Gluten Free Casually: Sticky Chicken

Sticky Chicken. Sweet tangy onion glazed chicken. Super simple & economical but it tastes like you spent a long time in the kitchen. 4 simple ingredients. Easy enough for a weeknight supper but tasty enough to impress guests for dinner. (It also makes tasty wing sauce if you are having a crowd over for the ball game!) My uncle Al made this over 20 years ago for a family get together at his house and it was a big hit. Of course I snagged the recipe from him and have been making it ever since. I like it because you can buy the salad dressing or make your own for this recipe. I have tweaked the recipe just a tad bit to make it gluten free and I will also list some substitutions that I have done and it still tastes great. I generally like to follow recipes exactly but sometimes you have to improvise with what you have in your pantry. Most of the time you can find the premium apricot, peach or pineapple preserves at your Dollar Tree Stores or 99cent stores...which in this economy it is a lot cheaper than paying $3-$6 at the grocery store for it! I usually will pick up a couple at a time and keep in my pantry since they have a long shelf life. Sometimes I use my homemade preserves if I have them - but I don't make them frequently so when I have to purchase them...I like to get them for a good price! Just because it costs more doesn't make it taste any better! (I'm a thrifty shopper!) Of course you can always kick it up a notch and add a tablespoon of chili flakes if you want a spicy kick to your chicken.

Sticky Chicken Recipe:

1 whole chicken, cut into parts (or use your favorite pieces and it doesn't matter if it is boneless and/or skinless - use whichever you like) Little whole Cornish Hens work well for this recipe also which is nice for a fancier dinner. For convenience, I use boneless/skinless breasts most of the time.
1 envelope dry onion soup mix (I used Essential Everyday which is Albertson's store brand that is labeled gluten free on the back of the box)
1 (12 oz.) jar of Apricot preserves (I have also substituted peach or pineapple preserves in the past because I had them in my pantry and refused to run to the store just for apricot preserves! Both tasted good)
1 (8 oz) jar or 1 cup of homeade Catalina salad dressing (Kraft and Ken's Catalina dressings are both gluten free or you can use my gluten free homemade recipe below). The original recipe called for Russian dressing but I can't always find it at our store so I started using Catalina for the past few years.

This is Albertson's store brand (gluten free)

Mix the dry onion soup mix, preserves and salad dressing & pour in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Arrange chicken pieces over the glaze. Cover with foil or lid and put in 350 degree oven. Bake covered for about 50-60 minutes. Remove lid and bake additional 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.(If you are using thinly cut boneless/skinless chicken then it won't take as long to cook) Remove from oven and let stand 15-20 minutes before serving so sauce can thicken. I generally serve it over rice and spoon the sauce over top of the chicken & rice. Oriental vegetable blend usually is a nice side dish for this recipe.

You can also make all wings or chicken legs or breast tender strips for parties and serve on a large platter of rice or in short clear disposable cups with rice on the bottom of the cup and the chicken leg sticking out. I have also skewered a chicken breast tender strip with a wooden skewer and put in a disposable clear cup with rice & garnish for an appetizer. Garnish with chives or poppy seeds for added color. People are usually very surprised to find out how simple this recipe is to prepare. My kids always enjoy this recipe when I make it. Matter of fact, my daughter is stopping by tomorrow to pick up some left overs!

Homemade Catalina Salad Dressing