this recipe is for chicken legs.
You know what my family really isn't fond of?
You guessed it- chicken legs.
Open my freezer, you'll find chicken breasts, boneless chicken thighs, chicken wings, even a whole chicken.
You will not find chicken legs.
I decided that boneless chicken thighs would suffice (and I was right).
First of all, let me just say that there are few times my house has smelled this incredible when I was cooking something.
For real.
To. Die. For.
I'm not sure how a few simple ingredients can make a house smell so heavenly- but they do.
I think next time I might use chicken breast halves since that's what my family tends to prefer, but the thighs were a great dark-meat option too. I might even marinate the meat in the sauce ahead of time- but just like with my favorite Super Simple Spicy Grilled Chicken, the flavor is pretty incredible even without marinating. I'm positive that if chicken legs are your family's thing this would be an incredible way to fix them.
Can I be honest?
As incredible as this chicken tastes, it smells even better- and I look forward to making my house smell like heaven often in the future!
Cooking spray
1/3 C honey
1/4 C brown sugar
1/4 C Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
4 lbs chicken legs
2. Whisk honey, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, water, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl. Add chicken legs and toss to coat. Place chicken legs on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until internal temperature reaches 165° F, 30 to 35 minutes. Turn over and cook longer if needed. Baste with sauce several times while baking.
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