Cooking for Two

Yesterday, Jesse mentioned that he would like for us to learn to cook more of a variety of recipes instead of just doing our normal stir-fry dinners.  So I found a SUPER easy chicken recipe that requires little prep time and results in a ton of flavor.


Check it out here:  http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2013/03/easy-honey-mustard-baked-chicken.html

Easy Baked Honey Mustard Chicken

YIELD: seres 6

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

COOK TIME: 50 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of grainy, course mustard
1/4 cup smooth dijion mustard
1/2 cup honey (I love Bee Raw Honey)
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of a small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
salt and pepper
3 - 4 small sprigs of fresh rosemary

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the mustards, honey, 2 teaspoons of the olive oil, and rosemary oil (optional).

In a sauté pan or cast iron skillet, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

Try to use a cast-iron dish of some sort for this because this piece can be used for the whole recipe and go from stove to oven to table. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until golden and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 1 - 2 minutes, until fragrant.

Place the chicken tenderloins on top of the onion and garlic mixture, or if the pan you cooked the onion and garlic in is not oven safe, transfer the onion and garlic to an oven safe dish and add the chicken to it. Salt and pepper the tops of the chicken according to your personal preference.

Pour the honey mustard mixture on top of the chicken. Arrange the rosemary sprigs around the chicken in the pan.

Bake the chicken covered at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. Then remove the cover, baste the chicken with the sauce, and continue to cook for an additional 20 - 30 minutes uncovered, or until the chicken is browned on top and cooked through.

Notes:

Chicken thighs also work well. I prefer boneless skinless thighs, but you can use bone-in or skin-on if you prefer. I have also used pork chops, but I brown both sides of the chops first before baking.

And this is what the final product looks like when you follow the recipe:

The image above isn't quite what our meal looked like-- we used chicken thighs and had to substitute rosemary for some different herbs, and we didn't have the grainy kind of Dijon mustard, but it still tasted delicious!  We paired this recipe with brown rice left over from the night before and added some baked broccoli and cauliflower.  Jesse ate two chicken thighs compared to my one-- note to self:  cook more than you think is necessary (leftovers are great).

Be on the lookout for more yummy recipes we have tried in the next few weeks!

~Jesse & Sara