Tonight I was desperate — desperate I tell you! — for something different to do with my chicken thighs. I’ll be the first to admit that I get into recipe ruts, and if I had to cook — or serve — a chicken stir fry again, I think I would have screamed.
So instead of going for the one-dish fallback, I opted for the “unit meal” (a meal with separate units — the meat, the starch and the veggie) and tried this recipe for Honey Mustard Chicken. I picked this one because it had all five-star reviews (granted, only four of them, but still), it was a quickie and I had all the ingredients in the house. With only a few ingredients (including carrots and onion, honey, mustard, thyme and garlic) it was just what I was looking for tonight.
I didn’t substitute anything, really I didn’t, but I also didn’t do the recipe exactly as written (I know, it’s a compulsion, I’m sorry). Because I had about one-and-a-half pounds of chicken instead of just one pound, I doubled the recipe for the rest of the ingredients; more sauce is a good thing in my book.
I also felt compelled to whisk together the honey, mustard, garlic and thyme before adding them to the skillet. Probably a good call, but could have been unnecessary since you stir occasionally during the last step; they more than likely would have combined anyway.
So, my thoughts: It didn’t really turn out to be a “unit meal,” since I served it over a bed of baby spinach and quinoa. It’s also not a pretty dish, even with the greens and oranges (note the picture….). I’d never serve it to guests. OK, Debbie, but how’s it taste? Meh. There was nothing bad about it, but it was mostly sweet with a hint of thyme. I was tempted to sprinkle some balsamic vinegar on it because it really needed a little kick of something. Keith liked it more than I did, but overall, I just felt like it wasn’t an “us” kind of meal.
I won’t say that I’ll never make it again, but it sure won’t be for a while, and it really is a forgettable meal, so this recipe won’t be front and center in my house.
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Feb 10, 2009 @ 11:17 EST5EDT
