New Recipe Challenge, Day 4: Honey Mustard Glazed Chicken

This was the meal I was supposed to make on Sunday, but bumped because the mushrooms needed for the Chicken with Mushroom and Tomatoes were starting to look a little hinky.  So, here we are on Tuesday (shit, it's only Tuesday?  What the hell?) and we're ready to dive into the Honey Mustard Glazed Chicken.  I don't remember exactly where I found this one, but it wasn't a Pinterest thing that I'm aware of (so feel free to put it out there should the mood strike you).  And, hell, anything that has mustard, honey, AND curry powder in it has got to be fabulous, right?

Also, in the interests of full disclosure, I'm in the middle of a major allergy attack and more than slightly stoned on medications.  I apologize if this comes out as complete gibberish.

Anyway, let's get started!

You'll need:

I forgot to put the damn lemon in the picture.  You need a lemon, too.  Okay?

• Chicken breasts.  The recipe called for six, I only used two since, well, there are only two of us;  I know Eleanor won't touch this and I'm not even going to try.  I left the amount of the rest of the ingredients the same, since I rarely measure anything anyway and like lots of sauce.
• Olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• Paprika, salt, and pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or approximately 1/2 a lemon's worth)
• 1/3 cup Dijon Mustard
• 1/4 cup Honey
• Curry powder.

What to do:

This seems like a good time to introduce you to one of my idiosyncrasies.  I'm trusting you here, so no laughing.  I try very hard never to cook or eat whole chicken breasts.  For some reason, whole breasts have a flavor that bothers me.  I can't explain it other than that they're "too chicken-y".  So, I will almost always slice or cut up chicken breasts prior to cooking, with the exception being grilled chicken.  That's okay for some reason.  Yeah, I know I'm weird.  Don't judge.

So, with that confession over with, you will need to:

1.  Slice or cut up your chicken breasts if you want, or you can leave them whole.  Please remember that whole breasts will cook slower than chunks or strips.

2.  Season your chicken with the salt, pepper, and paprika to your liking.  

Don't be afraid of the paprika.  Oh, and how do YOU say 'paprika'?  Is it pap-REE-ka?  Or pap-reh-ka?

3.  In a heavy skillet with some olive oil, cook the onion until translucent.  I over did the onions a bit and they browned more than I would like.  Still, caramelization is your friend, right?  The, add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides.  

Cooked onions.  Wow.

4.  Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

5.  In a separate bowl, mix together the lemon juice, mustard, honey, and curry powder.  

See?  I remembered the lemon this time.

6.  Add the sauce to the skillet, simmering over low and scraping all the browned bits of chicken off the bottom.

7.  Return chicken to skillet and heat through.  I actually let it simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes while the rice was cooking.

8.  Serve with sauce spooned on top of chicken.  We had it with white rice.

The verdict:  I can hardly smell or taste anything right now, but according to Adam, this was actually pretty decent.  I thought I tasted a bit of a burned flavor to it, but hubby didn't mention anything about it.  I would definitely make this again, but need to play around with the flavor balance some more.  I think I overdid the curry, which is a definite risk you take when you don't measure anything.

Eleanor's take:  I didn't even try this with her tonight.  I just wasn't feeling up to the battle.  She had nuggets and tater tots.

Approximate cost breakdown:  I already had almost everything already, so all I needed to get was the chicken, the onion, and the lemon.  

Chicken - $2 (approx $1/breast)

Lemon - $0.38

Onion - $1

Total:  $3.38 for the 2 of us, not counting the rice.  Of course, this is assuming you already have honey, mustard, curry and paprika on hand.  If not... well, then what the hell's wrong with you?  (I kid, I kid.)

If you try this, please let me know what you think. 

I hope you'll join me tomorrow for the one recipe I have been dying to try out for weeks:  Balsamic Roast Beef!  Hopefully, my allergies will leave me alone tomorrow.