Recipe Corner

[nyteflyer]

At lovewizards' request, I shall share something yummy. 



 

 

    

This is my son's absolute favorite entree and probably my favorite chicken dish as well.  It'll get rave reviews when you serve it to guests, but it's easy enough to fix anytime.  If I don't fix it at least once a month, I never hear the end of it -- and that's with me doubling the recipe so there'll be plenty of leftovers.  GothBoy and I never get tired of it.

Here's the original recipe, which I found in Taste of Home magazine:

Bacon & Cheese Topped Honey Dijon Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup honey
• 4-1/2 teaspoons canola oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• Dash paprika
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• 8 bacon strips, partially cooked
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

Directions:

• In a small bowl, combine the mustard, honey, 1-1/2 teaspoons oil and lemon juice. Pour 1/2 cup into a large resealable plastic bag; add the chicken. Seal the bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate the remaining marinade.
• Drain and discard marinade from chicken. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in remaining oil on all sides. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Transfer to a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish.
• In the same skillet, saute mushrooms in butter until tender. Spoon reserved marinade over chicken. Top with cheeses and mushrooms. Place bacon strips in a crisscross pattern over chicken.
• Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 170°. Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 4 servings.

I like to serve it with something earthy like a rice pilaf and maybe some steamed asparagus, but it's great with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob, too.  My son invariably slaps it on a bun and turns it into a sandwich.

The first time I made it, both GothBoy and I agreed that our one and only complaint was that we wished it were saucier.  Going forward, I made extra marinade to spoon over the chicken before it went into the oven. 

Okay, that's still the way I make if for company.  However, I work retail and have an erratic schedule, so when I get home after standing on concrete all day, I'm happy to cut the dinner prep time any way I can.  Plus there isn't always quite enough money to go around, so I pinch pennies til the little fuckers squeak.  So for a "just us" dinner, I cut the following corners:

* Instead of making the marinade myself, I use store-brand honey mustard dressing.  (I get the one that says "for salads and dipping" -- $1.50 at Wal-Mart)

* I go with mushrooms out of a can or jar so I don't have to bother sauteing them -- plus they're cheaper.

* I use turkey bacon instead of the piggy variety because 1) GothBoy prefers the taste (and I also think the flavor works better with this particular dish), 2) it's a bit healthier than the real deal and I like to think it offsets the artery-clogging goodness of all the extra cheese we add to this recipe, and 3) it's a little cheaper than regular bacon. 

*I prefer extra virgin olive oil to canola oil.

* During the summer when I really don't want to fire up the oven, I just do the whole thing on top of the stove in a large covered skillet instead of in a baking dish. 

Point is, whether you go by the book or monkey around with it to suit yourself, this stuff's da bomb!

And as a bonus, here's the quick 'n' easy rice dish I came up with to serve on the side:

Nutz About Mushrooms 'n' Rice!

2 boxes Rice-a-Roni long grain and wild rice
2 large jars or cans of sliced mushrooms, drained 
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup slivered almonds

In a large saucepan, stir together the mushrooms and the contents of the Rice-a-Roni boxes, plus the water and butter/margarine the boxes call for.  (Okay, I'm southern, so I increase the butter a bit.) Cook according to package directions.  When it's just about done, stir in the nuts and cook a minute or two longer, then serve.

This makes tons, so if you're just cooking for one or two people and don't want lots of leftovers, go halvers on everything. 

 

Comments

[lovewizards.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. Thanks!

This looks really, REALLY, REALLY good.

[nyteflyer.livejournal.com]

Oh, it is! It was on the cover of a magazine we sold at work a coupla years ago. Six or seven of us photocopied the recipe, and all of us have made it constantly ever since. It's like restaurant food you make yourself.

[lovewizards.livejournal.com]

It looks like both can be made with pantry, fridge, freezer staples too. I'll m=be making this sometime this week. It looks relatively easy to pare down to one or two servings too, which is a huge bonus.

[nyteflyer.livejournal.com]

Yep on all counts. Let me know how it turns out!

[lil-1337.livejournal.com]

That looks really tasty. *notes the recipe*