Dijon Chicken

While wondering what I wanted to have for dinner, Dijon Chicken popped into my brain. After culling through several variations of recipes, I found this recipe on the Taste of Home website. I selected it because it was simple and relatively easy to make. I served it with oven roasted potatoes and a green salad.  

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 small onion, halved and very thinly sliced
• Minced fresh parsley

Directions

• 1. Whisk together cream, mustard and brown sugar. Pound chicken breasts with a meat mallet to even thickness; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• 2. In a large skillet, heat oil and butter over medium-high heat; brown chicken on both sides. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and cream mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 165°, 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

Potato Leek Soup

While skiing at Deer Valley one day this winter, we stopped for lunch at the Empire Lodge. I had potato leek soup that was hearty, filling and memorable.  I wanted to find a recipe that matched up to the flavors of the soup I had at the Empire Lodge. Some recipes were just the leeks and potatoes with a lot of cream, some had herbs and others had wine. After looking at several, I decided on the ingredients that I wanted in my recipe. Served with a crusty bread and a nice salad and you have comfort food on a winter's eve.

Ingredients

3 leeks cleaned, white/light green parts sliced thin
1 lb. Yukon potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, mined
2 TBSP. unsalted butter
1 tsp. salt
4 cups chicken broth (prefer low sodium)
1 cup whipping cream (I use 1/2 & 1/2)
1 cup dry vermouth

Sauteé leeks, onion, garlic in butter for about 8 minutes or until translucent. Add potatoes, broth, vermouth and salt bring to a boil; simmer for 15 minutes. Add cream and simmer for 10 minutes.  Puree to preferred consistency with an inversion blender or regular blender.