The other night while I was tucking in my super snuggly 10 year old into bed, we discussed possibilities for the next night’s dinner.

“Fennel” he suggested, “I really like it because it’s sweet and also very healthy!”
“What would you like for our protein dish?” I asked.  “What about that roasted chicken I made the other night that you guys gobbled up?”
“No, something else, something sweet and sour,” he replied.
“Ok,” I said.  “What about agave lime chicken?”
“Yum!  That sounds great.” my little gourmand answered.

After that we snuggled up some more and I asked him what he was thankful for.

“That I get to go to school, eat pizza and play my instrument,” he said babbling on happily about still other things for which he is grateful.

Having children is a lot of work, as we all know.  And yet, there seems to come a point (when they can dress themselves and then help with the household chores some) that they start to become a lot more fun and a lot less work.  That’s the point that we’re at now.  We’ve been there for a while and I am relishing every moment of the time we spend together (except when they’re fighting, that’s a bit loud).

On a different night, my son begged to come along to a class I taught at the fabulous Culinary School of the Rockies (the place is amazing and I highly recommend ALL of their classes).

He pleaded with me, “just tell them you have an assistant and he teaches with you.”

I left the house without him and still had a delightful time teaching in their stunning facilities with a great bunch of students and the amazing CSR staff helping out to boot.  Maybe next time I’ll take him ;-)  For now, he’ll have to settle for the agave lime chicken.

Agave Lime Chicken
1 whole chicken (2-3 pounds) 1 whole chicken
1-3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon celtic sea salt
3 limes
2 onions
1 head garlic
dash cumin
dash chili powder

1. Rinse the chicken and pat dry
2. Place chicken in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish breast side down
3. Drizzle with olive oil and agave, then sprinkle with salt, cumin and chili powder
4. Stuff one lime into the cavity of the bird
5. Cut the other 2 limes and place in the pan
6. Cut the onions in half and place in the pan (I left the skin on)
7. Leaving the skin on the garlic, break the head apart and scatter the cloves around the pan
8. Bake at 350° for 45+ minutes until the skin starts to brown
9. Remove chicken from oven and raise heat to 450°
10. Turn the chicken over so that breast side is now up
11. Bake for an additional 15 to 25 minutes or until thigh temperature (taken with an instant read meat thermometer) is 170°-180°
12. Remove chicken from oven
13. Carve chicken and drizzle with pan juices before serving

Serves 4

I may have first heard about agave lime chicken from ~M, who discussed it long ago in the comment section of one of my posts.

The original credit for this recipe goes to the Goddess.  The Goddess of Gluten-Free that is.  She has a delightful looking recipe for this combo and I give her full credit for coming up with it.  Thanks Karina!  I love your down to earth ideas and super sassy writing style.