Happy Wednesday.  I got to spend today baking in the kitchen with one of my favorite people in the world, Becky McGrew.  We baked something truly decadent and crazy rich, but that will be a post for another day. 🙂  Today is more practical.  At the beginning of the week, I have such gusto for cooking my meals.  I go to the store on Sunday nights and buy my grocery list for meals to get me through at least Wednesday night (I don’t like to buy more than that, lest things go bad in the fridge, waiting to be cooked.)  Thursday morning is usually winding down and trying to find a use for my many leftovers.  It’s good to have a few recipes you can always rely on to be great and interesting in the middle of the week.  Recipes that aren’t hard, aren’t boring and make you feel glad you didn’t just give up and go out to dinner.

This is a perfect mid-week meal because it gets you over the hump in the week and gives you amazing leftovers.  Such a rich, sweet and savory glaze on this chicken pairs perfect with a few light sides like stir-fried snap peas or roasted brussels sprouts with fish sauce vinaigrette.

Honey Soy Glazed Chicken*

12 chicken legs (or other parts, but I’d definitely use chicken on the bone)
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons neutral oil (not olive)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup honey
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Wash and dry and lightly salt and pepper the chicken and place in a 9X13-inch pan.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Toss chicken in the sauce and then arrange, skin-side down in the baking pan. Place in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove pan, turn chicken over, and return to the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove pan and turn chicken over once more. Turn the oven down to 375ºF and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  My chicken didn’t get as glazed as the original recipe appears, so I took matters into my own hands and placed the chicken on a serving platter and tented it with foil to keep warm and then put the sauce on the stove in a medium saucepan and let it reduce by half until really syrupy.  BEST DECISION EVER.  I then took a ladle of the syrup and added it to rice as an accompaniment.  BEST DECISION EVER.  I think you could add the reduced soy glaze to just about anything and it would be…the best decision ever.  Totally delictable, dresses up any sad chicken, any sad side dish.  Would be great tossed with roasted broccoli for a stir-fry.  Geez, the possibilities are endless.  Enjoy!

*recipe adapted from Alaxandra Cooks