Rosemary Dijon Chicken

Simple yet delicious. It doesn't get better than that.

A couple of my girlfriends and I were out having drinks a while back and we were chatting about recipes, feeding our families, etc. All of us share a love (okay, maybe obsession is a more appropriate term) of Pinterest, so it was no big surprise that we ended up talking about a pinned dish by the name of Holy Yum Chicken. My friend Amy said that even though her husband doesn’t like mustard, she’s made this twice and he’s devoured it each time. And my friend Lauren who hates yellow mustard was wary but a bit intrigued since this recipe calls for Dijon mustard rather than regular old French’s.

First of all, I LOVED the name. Holy Yum Chicken. How can you NOT make something with that title? I noticed straight away that this dish contains similar ingredients to one of my favorite go-to chicken dishes Unbelievably Simple Honey Mustard Chicken. (Remember that one? Just mustard, honey, and melted butter and it turns out AMAZEBALLS.) Well, think of Rosemary Dijon Chicken as the more sophisticated and über popular older sibling of the honey mustard chicken dish.

I stuck to the original recipe pretty closely but decided to use agave instead of maple syrup, omit the salt, and add a bit more rosemary. I didn’t have any fresh herbs on hand so I used dried rosemary but using the fresh stuff would probably make this dish even more incredible. I also used chicken breasts instead of thighs but I doubt it matters all that much. Finally, I didn’t really think the “sauce” needed thickening so I didn’t use any cornstarch. Here’s what I came up with.

Rosemary Dijon Chicken
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
Olive oil spray
½ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons dried rosemary, divided use (use fresh if you have it)
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Spritz a medium glass baking dish with olive oil spray.

In a small bowl, mix together mustard, agave, vinegar, black pepper and 3 teaspoons of rosemary. (Save 1 teaspoon of rosemary for garnish after cooking.)

Place chicken fillets in the glass pan and pour marinade over them, turning to make sure they are coated well.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Results:
If you couldn’t guess from the intro, this dish turned out awesome. Rosemary Dijon Chicken is easy to make, the flavors dance on your taste buds, and even though it’s simple, you’ll be able to fool others into thinking you slaved away in the kitchen for hours to make this deliciousness.

If you’re tired of boring old chicken, give this recipe a try. You won’t be sorry.

Until next time,
Ryann

Rainbow Fire Slaw

Simple. Spicy. Scrumptious!

A few months ago, the hubs and I were watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network. They were featuring food trucks around the country and one of them was serving these yummy crab cake burgers with something called Tiger Slaw. It was like coleslaw on steroids. It had all sorts of crazy-cool ingredients like daikon, grape seed oil, lemongrass stalks, and kaffir limes. It sounded delicious but let’s be serious—who has these ingredients on hand? (I just now had to Google “daikon” to figure out what it was! It’s a white radish…who knew?)

Anyhoo, I wanted to make an easier, more normal-person-friendly version that was inspired by some of the flavors in the original dish. (Think green apple, garlic, citrus, and a little heat.) Plus, making slaw allows me to use my new favorite kitchen gadget, my julienne peeler. If you don’t have one, go out and buy one immediately. I got mine from Home Goods in a pack with two other peelers for $6 bucks and it’s the best investment I’ve made in a LONG time.

Now if you are expecting traditional coleslaw, just walk away now. Mayonnaise is my least favorite condiment so it’s not a likely ingredient in the recipes I come up with. However, if you’re in the mood for a flavorful, fun, and healthy variety of veggies in a tangy, punch-you-in-the-taste buds dressing, you won’t be disappointed. Here’s what I came up with.

Rainbow Fire Slaw
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
2 cups cabbage (red or green), shredded
2 large carrots, julienned or sliced into thin shreds
1 yellow squash, julienned or sliced into thin shreds
1 zucchini squash, julienned or sliced into thin shreds
1 green apple (I used Granny Smith), julienned or sliced into thin shreds
3 green onions, thinly sliced
3 limes, juiced (about ¼ cup of lime juice)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce

Directions:
Combine all julienned or sliced veggies and the apple in a large, preferably stainless steel, bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, minced garlic, apple cider vinegar, and chili sauce. Stir well to combine.

Pour dressing over the slaw and stir well. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes to allow flavors to mingle.

Toss well prior to serving.

Note:
If you’re not a fan of spicy food, swap the Sriracha for sweet chili sauce. This would be good if you were planning on serving it to kids as well.

Results:
The hubs and I seriously loved this slaw. It’s tangy. It’s garlicky. It’s spicy. It’s just plain delicious. I piled a bunch on a plate and then topped it with a piece of grilled mahi-mahi and some mango salsa and it was TO DIE FOR. So many flavors dancing on my taste buds…it makes me happy just thinking about it right now.

Rainbow Fire Slaw would be great served with just about any fish or chicken dish. If you are feeling ambitious, you can make some spicy papaya salsa from scratch and top the meat/fish with that. This slaw would also be really tasty wrapped up in a tortilla fish-taco style.

My only regret was that I didn’t use red cabbage. I would have liked this slaw to be a little more “rainbow,” but I had to make do with green since it was all Trader Joes had in stock. The yellow squash and orange carrot do lend a little color to the mostly green palette, but if you can find red cabbage, please use that instead.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did. As always, I’d love to hear your feedback. Leave your thoughts in the comment section below or message me on Facebook.

Until next time,
Ryann