it’s friday!! woohoo! how was your week? mine was busy and exciting and good! wil and i celebrated our second wedding anniversary on tuesday with a yummy dinner out at an italian restaurant — it was low key and perfect. we have had rain rain rain ALL week which is a bummer. rain makes me sooooo sleepy! but the weather is looking promising for today and the weekend… fingers crossed!
this week i am sharing one of mine and wil’s favorite chicken recipes for the last 5 years or so. it’s pretty foolproof. also, i got to talking with our friend nancy (hi nancy!) this past weekend about shakshuka — have you had it? it’s a north african and middle eastern dish of tomatoes, spices, onions, and eggs. you serve it in the saucepan with naan or pita on the side and it’s absolutely delicious. perfect for brunch or dinner, and a staple for us. find a “non-recipe” below!
dijon-rosemary chicken
i have been making this chicken recipe for 5 years. i created it when i lived in my first post-college apartment and it turned out so delicious that it has been a standby since then. the ingredients are simple and you most likely already have everything in your fridge/pantry. this works with chicken breasts and thighs, but thighs are the most flavorful and the yummiest. if i am ever doing a baked chicken, i prefer thighs. breasts tend to dry out easily. an overnight marinade works incredibly with this recipe, but a quick 1 or 2-hour marinade will work as well if that’s all the time you have. you’ll never believe how much flavor this chicken has — it is so simple! but the way the flavors work together is just divine.
ingredients:
1 package boneless skinless chicken thighs (1.5-2 lbs)
2-3 tbsp coarse ground dijon mustard (like this)
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 cloves of garlic, minced
juice of 1/4 of a lemon (if not juicy use 1/2)
1/4 c olive oil
coarse sea salt and pepper
how to make it:
in a large ziploc bag, combine all ingredients. let sit in the fridge for as long as you can (overnight or all day is best).
set oven to 375 and transfer chicken and all marinade into a glass baking dish with walls.
once the oven is preheated, bake for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through. (if you are using breasts and they are very thick, you will need to cook for longer.)
enjoy! this chicken is great served with rice and brussels sprouts.
shakshuka basics
i am sure you can do a quick google search to find an authentic recipe or just one that uses all the ingredients you have at home, but this is what we like to do: in a sauce pan, saute onion and garlic until fragrant. add spices (we like cumin, coriander, paprika, and sometimes a dash of cayenne) and a can of crushed tomatoes. let that stew for a bit. add any leafy greens if you’d like (kale, spinach). use the spoon to make a few little wells in the tomato mix. crack 4 eggs in, then reduce the heat to low and put the lid on the dish. when the egg white is set, take the dish off the heat. top with feta and parsley (or cilantro). serve with toasted naan.
this dish is perfect in a pinch because there are as few or as many ingredients as you’d like, and not a lot of dishes to clean. a total win in our house!
pick of the week:
french cooking music on Spotify or Pandora. put this on the next time you need a little moment in the kitchen. pour a glass of wine and enjoy. even if you just order pizza, having this on will make it feel luxurious and special.