Best Bourbon Chicken

If you want a little sweet and a little spicy with your chicken, definitely give this dish a try! The sauce becomes lovely, thick, and sticky, and the chicken is fall apart tender after simmering. I thought the amount chili flakes was just a little too much heat for me, but my sister thought it was just right - so adjust according to your personal preferences.

It has been an interesting couple weeks in my world - Lindsey has been sick, I've been fighting something off, work has been crazy (but good - I love to be busy), Brunch Week was fantastic but meant lots of new recipe action in the kitchen and deadlines (keeps me motivated, so I love that), we got a new cat from the animal shelter over the weekend, I had my first Mother's Day as a single mom on Sunday, my 7th Mother's Day since my Mom passed... all sorts of things to process and get through it seems. The overall theme though is that I am so thankful for life, with all its up and downs, in betweens, and imperfections. I am so grateful that although I am a "single" mom, I have never for one day since my divorce felt "alone". I have some of the most INCREDIBLE people all around me, with my sister here every day I don't even feel right calling myself a single mom. She helps me so much with the kids and lets me have my days and moments to fall apart when needed, and be there with a listening ear, shoulder to lean on, and a good TV show and glass of wine when called for. I have two beautiful children. Kent has been through hell since last October, but continues to fight and get stronger every day. His recovery has been a huge adjustment for all of us, but we're doing the best we can. Life chugs onward at such an incredible pace sometimes, some days all you can do is hang on, but every now and then it slows down enough to pause, take a breath, look around, inhale, smile and feel the sunshine.

Best Bourbon Chicken

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup water
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup apple juice
2/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Southern Comfort
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried minced onion (I used Tastefully Simple's Onion Onion)
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup apple juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan and brown the chicken pieces until lightly golden on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl.
2. In the same skillet, whisk the water, brown sugar, 3/4 cup of fruit juice, soy sauce, ketchup, bourbon liqueur, apple cider vinegar, garlic, dried onion, red pepper flakes, and ground ginger together. Bring the sauce to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
3. Stir the chicken back into the sauce, and bring to a full boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the sauce is reduced and thickened and the chicken pieces are no longer pink in the middle, about 20 minutes.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the 1/4 cup of fruit juice with the cornstarch until smooth. Move chicken away from the center of the pan, whisk the cornstarch mixture into the sauce until smooth. Bring the sauce back to a simmer, let thicken for about 1 minute. Stir to combine, and serve.