Sweet and Spicy Chipotle Wings and Tenders

    I have a confession to make.  I absolutely adore chicken wings.  Seriously.  Not in a weird creepy way, but if I had to chose between a plate of awesome wings and a big juicy steak, steak would win, but only after a long hard thought about how great the wings would be.  Did you really think I'd pick wings over steak?!?  Really?!?  Ok, maybe sometimes I might...

    Usually, I fry my wings in the deep fryer, then coat them in whatever I have on hand.  My favorite is just a plate of plain crispy wings with Nando's Peri-Peri Sauce all over them.  Never had Peri-Peri sauce?  It's this fantastic hot sauce from South Africa that tastes great on just about anything you put it on.  If you love hot sauce, you have to find a bottle. 

    The only thing I dislike about making wings, is the lingering smell of the frying oil that seems to permeate every single inch of the house, and just when you think it's cleared out, it reappears in the middle of the night, waking you up with dreams of plates of chicken wings running after you.  I had to work on baking my wings despite my usual resistance.   Besides, it's kind of a pain cleaning out the fryer.

    I loved the way these wings came out so much, that I applied the same recipe to some chicken tenderloins, and they were equally fantastic!  The tenders are great on their own, or sliced up and put on top of a gorgeous salad.  Sweet and smoky, this chicken is irresistible!

    I recently found a new sweetener that I think has me actually liking stevia. Pure Stevia Extract Powderis amazingly sweet in just a teeny amount.  No fillers or added carbs, it's a great addition to a low-carb pantry.  I also tried this recipe using EZ-Sweetz Liquid Sucralose, my usual go to sweetener and it worked equally as well. 


    Here's what you'll need:

• 5 or 6 chicken wings, separated into sections, save the tips for stock, or if doing tenders, 1-1.5 pounds of chicken tenderloins
• 1/2 tsp chipotle pepper powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/8 tsp Pure Stevia Extract Powder, or 10 drops of EZ-Sweetz
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• salt

    Mix together the spices and sweetener in a small bowl and set aside.  Wash the chicken pieces in cool water and pat them dry.  Place the chicken in a medium bowl, and pour the olive oil in.  Rub the pieces with the oil until they're well coated.  Sprinkle in the spice mixture and rub it in until all of the pieces are very well seasoned.  I loved baking this in my toaster oven since it was a small batch, but you can easily make it in a regular standard oven.  Salt the seasoned chicken lightly before placing the chicken in either a small baking tray lined with foil, or on a tray with a baking rack sprayed with cooking spray.  The rack is better for the wings so all sides will crisp, but it's alright on just foil.  Put the tray in a preheated 450 degree oven for roughly 35-40 minutes.  You'll have to check on them, since it seems some batches cook faster than others, depending on how thick the wings are.  20-25 minutes is usually enough time if you're making tenders.

    Serve these with a nice fresh slice of lime squeezed over the chicken and some avocado slices.  You can easily double or triple this mixture for a larger batch of chicken, and I absolutely love the idea of doing a big batch of tenders and storing them in the fridge for a fast grab and go lunch. 

    Enjoy!

**UPDATE: I finally had a chance to put a batch of the tenders on the grill and they came out awesome!  I wasn't sure if the stevia would hold up on such high heat, but it did very well!  Tried it with the EZ-Sweetz and it was also excellent.**