For many years my chicken of choice was boneless chicken breasts and the reasoning was simple. They were easy; that boneless business made much quicker work of many meals. Then one day, enter boneless chicken thighs. Goodbye chicken breasts!
I have always been more fond of the darker meat in chicken; less prone to drying out certainly but I simply think it is more flavorful. Now that it's readily available as boneless pieces, it's taken over 1st Place in my heart for favorite chicken. Using it in this dish with apples, maple syrup and walnuts that are complemented with a honey mustard dressing was a total win and all we needed was a bright green vegetable on the side with some crusty bread and it was perfect.
While I spent my adult life raising children as a single mom I always prepared enough food for a larger family; leftovers were my friend. Today you might think I would cut back and prepare less but the truth is I'm still making meals with the same quantities. Dishes like this are perfect in conjunction with my FoodSaver. Do you have one? If not, it's a vacuum sealer system and I couldn't live without mine.
You put your food into a plastic bag and the FoodSaver both extracts the air and seals it tight. Dishes like this are perfect; I pack the whole meal of protein and vegetable in one bag. When I'm ready to prepare a serving for dinner it's as easy as a few minutes in either the microwave or boiling water and voila...a delicious meal in minutes. Right now I've got this dinner, some meatballs, another chicken dish and some favorite soups just waiting to be plucked out of the freezer. I've had mine for several years and it's been a lifesaver.
If you're in need of a simple one pan meal, try putting this tasty dish into your meal rotation; we simply loved it!
Apple and Walnut Chicken with Honey Mustard Dressing
Ingredients
For the Honey Mustard Dressing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Rinse chicken under cold running water and pat completely dry with paper towels. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet set over medium-high heat, add garlic and chicken thighs and sauté until browned, about 3 minutes per side.
- Remove chicken from skillet and arrange apple slices in skillet. In a small bowl, combine maple syrup and chopped walnuts. Spoon half of the walnut mixture over the sliced apples. Place the browned chicken breasts on top of the apple slices and spoon remaining walnut mixture over the chicken.
- Whisk together the honey, Dijon mustard and olive oil and drizzle over the chicken and then sprinkle it with thyme. Cover with lid and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and apple slices are fork tender.
- Transfer to serving platter and serve.
