Smoky, spicy and a little sweet baked beans... err we had beans again??

Beans... as you know, we pretty much stayed away from any recipes involving them since I started cooking. Now that we've finally tried and liked them - I was still a little suprised when Jeff asked me to make a dish that uses them. He would always ask me to skip recipes that even remotely sounded like they used beans - my how times have changed!

Jeff asked that I make some sort of Baked Beans, so I thought we would ease in with the recipe Honey-Chipotle Baked Beans. I say ease in because this recipe basically dresses up canned baked beans. They are combined with a reduced flavor packed sauce that removes any canned taste. The beans get a smoky background from cumin, have just enough spice from chipotles in adobo, and a little sweet from honey with molasses adding a deep richness. The beans slowly bake in the oven until they are quite thick and bubbling. While I have nothing to compare these to, this recipe sure makes me feel silly for waiting so long to try stuff like this - these were unbelievably good!

I wanted to have a chicken dish to go along side and Santa Fe Chicken used ingredients I already had on hand. This dish is a snap to throw together - just a few minutes to make the marinade and then the chicken sits for an hour or so until you are ready to cook them. Right before you throw them in the oven, white wine is pour on top to add a depth flavor to the liquid. As they quickly cook under the broiler, they are basted in the same marinade to ensure they stay very moist. Garlicky with a light lime flavor, this juicy chicken recipe would also be nice sliced over a taco salad or simply served with a side of salsa and sour cream.

Recipes
Santa Fe Chicken
Honey-Chipotle Baked Beans