Maple Bourbon Roasted Chicken with Crispy Sage

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!  I have been tremendously excited to share my new layout with you for so long!  This has been in the works for months and with the hard work of Bobbi from Ready to Blog Designs, the day has finally arrived!  She is such a lovely lady and I felt like she really listened to me to develop a page that complimented my vision. A professional through and through and I cannot recommend her enough! She also has a really fun personal blog and you can find that here!  

Some things you will notice, I now have a navigation bar at the top.  By exploring these, you can learn a little more about me, find recipes easier and have a glimpse into my non-food related posts on Life and Local happenings.  

You can also now connect with me though all social media platforms.  Go ahead... I would love for you to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and RSS.  Take a minute to subscribe to my blog so you never miss a post. I promise... no spam!  Hover over a picture and you can pin it directly from this site.  So excited about that. 

Another feature that I am super stoked about is that you can now finally search this blog for recipes.  You want chicken for dinner, then type chicken in the little box to the right and any dish featuring chicken will pop right up in the search results... How cool is that?!?!   We are still working out some kinks but it should be up and functioning shortly! 

 So please, take a few minutes and explore my new site.  Send me your feedback. How do you like it?

Oh... I also made this Maple Bourbon Roasted Chicken with Crispy Sage Leaves and it did not disappoint.  Chopping the chicken up into small chunks makes for the perfect size bites and it also cooks pretty fast if you are crunched for time.  I also suggest not to skip the crispy sage because it really adds a savory flavor to this dish.   

I'm not even a bourbon drinker but this exciting new reveal makes me want to have a drink and celebrate!  So bottoms up and please do stay for a while!  

Cheers and love my friends xoxo

Maple Bourbon Roasted Chicken with Crispy Sage

3 chicken breasts, cut into bite-size cubes

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons bourbon whiskey

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 cup olive oil

12-15 fresh sage leaves

Preheat oven to 415 degrees

Remove chicken from packaging and cut up into bite size cubes.  Season with salt and pepper and then set aside. 

In a small bowl, whisk together maple syrup, bourbon, olive oil, soy sauce, mustard, garlic, onion powder and paprika.  Pour half of the mixture over seasoned chicken and place in oven.  Bake for 30 minutes.  

While chicken is baking, heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot (almost smoking, but not quite), add about 3 sage leaves at a time and fry for 5-10 seconds while moving them around with a fork.  If oil is too hot, remove from heat for about 30 seconds so the leaves do not burn.  Remove leaves from oil and drain on a paper towel.  Set aside. 

Once chicken has baked for 30 minutes, remove from oven. Turn off heat and turn the broiler on high.  Drain juices from the pan into a small bowl and set aside.  Toss the chicken and brush with remaining marinade. Place back in oven and brown for 3-5 minutes.  Remove one more time, flip the chicken with a spatula, place back in oven and brown the other sides for another 3-5 minutes.

Remove from oven and toss with reserved juices.  Serve chicken with crispy sage leaves.