Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Chicken Dijon

My momma made a great discovery the other day while cleaning - she came across one of my Grandmother's old recipe holders. Knowing my love of food and our family history, she sent them home with me. 

This was such a blessing because, especially lately, I've been missing her a LOT. It's been hard and fun, but it's crazy all the random things that bring her to mind with my new job. I think she would be really happy with what I'm up to these days. Sometimes I just want to sit with her over coffee and fill her in and get her input as to what's best... She definitely was one of my biggest cheerleaders! She was always so great at creating things, making pretties, and being adventurous with even the small details of life. Little gestures like following a recipe written in her handwriting makes her seem ever so slightly, less far away...
Nostalgia at it's finest.
I went ahead and started with the first recipe held in the book: Chicken Breast Dijon. 

Per usual, I changed things around to fit what was already in my kitchen... here's how it went... 


Chicken Dijon


1/3 cup crushed Nut Thins (I was looking for a GF option - it worked really well!)


1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon dried Herbs de Provence 
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt & pepper

1 chicken breast

1 teaspoon butter


1.) Combine cheese, seasonings, and mustard in a shallow dish, stir well. Brush mixture over sides and dredge in crumbs.  

Mustard, Parmesan, Herbs de Provence, thyme, and salt & pepper mixed together before brushing on the chicken.

I brushed one side with the mustard mixture before dredging with the crumbs, then did the same to the other side.

2.) Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. 
I put a plate over my skillet (as I have no lids - gotta make the most of what we've got!) I believe this helped the chicken to keep it's moisture and have really perfect texture once it was done.

Unfortunately, my chicken breasts were ginormous. The six minutes didn't quite cut it... I added a few minutes on to each side and they cooked up very nicely. As soon as my parents caught wind that I was trying out some of Grandma's recipes, they made their way over to my house to be my taste testers (always so helpful). I asked my dad if he remembered this recipe at all and he said he most certainly did not... could have been my adjustments - could have been a more recent discovery of hers too! Either way, it was super easy, delicious, and such a nice surprise!