My Chef's Hat - Spicy Honey Chicken with Baked Crispy Zucchini Parmesan Fries

So if you haven't noticed, I love chicken.  I could really probably eat it every day, at both lunch and dinner.  And I'm a huge fan of dark meat.  I've never been a fan of chicken breast, because it's always too dry.  I've cooked with breast a little more recently, but unless it's absolutelly necessary, I'm sticking with the dark meat.  I know it has more calories and fat, but to me, that's flavor, and therefore well worth it!  My mom never let me eat the skin on the fried chicken when I was little, even though that's where all the best flavor is.  So now, whenever I go home, I get Popeye's one time and make sure to eat it in front of her...just because.  Other than fried chicken--which I very seldom ever eat--I don't ever eat the skin. 

I found a great recipe for spicy honey chicken.  I also needed a veggie, and was bored with the recipes I already had, so decided to find something new...baked crispy zucchini parmesan fries came to the rescue. 

Here's the official recipe pictures for both:

And here's my version together:

Okay, first the chicken...YUMMY!!!  The honey and the spices are awesome together.  I could have eaten another 5 pieces.  Dark meat stays much moister than chicken breast already...and after I let the honey glaze soak into the chicken for about 5 minutes, it was a lot of heaven.

And now the zucchini...it was okay.  I don't like mushy veggies...to me, that texture is horrible.  And I think I cut the zucchini too big, so as it was baking it got too soft.  I had some thinner pieces and those were better, but I already had the bad taste in my mouth from the thicker pieces so the whole thing was a downer.  The panko bread crumbs also didn't get dark enough, but I think that's because the pieces were too big. 

Will I make these again?  The chicken, no question!!  I'm willing to give the zucchini another shot.  But I'll definitely cut them much thinner, and probably turn the oven up higher and shorten the cooking time by a few minutes.


Spicy honey chicken recipe found on The Girl Who Ate Everything

Crispy zucchini parmesan fries found on The Lean Green Bean