Maple Chili

It's that time of year again. Maple sugaring season! One of my family's favourite things to do when the sap starts running is to attend the NYS Maple Weekend activities.

We first began attending Maple Weekend while living in Lewis County (Home of the NYS Maple Museum in Croghan). Sugar houses were few and far between in Chautauqua County that we didn't go to any while we were there. Since moving to the Capital District we have gone west to Fulton and Montgomery Counties and East to Washington County where from the driveway of one sugar house we were almost a stone's throw to Vermont. New York State syrup is better.

While in Fulton County we had the delight to have some Maple Chili fresh from the crockpot. This has quickly turned into one of our family favourites. Another favourite is my Quick Chili that I threw together after being told by our cheerleader that she signed me up to bring chili to the high school football game (that started in two hours). A variation of this has more ingredients and delicious flavour. One of the thousand ways I know how to cook chicken is this delicious White Chicken Chili. The last, but not least, favourite is the healthy version that we got from my hiking buddy.

      Maple Chili

Ingredients:

        1 lb. Ground Beef

        1 large Chopped Onion

        2 cans Cream of Tomato Soup

        16 oz.can Kidney Keans

        (2) 14 oz. cans Diced Tomatoes

        1/3 c. pure NYS Maple Syrup

        2 tsp Salt

        ½ tsp Pepper

        1 Tbs Chili Powder

Directions:

1. Brown together the ground beef and onion in a soup pot. 
2. Add the rest of the ingredients 
3. Simmer together for two hours or cook all day in a CrockPot.
4. Serve with these corn muffins.

Enjoy!

            Ingrid

Brown Sugar-Maple Glazed Thighs

A few years ago I shared a recipe for Maple-Glazed Chicken. The recipe is amazing, but I decided to tweak it one day. My family all agreed that they preferred my version of the recipe. Try both recipes and let me know in the comments which one you like best. This recipe is adapted for my large family.

Brown Sugar- Maple Glazed Thighs

Ingredients:

        9 Chicken Thighs

        Dash Salt

        Dash Pepper

        1 cup Real Maple Syrup (I use New York State syrup, it's the best!)

        1/2 cup Brown Sugar

        just<1/2 cup Mustard

        1 Tbls Garlic Powder

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 450°.
2. Put thighs in baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper.
4. Mix remaining ingredients thoroughly in small bowl.
5. Pour contents of bowl over thighs.
6. Brush to coat. 
7. Cook 55 minutes, basting occasionally. 

Enjoy!

            Ingrid

Maple-Glazed Chicken

This is one of my family's favourite recipes. It has just the right amount of sweetness and is pull apart tender. The taste is amazing!

Maple-Glazed Chicken

Ingredients:

        1.5 lb package of Chicken Thighs, six pieces serves three people
        1/2 cup of Dijon Mustard
        1/4 cup of Maple Syrup (I use New York State Maple Syrup)
        1 Tbs of Rice Wine Vinegar
        Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF. 
2. Then, mix together dijon mustard, maple syrup, and rice wine vinegar. 
3. Put chicken thighs into a foil-lined, oven-proof baking dish. 
4. Then, salt and pepper the thighs. 
5. Pour your maple mustard mixture over them, turning the thighs in the mixture so they are fully coated. 
6. Put the chicken thighs into the oven.
7. Baste the tops of the chicken with more sauce half way through.
8. Bake for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165ºF.
9. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. 
10. Plate the chicken, making sure to spoon some extra sauce over the top. 

Enjoy!

            Ingrid