What’s Cookin’ – Chicken Dijon

Once upon a time, there was a stay at home mom with five young children and a hard working husband.  This woman was starting to get taken for granted.  Instead of thanking the mom for doing the laundry, cleaning the house, buying the groceries, cooking the meals, and paying the bills; they complained.  “Why isn’t such and such washed?”  “Why do I have to pick up everything?”  “Why are we having THAT for dinner?  Yuck!”  “Why can’t you buy me that now?”

And when the mom talked to the children or asked them questions, she got smart alecky answers, sassy mouth, and rolling eyes in response.  And hard working husband, was not overly supportive of hard working wife.  The girls, after all, had him wrapped around all of their fingers and toes.

And every time she asked her family what they wanted for dinner, they replied, “Chicken.”  “What kind of chicken?”  “Any kind.”

The mom just wanted a little gratitude and a little appreciation and a little feedback.

So, she decided to teach her family a lesson, and she went on the silent chicken strike.  She didn’t initiate any conversations with her family, but she did answer their questions.  With as few words as necessary.  She continued to do the work around the house since that was her job after all.  But, she picked up the stuff left lying around and put it into large trash bags and put them into the storage closet.  Five children times an average of 6 items amounted to over 30 items picked up a day.  She counted.

And, every day for a month, she prepared chicken for dinner.  Never once did anyone complain about the food.  But they did notice the change in behavior.  Eventually, the mom got over herself and returned to “normal.”  And the kids and husband started picking up their stuff and being a little nicer.

The End.

Here is one of my favorite chicken recipes.  I made it this past weekend.  It contains Dijon mustard, which I love.  The husband and kids claim to hate mustard.  After they sopped up the juices with their chicken and rice, I told them about the mustard.  One of the kids stopped the bite of food in mid air, but then thought the better of it and continued eating it.

I love it when they eat something they claim they don’t like!

Chicken Dijon – the ingredients.

This is another recipe that I have had since the 80s.  It is hand written on a recipe card, but I did not note the source.  Back then, you could not readily buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts so the original recipe mentions to do this to whole breasts.  I buy the bulk bags of 5 ounce breasts, and this recipe makes enough sauce to prepare up to 8 pieces.  Or you can just use the extra sauce over your rice and vegetables like my family does.

Pound the chicken breasts between 2 pieces of waxed paper so that they are flattened evenly.  This ensures that they cook nicely without part of the breast being overdone and part underdone.  Season with salt and pepper.  Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat.  Sauté the breasts for 6 to 7 minutes on each side until done.  Do not overcook as you want them to be tender.  Remove the chicken to a warm platter.

Stir the flour into the pan drippings and cook until bubbly.  This will take about 1 to 2 minutes.

Gradually add the chicken broth whisking constantly until smooth.  Reduce the heat and add the cream.  Bring to a low boil and allow to thicken.  Add the mustard and stir to combine.

Return chicken breast pieces to the skillet and allow to reheat for a few minutes.

 

Serve immediately.  My family loves this with rice and green beans.

Yummy.