Baked Buffalo Chicken

Sometimes chicken leaves me feeling bored. Lately I've found myself tired of the old favorites, and uninspired by what's in my "to try" recipe files.  But this marinade I tried last night? Zing! It was just what I needed to up my chicken game. It's full of flavor, and you can adjust the level of spice by adding more or less glaze. It would be perfection on salads, in wraps, on pizza, in tacos, or as the protein star amidst some roasted veggies on your plate (how we enjoyed it last night). Make it.

Baked Buffalo Chicken*

-adapted from carlsbadcravings.com

For the marinade:

• 1/2 c. Frank's Hot Sauce (feel free to try something else, but no guarantees on spice or flavor...wide swings in variability with hot sauce)
• 1/4 c. honey
• 2 T lime juice (hopefully by now you understand I mean that this needs to be from a real, actual lime. No fake plastic limes allowed on this blog!)
• 2 t. garlic powder
• 2 t. chili powder
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 1 t. smoked paprika
• 1/2 t. onion powder
• 1/2 t black pepper

Whisk together above ingredients. Remove 1/2 c. of the marinade and place it in a separate dish. Whisk in 1/4 cup oil (I like avocado). This is your official marinade. Now, take the remaining marinade (the part without oil) and whisk in 1 T lime juice and 2 T honey. This is now your glaze. Got it?

Put the glaze in the fridge for later. Take the marinade (the portion you mixed with oil) and place in a large Ziploc bag with 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to 24 (you have so much freedom to decide how long!). When you are ready to roll, remove the chicken from the bag (toss that marinade) and place on a sheet pan (I like to line mine with parchment for easy cleanup). Roast at 375 for 30 minutes, brush each breast with some glaze, and then continue roasting for another 10-20 minutes, or until the juices run clear. How long you cook will depend on how thick your chicken is. I refuse to be responsible for dry chicken, so you be in charge of your own chicken OK?

*you don't have to bake this. Grilling it would be amazing, but the house grill chef was MIA last night, so I threw it in the oven. However you decide to cook it, it will be just right.