Do you ever have the occasion to stare at a hunk of meat and wonder what it wants to be for dinner? It was a package of boneless-skinless chicken breasts that held my gaze. In general, I have a plan, but sometimes I am just not in the mood for the predictable. When that happens, I usually reach forward for something new, searching Google or fave foodie sites for inspiration. I didn’t have a lot of time to pull something unfamiliar together, so instead I reached back and looked through some recipes from years and years ago to revamp.
Why do we keep recipes we don’t use?
Creamy Garlic-Dijon Chicken is one such recipe, made only once or twice without much fanfare. This recipe rather bugged me; I knew it should be better than it was. We love the primary flavors of toasted garlic and Dijon in this dish, but it just didn’t WOW any of us when we had it before, so it sat in the file. That’s the way it is with food around here, if no one raves about it, it has quickly forgotten to sit in the archives, unloved. I was determined to make it a memorable dish, yet keep it easy enough for a weeknight.
Do you ever tackle a recipe, knowing it should taste better than it does, determined to bring out its potential?
It can be a single ingredient or slight method change that takes a meal from good to great. With Thai Chili Sesame Chicken Wings, it was the squeeze of lime that did it, for Parmesan & Herb Zucchini Sticks, it was Panko bread crumbs that took it over the top … part of the fun of cooking is that serendipitous moment of discovery. As it turned out, this one needed a complete overhaul to move up from the archive abyss to recipe revelry.
As I mentioned, we love garlic, but if you don’t treat it right, it can have a bitter, strong bite to it. (BTW, it’s okay if you find a little green sprout coming out of the top of your clove, just remove that part and use the rest.) Be gentle with it in this recipe, keep a close eye when toasting and remove it from the pan when it is a light tan color—more like a cute, sun-kissed nose rather than a tropical vacation.
Dijon mustard is straightforward and mild, but it needs a little help to stand up to the garlic. That is where the stone ground course mustard comes in, though it is trickier to sort out, choose one with a clean mustard taste, not too vinegary. In my opinion, it can make or break this dish. Of course, anything that tastes good to you by itself will be fine. It doesn’t take much, but it brings an important balance and texture to the sauce.
Cream, half-&-half, whole milk, sour cream … you choose. I had half-&-half on-hand, but any of these will work, adjusted for thickness (the thicker it is, less is needed). In the photo you can see we served it with Spaghetti Squash with Tomato, Basil, & Feta, except this time used goat cheese instead of feta—oh, so good together! Tender chicken finished with a tangy cream sauce studded with toasted garlic is a simple, weeknight meal we will now make repeatedly.
Note: This recipe is easy to make gluten-free, just replace the flour with sweet rice flour and make sure the mustard and chicken stock is GF, you are set!
Creamy Garlic-Dijon Chicken
Ingredients
CHICKEN BREASTS:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- sprouted wheat flour
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
TOASTED GARLIC:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 10 cloves garlic , minced (about 3 tablespoons)
MUSTARD CREAM SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon stone ground coarse mustard
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Arrange chicken breasts on a cutting board and flatten the thicker part to an even thickness, sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, and dust lightly with flour.
- To toast the garlic, heat the olive oil in a medium sized skillet over medium-low heat. Once the oil is warm, add the garlic; cook over medium-low heat until light-golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and reserve on a plate, leave remaining oil in skillet.
- In the same skillet with the remaining oil from toasting the garlic, cook chicken over medium heat, turning once, about 4 minutes on each side until chicken is 160°F with an instant read thermometer. Remove chicken from skillet and reserve on a platter.
- For the sauce, heat butter in the same skillet over medium-low heat until melted, then add the onions. Cook onions until soft, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly until flour is incorporated into the butter, about 30 seconds. While stirring, gradually add chicken stock and continue cooking until sauce will begin to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in mustards, toasted garlic, and half & half into the sauce, stir to incorporate. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add chicken and accumulated juices from the platter into the sauce and simmer for 2-3 minutes
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Shared on the following Blog Hops:
Mom Trends Friday Food
Real Food Forager Fat Tuesday
Ester says
I like the Dijon sauce a lot!
Rebekah says
I was planning meals for the weekends at home between travel and was so excited to try this recipe. It was absolutely delicious! I had one happy husband. 🙂 The only problem was user error when I tried an automatic chopper for the onions which created more “mush” than onions…oh well, live and learn. Thanks for sharing this!
Caroline says
If I haven’t already said, I’m obsessed with chicken. It’s one meat that I could honestly eat every day–whether it be plain, shredded, chopped, etc. So I’m ALWAYS looking for different recipes. This sounds incredible, and even better that it calls for ingredients that I always have on hand! Yum yum yum!
Judy Purcell says
Hi Caroline! Yes, having the ingredients on-hand is important for weeknight meals–simple, common ingredients for a quick, delicious meal.
Sawsan (Chef in disguise) says
I know what you mean about a recipe not working out the way you expect them,but it is so worth the trouble when you finally “fix it”
this recipe sounds really tempting, I have never toasted garlic before but it sounds really interesting
Judy Purcell says
Yes, I always feel a great sense of accomplishment when a recipes seemed “fixed”. Hope you try the garlic, just remember lighter is better.
Raymund says
Made only once or twice, if I had this recipe before I think I had made it more than 10 times already, just look at that. Scrumptious!
Judy Purcell says
Exactly! Thanks for saying so. 🙂
Swathi says
Judy,
This looks delicious meal, I won’t eat chicken but my hubby does. I love that mustard sauce going to try in my sandwiches.
Judy Purcell says
On sandwiches or over vegetables would be good too.
ChgoJohn says
This dish sounds delicious, Judy, especially that mustard sauce. I’ve never toasted garlic before but I’ll surely give it a try now. Thanks for the tip.
Judy Purcell says
Do let me know if you try it, I’m always curious to hear!
Barb Bamber says
Too fun.. “cute, sun-kissed nose”.. I think you’re right, there is often just “something missing” when I taste a recipe that I don’t like. I’ve not ever read of garlic being toasted like this. It would be much quicker than roasting too. I’m always on the hunt for a week-night chicken breast recipe that is healthy (to make up for those cakes) and I’ll be keeping this one in mind for this week:) xo Smidge
Judy Purcell says
I’m always looking for more chicken recipes too, though my girls much prefer beef. The garlic is quite good toasted like this, brings all kinds of possibilities for garlic lovers. 🙂
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Your dish sounds delicious. I have a three mustard recipe that i like to make because I am crazy about mustard.
Judy Purcell says
If you’re crazy about it, why not add more mustard?! Thanks for stopping by, Karen, have a great day.
Kelly @ Inspired Edibles says
This looks positively delicious – moist and full of flavour… I wish I could reach in and bring it into our home tonight for dinner! Great job.
Judy Purcell says
Thanks Kelly, I appreciate that! I feel like that when browsing sites too–be nice to pick up the phone and order delivery. 😉
Mary says
This looks like such a lovely meal. The mustard cream sauce sounds delicious and makes this entree really special. This is a dish that my family would love. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Judy Purcell says
Thanks Mary, for stopping by to comment, I appreciate that. You have a great day too!