Honey-Dijon Chicken

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH, 2009

4.5 stars (out of 5)

I had a bit of time this afternoon (for once!), so I decided to use it to try out a new recipe. GV from my internship tipped me off about a website (pioneerwoman.com) which has recipes and photos at every step (very similar to mine, but much much better quality!) and I thought I would try one of the recipes there. It was great! Here is the link to the recipe (with better pics: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/01/ranch-style-chicken/).

Ingredients (for 6 chicken breasts... I halved this for 2):

1/2 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Chicken breasts
Bacon
Cheddar cheese, shredded

1. First, I mixed together the dijon, honey, paprika, salt and lemon juice, and whisked until smooth. I also added just a few red pepper flakes to spice things up!

2. Next, I (or actually SB) took a mallet to the chicken to ensure it was an even thickness (this prevents overcooking).

3. I then marinated the chicken in a bowl (covered in the fridge) for an hour and a half (anywhere from 1-3 hours).

4. During this time, we had some appy's: olives and some dips with a fresh baked baguette (they sell these in the frozen section of the grocery store, and I highly recommend! Stick it in the oven for 14 minutes and voila! - you have a fresh baguette!).

5. Once I was ready to start cooking again, I prepared some asparagus by washing, salting, and covering in olive oil. I placed these in the oven at 425F for 7 minutes. I did this because our (convection) oven does not cook food that is on the second rack very well. This way, I cooked these first, and then put them on the bottom rack to keep warm. If you have a normal oven, just place them in the oven for 10 minutes (with the chicken, after it has cooked for about 3-4 minutes).

6. During this time, I also cooked the bacon (approx. 2 strips per chicken breast)...

7. ... and set aside, keeping approximately 1/2-1/4 of the bacon grease set aside. We kept it in the skillet, but as suggested in the original recipe, you may want to clean your skillet to prevent a lot of smoke once you cook the chicken.

8. Once the chicken was marinated, I removed the excess marinade and seared the chicken in the pan of bacon grease for a max of 1.5 minutes per side. You want it just blackened, but not the chicken inside cooked.

Veggie version:

9. I added the chicken to the oven, now at 400F for ~10 minutes (with the asparagus).

10. At this point the chicken was done and I added 1-2 slices of bacon to each breast...

11. ...and covered with cheddar cheese.

Finished asparagus:

12. I cooked this for another 3-5 minutes until the cheese was melted and the bacon hot.

Veggie version:

13. Served with the asparagus:

Overall, this was a very delicious meal, and SB loved it. The only downside is that it seems a bit fatty with the cheese and bacon. I am thinking that this will be reserved for special occasions, but that I will use the chicken and marinade for regular dinners as it was super tasty (and served with veggies and a salad, a fairly healthy meal). One other thing... with the bacon cooking and then the seared chicken, my place smelled soo good!