Maple Glazed Chicken

I love marinades. They are so easy to put together and they’re perfectly stolen moments friendly since I can let the meat sit in the marinade all day.

I’ll admit that as much as I love these easy meals, we don’t do a lot of meat-based meals like this. It’s harder to stretch the meat, so the entire meal ends up not being as frugal. However, I have been loving the bags of frozen chicken breasts lately.

Our stores seem to run a special on their bags of frozen chicken on a regular basis and I always stock up. Two 6 lb. bags of frozen chicken breasts from Sam’s Club cost $26 and that lasts us the whole month. I tend to use about 75% of the chicken for casseroles and skillet meals – things where it’s really easy to make that meat stretch. Then I use the rest of the chicken for “splurges” such as this one.

Now a word about this recipe. It has a bit of a sweet undertone, but the sweetness of the maple syrup is not all overwhelming. Instead, the maple marries perfectly with the garlic, pepper and lemon juice to create a super flavorful marinade.

Maple Glazed Chicken

• 1 – 1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/3 c. maple syrup
• Juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 c.)
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. black pepper
• 1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1. In a small bowl, whisk together maple syrup, lemon juice, garlic and seasonings.

2. Place chicken in a plastic freezer bag or bowl. Pour the marinade over the chicken and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

3. Spread chicken on a baking sheet or in a casserole dish. Spoon any remaining marinade over the chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked. About halfway through the cooking time, spoon any marinade that has collected on the baking dish on top of the chicken.

If you want, reserve some of the marinade before adding to the chicken and then drizzle over the chicken when serving.