Recipe 16: Chicken in a Cornmuffin

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 40 mins
Eat Time: ASAP!

I love southern food. If it wasn't such a hassle to make fried okra, I would eat it with every meal, every day. And, I'd weigh a thousand pounds. Southern food is comfort food to me. Drop biscuits with sausage gravy; sweet tea and pork chops...they're better than a warm blanket.

Tonight's dinner was inspired by Paula Deen's spin on a classic combo: BBQ chicken served with cornbread. Instead of serving them side-by-side, I made them into something new.

A few notes, I love sweet cornbread. I don't want it any other way, and I hate shredding chicken, but it really does make the recipe easier to eat.

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, I used original Sweet Baby Ray's
2 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp honey
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1.) Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) In a large pot, put entire bottle of BBQ sauce and heat on medium.
3.) Cut chicken into large pieces, just to aid with cook time and absorption.
4.) Place chicken in pot with BBQ sauce and cook on medium heat for 40-45 minutes.
5.) Melt butter in microwave, set aside.
6.) In a separate bowl, beat eggs. Add vegetable oil, honey, and milk.
7.) In a mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir together.
8.) Pour in wet ingredients and melted butter. Stir until smooth.
9.) Pour into well-greased muffin pan. (only fill muffin slots half way).
10.) Bake 10-15 mins or until golden.
11.) While the muffins are still warm, use your thumb or a spoon to depress the middles of the muffins. Be careful not to get to close to the edges or they will not hold together.
12.) Remove chicken from pot and shred (or cut finely). Make sure all surfaces are coated with sauce, but not dripping.
13.) Spoon chicken into depressed muffins.
**Add a little salty kick with finely chopped dill pickles

Serve this with classic southern sides. We did black eyed peas and green beans, but baked beans, mashed potatoes and okra would be amazing.

I hope you love this as much as I did. It's officially my new favorite. I think meatloaf has been surpassed!