Healthy family recipe: Barbeque chicken sandwiches with coleslaw

Avoid high fructose corn syrup found in some store bought barbecue sauces by making your own with this simple recipe. This dinner came together quickly for a simple weeknight meal for my family. My husband approved and while it didn't win over my girls, they said it could be added to our dinner rotation.

I added additional spices, cumin and onion powder, from the original recipe to add more depth to the sauce. It's a sauce you can easily add different spices to your liking. I served the sandwich with the slaw on top and a side of steamed broccoli.

Barbeque chicken sandwiches with coleslaw

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon chili powder, divided
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder (garlic powder could also be used)
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion, divided
3/4 cup unsalted tomato sauce 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
3 cups packaged cabbage-and-carrot coleslaw
4 (1 1/2-ounce) whole-wheat hamburger buns

Preparation:

1. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1 teaspoon chili powder. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; let stand 5 minutes. shred chicken into large pieces with 2 forks.

2. While chicken cooks, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup onion; sauté 5 minutes. Add remaining 2 teaspoons chili powder, tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. stir in chicken; keep warm.

3. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, remaining 1/4 cup onion, remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and coleslaw. top bottom halves of buns evenly with chicken mixture, slaw, and top halves of buns, or serve slaw on the side.

Adapted from Cooking Light

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