When I was about 8 years old, my mom was pregnant with my youngest sibling. She didn't have much energy and so we started watching Little House on the Prairie so she could have some downtime! (Granted, I had already read the books by this time. TV is no substitute for good books!) In the middle of the series, Laura meets Almanzo Wilder (Manly). Nellie also has a crush on poor Manly and invites him over for dinner, hiring Laura to do the cooking. She asks Laura to make Cinnamon Chicken, Almanzo's favorite. Laura, bitter that Manly is going on a date with Nellie that SHE is cooking for, tears off the label of Cayenne Pepper and uses it generously, even adding more when Nellie demands it. Well suffice it to say, Manly takes one bite of the chicken and runs coughing out of the restaurant.
Ever since then I have been cooking Cinnamon Chicken! Im not sure if this is an actual recipe out there, Im sure it is. My recipe is my own, and its a bit different than most.
As you can see in this picture, my chicken is frozen. You can start this recipe with frozen chicken, or you can skip that and instead massage the cinnamon and water into the chicken about 30 minutes before you want to cook it. If it is NOT frozen, go ahead and stick it in the fridge (with cinnamon on it) and leave it there till you're ready to cook it.
Chicken is my nemesis. I always forget to take it out of the freezer. So instead of worrying about it, I take it out about an hour before I want to start cooking. I generously sprinkle cinnamon all over it. Then I pour a little water over the chicken and rub the cinnamon all around, making sure to get both sides. I sprinkle a little more cinnamon on, add some salt and pepper and a generous helping of red pepper flakes (both sides), and put the lid on the pan. Every 7 minutes or so I turn the chicken over for ultimate thaw-age.
Fast forward about 40 minutes. The chicken should be pretty much defrosted. Its not a big deal if its not all the way. At this point, I usually take the chicken out of my pan and rinse my pan out. There will be a lot of excess cinnamon at the bottom and you don't want it to burn onto your chicken.
Heat up your pan on medium heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Add a little olive oil to it and wait for it to sizzle. After your pan is sufficiently heated up, add your chicken back in. There should be a good amount of cinnamon and red pepper flakes on your chicken still (on both sides) as well as salt and pepper to taste. Put the lid on the pan and let the chicken cook, turning it over every 3-4 minutes or so. Once your chicken is cooked all the way through and sufficiently bouncy. (Clench your fist and feel the muscle down from your thumb. It should feel like that.) You can always cut into your meat to make sure its well cooked.
Serve with sweet potato and jalepeno fries!
I forgot to take a picture of it looking perfect, but this picture just shows how delicious it was!!
Cinnamon Chicken
You Will Need:
- 1 Chicken Breast (Double, triple recipe, as needed)
- 2 tsp (up to 3 tsp) of cinnamon, divided
- 2-4 tsp Red Pepper flakes, divided
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1/4 c. water
Directions:
1. Sprinkle 1 tsp cinnamon over chicken. Rub the cinnamon into the chicken breast (even if frozen). Flip over, repeat.
2. Add water, sprinkling over chicken as you pour into pan. Massage the chicken breast, rubbing the cinnamon into the chicken. Sprinkle both sides of chicken breast with extra cinnamon.
3. Add 1 1/2-2 tsp of red pepper flakes, flip chicken. Repeat
4. Salt and Pepper both sides of chicken breast.
3. Add 1tsp olive oil, making sure to coat the chicken.
4. Let chicken defrost if frozen, otherwise put chicken back into fridge for 25-30 minutes.
5. Once chicken is thawed, take the chicken breast out of the pan. Rinse Pan.
6. Heat up the pan on medium heat with the rest of the olive oil.
7. Add the chicken and put the lid on.
8. Flip chicken every 3-4 minutes till finished.
9. Serve immediately!
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