Reaching Out with Honey Soy Chicken Thighs
These Honey Soy Chicken Thighs are a quick and easy meal, delicious served with Twice Baked Potatoes!
Hospitality is more than throwing a fabulous party for me. A party is fun, but the table experience, where we sit and talk for hours, is my all-time favorite.
This weekend we’re hosting a party with a mix of friends—some old, some new.
Graft in new people.
Why do we graft in new people? Some people really do not venture outside of their comfort zone with family or close friends, when it comes to eating together. I’m sure that works for some, but I like to take hospitality to another level. It’s not just a spiritual gift given to some, but not to others, but a demonstration and way for all of us to love others.
Add love + sharing food together, and you get something very beautiful.
We “practice” hospitality because we can always improve upon loving others well.
I’m reading Henri Nouwen’s book right now, Reaching Out. It’s hitting me hard in several areas, ways that we can improve and challenge ourselves to make a difference in this world. Sometimes it starts so close to home, like with our own families, but there is so much more!
People are lonely.
People are lonely, and I wanted to share this excerpt from his book.
The subject of loneliness makes me really sad. I know we can’t have everyone over for dinner, but I do try to incorporate in new friends, and change up the groups of people that we entertain. I could go on about this subject more, but I think I’d like to share Henri Nouwen’s words that describe it so well …
Why is it that many parties and friendly get-togethers leave us so empty and sad? Maybe even there the deep-seated and often unconscious competition between people prevents them from revealing themselves to each other and from establishing relationships that last longer than the party itself. Where we are always welcome, our absence won’t matter that much either and when everyone can come, nobody will be particularly missed. Usually there is food enough and people enough willing to eat it, but often it seems that the food has lost the power to create community and not seldom do we leave the party more aware of our loneliness than when we came.
The language we use suggests anything but loneliness:
“Please come in, it is so good to see you … Let me introduce you to this very special friend of mine, who will love to meet you . . . I have heard so much about you and I can’t say how pleased I am to see you now in person . . . What you are saying is most interesting, I wish more people could hear that … It was so great to talk to you and to have a chance to visit with you . . . I dearly hope we will meet again. Know that you are always welcome and don’t hesitate to bring a friend … Come back soon.”
It is a language that reveals the desire to be close and receptive but that in our society sadly fails to heal the pains of our loneliness, because the real pain is felt where we can hardly allow anyone to enter.
The roots of loneliness are very deep and cannot be touched by optimistic advertisement, substitute love images or social togetherness. They find their food in the suspicion that there is no one who cares and offers love without conditions, and no place where we can be vulnerable without being used. The many small rejections of every day–a sarcastic smile, a flippant remark, a brisk denial or a bitter silence–may all be quite innocent and hardly worth our attention if they did not constantly arouse our basic human fear of being left totally alone with “darkness . . . [ as our] one companion left” (Psalm 88).
~ Adapted from Henri J.M. Nouwen, Reaching Out: the Three Movements of the Spiritual Life
Reach out!
So today, with so much love, encouragement, and ways of encouraging lonely people, I challenge you to think of hospitality in a new light. Don’t just invite the same people over, always stick with family, or only invite those within your church – reach out!
Honey Soy Chicken Thighs.
This chicken recipe is very easy, yummy, and a crowd pleaser.
To be prepared for company, you can place the chicken in a ziploc bag and marinate over night. How easy is that?
Bake on foil (to eliminate clean up) and save some of the sauce after baked, to drizzle on the chicken, rice, potatoes, etc. when serving.
This chicken, plus these Twice Baked Potatoes, and this carrot recipe? Delicious served together!
Oh, and the cake? It’s Strawberry Coconut White Chocolate Upside Down Cake!
Do you only invite those within your close circle of friends (family, close friends) for dinner, or do you also meet new people and invite them over?
Get the Recipe:
Honey Soy Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless chicken thighs
- Salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder to taste
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tsp. ginger, grated
- 4-6 garlic cloves, peeled and pressed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Rinse the chicken; pat dry. Place in a ziploc bag.
- In a small bowl, combine the other ingredients; mix well.
- Pour the marinade over the chicken in ziploc bag; squeeze air out. Refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours).
- Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads 165 F.
- Serve!
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Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Love this recipe! I tried it for the first time last year and it’s been on my regular rotation ever since. Thanks for the recipe, Aunt Sandy! :)
Aww … it’s a good one, and super easy! Love you Kayla-girl!
Sandy, as usual you have touched on some very tender points of thought. And I will be checking the library for this book because the excerpts you shared hit so close to home.
Yummy-yummy)
Thanks for sharing such delicious recipes (I’m sure of this)!
Whow! Nice article! where i can get more information about it all?
Thanks! Such posts make us a broad-minded person in cooking!)
This post is absolutely catchy for the visitors. Thank you and good luck on informing people more about it!
It’s definitely made with a good content material and realizes important matter you talk about.
Sandy, as usual you have touched on some very tender points of thought. And I will be checking the library for this book because the excerpts you shared hit so close to home.
In the meantime I want to dive into that plate of food! I should never
read your posts when I am hungry.
LOVE this post! From Reaching Out to the chicken, this is wonderful. I’m definitely one to stick to the same old family and friends when it comes to entertaining. It’s just plain ‘easier.’ But, this reminder to reach out is fabulous and I need to embrace it and make it happen! (Along with these amazing chicken thighs!)
I say I do this… but each time.. I have to work up the courage again and again and again. To keep practicing…
Do you ever have that??
***
I’m going to have to find a copy of this book… wow!! love it!
Thank you Sandy for always encouraging us to reach out to others! It is what Jesus did and we are supposed to follow in his foot-steps! I just read a devotion about how he reached out to the Samaritan woman. Jesus was a Jew and Jews did not talk to Samaritans. It was not proper for a man to speak with a woman alone in pubic. But, Jesus knew this woman was lonely and needed “living water.” May we all open our homes and hearts to others!