BBQ Chicken Sandwiches - without the BBQ

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 2 hours (or as long as you've got)
Difficulty: Easy

I was on my way over to Carolyn's house when Hans returned from Trader Joe's with two bags of groceries - including a pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts and a bag of brown and serve rolls. An idea came to mind for a quick and tasty dish that would be cooking while I was out. After a couple of minutes on the Internet I found what I was looking for... a recipe for BBQ sauce and a technique for making slow roasted pork in the oven. Now to see if I could use the Hans' acquisitions to create a similar dish.

Ingredients:

• chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
• 1/8 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 red pepper
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup brown mustard
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbs. maple syrup
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Using a 1 qt. sauce pan over medium heat, combine vinegar, ketchup, mustard, sugar, syrup, garlic, cayenne, salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 5 - 10 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.

Cut chicken breasts into 1 inch strips and place in a small baking dish. Season with paprika, salt and pepper. Slice red pepper and sprinkle over chicken. Pour BBQ sauce over chicken and peppers, covering completely.

Bake for 2 hours, or longer. The longer this dish bakes, the more tender the chicken will be come. Remove chicken from oven and transfer to a platter. Allow the chicken to cool for 5 minutes. Using two forks, pull the chicken apart to create small pieces of shredded chicken. Transfer the chicken back to the baking dish and mix with the remaining sauce.

Meanwhile, place brown and serve rolls in the oven and follow specific cooking instructions. When ready, cut bread and spoon a generous portion of chicken over it. Consider serving with onion slices or a sharp cheese.