What's For Dinner: Chicken Dijon

From: the Better Homes and Gardens "New Cook Book, 10th edition" (copyright 1989!)

I don't normally buy cookbooks. There are so many resouces on the Internet that I don't think it's necessary. However, I found this one at a consignment shop for $1.99 and couldn't pass it up!

My unofficial rule for buying cookbooks: there must be at least 5 recipes you would DEFINITELY use. Otherwise, it's not worth it.

The ingredients:

2 medium chicken breasts

1 tsp. lemon-pepper seasoning

1/4 tsp. onion powder

2 T butter or margarine

light cream or milk

2T flour

1 T Dijon mustard

My substitutions:

I don't have lemon-pepper seasoning, so I used a bit of lemon juice.

Similarly, I don't have onion powder so I used Italian seasoning. Garlic powder would probably also work too.

**Don't be afraid to substitute! If it seems like a good idea, smells good, then go for it!

The process:

Rinse the chicken. Pat dry.

Squeeze a bit of lemon juice on either side of the breasts. Sprinkle with pepper and seasoning (Italian, in this case).

Put a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Melt about a tablespoon of margarine in the skillet.

When warm, add the chicken. The recipe says to cook 10 minutes on each side. I prefer cooking 5 minutes on each side for a total of about 20 minutes. The chicken should be nice and browned.

When the chicken is cooked through, transfer it to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Measure out 2/3 cup of light cream or milk (I used milk).

Pour at least half into the skillet, scraping up the chicken drippings with a spatula.

Add two teaspoons of flour to the remaining milk and mix it together. Add that mixture to the skillet. Also add the tablespoon of dijon mustard.

Stir until it is thick and bubbly.

I like to drop the chicken back in the skillet to coat them and then pour the sauce over the chicken on the plate.

Side dishes:

I did some Bird's Eye steamfresh rice and veggies. Four minutes in the microwave and then straight to the plate. Easy and no mess.

You could, of course, easily boil some rice yourself.

Some asparagus or green beans would also be great with the dish. Boil some water and drop the green beans in. Top with a bit of margarine.

Or, put your asparagus on a baking sheet with a bit of olive oil and salt at 400 degrees. Either option is easy and delicious.

The damage:

All of this should only take about 35 minutes from start to finish.

I used a skillet, a plate to season the raw chicken, tongs, a spatula, one liquid measuring cup, a teaspoon measure and a tablespoon measure. The only thing I needed to hand-wash was the skillet. I think this clean-up aspect is super important. You don't want to spend much of your night in front of the sink!

The finished product:

(I'll work on my food photography in the future!)