Honey Balsamic Grilled Chicken Wings w/ Butternut Squash Fries

It's a wing thing!  Our kids LOVE wings, really they love anything with "a handle."  LOL...the first time Tucker ate baby back pork ribs, he said that he loved them because they had "a handle to hold onto and a bone plate."  I think that theory stuck and of course he shared it with his sisters, now they all request dinner with a handle!  Haha....so funny what registers with kids.  Whatever works!  They love these so we have them almost every weekend!

This week I had leftover BBQ sauce, so I used that for my marinade!  But normally, 

Marinade

1-2 tbsps. honey
1/2 balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup dijon mustard
cayenne pepper (optional)

Chicken
2 dozen drumettes/wings - rinsed & dried
6 drumstix - rinsed & dried

Serve with...
Honey Mustard Dip Sauce

Place the chicken into a large dish.  I used a 9x13 pyrex for this much meat!  Mix the sauce ingredients up in a jar, and pour to cover all the meat.  Cover and allow to marinade in the fridge for as long as you can!  Sometimes it gets only a few hours and sometimes a whole day!  I try to get them into the marinade the night before, but that doesn't always happen!

*This is a great time to get additional chicken marinaded and grilled for other chicken recipes or salads throughout the week! Another reason I chose this recipe for Sunday, so it helped me get all my weekly prep done! ;)


Heat the grill to high heat, burn it off and clean it!
Place chicken on the grill and lower the temp to medium/low.  Anything with a bone will burn up fast any higher...so the lower the better!  Low and slow is the key!  Allow it to cook on low for about 20 minutes, then turn everything.  Allow to cook for about 20 more minutes or until an internal temp of 165 is reached.  *All grills cook different - but just remember you won't burn it on low!

I tossed some breasts and tenders in with the wings for  upcoming recipes and Lunch Salads!  The grill was gonna be on, might as well get that done too!

Turn it DOWN! Place all chicken on the grill! (You can tell my husband did this because the lack of organization and symmetry is killing me ;))

Cook on low for about 20 minutes, then turn. 20 more minutes!

Almost done!  We use this groovy thermometer to make sure we hit 165 with poultry!

The Fries
1 Butternut Squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp paprika
salt/pepper

Peel the squash!

Chop it into fries, and remove the seeds! 1 medium squash fed our family of 6 with no leftovers!

Add the squash to a container with a lid, drizzle about 1 tablespoon olive oil on them, toss in1 tsp. paprika, generous salt and pepper, cover and shake to coat.  

At this point you can store them in the fridge for a few hours until you're ready to bake them!

Preheat the oven to 400F.  (If you have convection this is a great time to use it!) Carefully place the "fries" onto a broiler pan or other pan fitting with a rack.  This allows the heat to circulate around them and crisp all the sides.  Make sure they are spaced apart, if they are touching they will steam each other and get mushy!

Bake at 400F for 30 minutes.

Voila, crispy oven fries!  You can do the same thing with sweet potatoes!