Margarita-Braised Chicken

Serves 4

1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
4 chicken legs and 4 chicken thighs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Cooking spray
1 cup thinly sliced onion
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dried tropical fruit
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup tequila
1 lime, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small, shallow dish. Sprinkle chicken with salt; dredge chicken in flour mixture.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan in batches; cook 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Transfer chicken to an 11x7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Add onion to skillet; cook 3 minutes. Add garlic to pan, and sauté 1 minute.

4. Combine fruit, juice, and tequila in a microwave-safe dish, and microwave at HIGH 2 minutes. Pour fruit mixture into pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen brown bits. Cook 1 minute. Pour onion mixture over chicken; top with lime slices. Bake at 400° for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Served with rice. (I intended to serve with green beans also, but I let them sit in the fridge a little too long.) This would have been perfect with a margarita! Maybe next time.

Results: This recipe was FAN-Freaking-TASTIC. I loved it. I forgot the lime slices. I don't know if the recipe "needed" them, but I bet it would be even better with them. This was a very easy meal to prepare. Steven has been sick, so I didn't even try to feed this to him. Henry had the choice between chicken nuggets and margarita chicken. He chose the margarita chicken and devoured a whole chicken leg. He asked for seconds, but when he saw Steven's nuggets, he refused to eat anymore. Whatever, you ungrateful child!