Month-of-One-Pan Meals: Cocoa Chile Chicken and Vegetables

Welcome to my annual Month-of Recipes on this blog. Go rummaging in the attic here and you’ll find past recipe months for appetizers, chicken, soup, mini-desserts, and more. The way it works is, for each day in February I post a recipe that fits the category. This month is one-pan meals, excluding pizza, most casseroles, and slow cooker recipes.

Cocoa chile chicken is a family favorite whether made on one pan with veggies or in a large casserole dish. This large casserole dish is one of my go-to recipes when I have company. Once the chicken is in the oven at 250 degrees, I can forget it (well, not really—I do set the timer) for a few hours.

But this recipe is for a quicker meal. Made for family dinners, rather than a crowd. I was bummed when McCormick stopped making their cocoa chile powder blend, so I had to come up with my own version. It works.

Cocoa Chile Chicken and Vegetables (serves 4)

4 chicken thighs

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa chile powder ***recipe below

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon

2 cups butternut squash, cubed

20 spears asparagus

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil.

Mix brown sugar, cocoa chile powder, and 2 tablespoons olive oil into a paste. Spread liberally all over each chicken thigh. Place in middle of baking sheet and put in oven for 25 minutes.

Snap the ends of the asparagus to remove the woody sections. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over squash and asparagus. Massage to coat all.

Remove chicken from oven after 25 minutes and arrange the vegetables around the chicken. Return to oven for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

***My Cocoa Chile Powder Blend (makes about 6 ½ tablespoons)

3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DH’s Rating: 5 Tongues Up

“What’s this orange stuff?”

“Butternut squash. Why? Didn’t you like it?”

“Did you put sugar on it or something?”

“Nope, just oil, but the squash is naturally sweet, and I think some of the chicken flavoring got on it, too.”

“This is really good with the chicken. You can make this again.” There you go!

I am not OCD! (Am I? Am I?)

Cooking is like love.  It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.  ~Harriet van Horne

Am I overly compulsive? And just what the heck does “overly compulsive” mean anyway? Isn’t that just some procrastinator’s term for those who plan ahead, who like to plan ahead, who plan waaaay ahead?

Okay, so maybe I’m a tad on the compulsive side when it comes to food. (Certainly that is NOT the case with dusting, vacuuming, etc.)

When the kids were at home, family vacations were often in the wilds. Bring in your own water. Dig a hole for the latrine. That sort of wilds. Loved it!

But that meant no grocery store to pick up another stick of butter or Oops! No meat? Sorry. Let’s eat what we can forage. Planning ahead, making menus, stocking the cooler--that’s what fed my men.

They ribbed me, of course. But none of them ever turned down the shish-ke-babs and rice followed with chocolate cherry pie. No way. They made fun of my lists and menus, but that was the thin line that separated us from starvation. (Okay, maybe not starvation, but it did save us from the Dinty Moore canned stew my husband “prepared” on our first camping trip. That’s when I knew I had to take charge.)

So whenever anyone is coming to dinner or to stay with us for an extended time, I make menus. And file them. I wouldn’t want to serve the same thing twice to guests. Heaven forfend!

As we approach the holidays, the company is piling up. Pattycake and Jimbo will be here in a few weeks. Served them orange marmalade pork tenderloin, special marinade salmon, and cocoa chile chicken among other faves. So, I am scouring my recipe stash for some dishes I haven’t made in a while. Like chicken cupcakes for lunch. Avogolemono and lamb souvlaki for dinner.

Same with my sons and their companions. I have to serve them old favorites like French Dip for lunch and our traditional-always-the-same Christmas dinner. But I want to try things with them I haven’t served in a while, like Mongolian Hotpot (see my post on “The Girlfriend Test”).

Though they kid me mercilessly, as a working mom, planning menus was imperative. I had nutsy hours some weeks, so making sure they had good food options meant we rarely resorted to fast food like pizza for dinner.

So does that make me OCD? If so, I’ll take it because the stress of not having food organized would put me in the loony bin.

Top Home Chef

The Arizona Republic, my hometown newspaper (circulation ~350K; 12th largest paper in the nation) is sponsoring its first-ever contest to find "unknown culinary talent" in the Valley of the Sun. I'm there! Sign me up!

Entries close for "Top Home Chef" in two days. I sent my entry in Sunday night. I hope I avoided getting caught up in the last minute filing rush that always happens with contests.

I'm pretty proud of my entry: an essay telling about my philosophy of cooking, entertaining style, and why I'm like a chef; a three-course menu; and, recipe for an appetizer and picture of said appetizer.

The contest closes April 18th and three finalists are announced on April 22nd! Yikes! How can they do that so quickly???

The three finalists prepare their menus and serve them to The Arizona Republic staff between May 1-15th. the winner of the contest is announced June 1st. That timeline surely beats the wait for manuscript feedback! I'm just sayin' . . .

I wanted to share my menu and appetizer recipe here. Let me know if you like what I sent. DH gives this 10 Tongues Up! (I know, I know. And so does he--only five tongues allowed. You try to keep his tongue under control!)

Here is my menu for six:

Appetizers

         My Hermosillo Salsa/Chips

         Fruit ke-babs with Greek Yogurt Dip

         Fish Mini-Tostadas (recipe provided)

        

Entrée

         Cocoa Chile Chicken

         Cranberry Quinoa

         Tossed Salad with Lime-Ginger Vinaigrette Dressing

         7-Up Biscuits

Panoply of Palate Pleasers (mini-desserts)

         Lemon curd tartlets with whipped cream and fruit

         Mini Nutella brownies

         Black forest parfait (shot glasses)

         Apple crisp (mini ramekin)

         Caramel Ice Cream with toffee bits (shot glasses)

Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir will be offered, along with coffee and tea

What say you? Would this menu entice you? 

Tomorrow I'll post the recipe and photo for Fish Mini-Tostadas.