Dijon Chicken with Mushrooms

Full of flavor from crispy bacon, garlic, onions, tangy Dijon mustard and lots of wine, this Dijon Chicken with Mushrooms will wow your tastebuds.

 

Whenever we head to the grocery store, I always check out the “discount” section with yellow labels because 1. I love a bargain and 2. I have freezer space to hoard the goods if we aren’t going to eat them right away. 

Last week however, my yellow label item was a big container of beautiful Swiss brown mushrooms. They looked absolutely perfect so I knew I’d have time to use them before they turned on me. 

I started the recipe search on my own computer because I regularly save recipes that I never get around to making. This one popped up, saved from way back in 2012, which probably never got made because tarragon was hard to come by in both Egypt and then Dubai, where I was living that year. 

Here in Jersey, I’ve got a tarragon plant on my kitchen windowsill!

Dijon Chicken with Mushrooms

If getting tarragon is an issue for you, wherever you live, you can use dried (just use half the amount) or substitute your favorite fresh herb. My preferred brand of Dijon mustard is Maille. This recipe is adapted from one in delicious. magazine, October 2012 issue.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs or 675g chicken breasts

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 slices bacon

Olive oil

7 oz or 200g mushrooms

2 large cloves garlic, crushed

1 onion, sliced

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped, plus extra to garnish

2 cups or 480ml white wine

1 tablespoon brandy

1/4 cup or 60ml double cream

For serving:

Cooked pasta or rice

Method

Cut the chicken breasts into chunks and season them with the salt and pepper. 

Peel and slice the onion thinly. Peel and crush the garlic with the side of your knife. 

Cut the bacon into pieces and fry in a large pan till crispy. Set aside, leaving behind as much bacon fat as you can. 

Add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan and sear the chicken until golden on all sides. 

Depending on the size of your pan, you might want to do this in batches so as not to crowd the pan. As the chicken browns, remove it to a plate.

While the chicken browns, trim and slice the mushrooms. 

Once the chicken is done and all on the plate, fry the mushrooms in the pan until golden. 

Add the garlic and onion then cook until soft. 

Stir in the mustard and tarragon. 

Add the white wine and brandy, then boil for 2 minutes.

Add the chicken and bacon back into the pan and simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes stirring now and then. 

Stir through the cream.

 Garnish with fresh tarragon and serve over pasta or rice. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with fresh vegetables. Technically, I suppose mushrooms are not vegetables since they belong to the fungi kingdom but we tend to use them as vegetables in cooking, so that’s my excuse. Many thanks to our host Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe. Check out the recipes below. 

• Air Fryer Honey Roasted Parsnips from Palatable Pastime
• Dijon Chicken with Mushrooms from Food Lust People Love
• Insalata di Pomodori from Culinary Cam
• Mushroom & Green Peas Curry - East Indian Style from Sneha’s Recipe
• Roasted Tricolor Carrots with Coconut Orange Glaze from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Smoked Kielbasa and Vegetables Skewers from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tomato & Zucchini Galette from Amy’s Cooking Adventures

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Pepperoni Jalapeño Pizza Quesadillas

Pepperoni Jalapeño Pizza Quesadillas make a great packable school lunch, full of flavor and easy to eat. No utensils needed! 

If you are packing lunches for multiple people, quesadillas are super flexible. Just a couple of triangles might do as the main for younger children while older students or grownups might eat a whole quesadilla. Or more! 

Our jalapeños aren’t really spicy hot but they do add a little crunch and flavor. You can leave them out if you or your lunch eaters can’t do spicy at all. 

Pepperoni Jalapeño Pizza Quesadillas

As you might have read here before, my preferred tortilla is one I can buy at my local grocery store. They are called mitad y mitad because they're made from a combination of corn and wheat flour. Use your favorite fresh tortillas. 

Ingredients to make four quesadillas

8 tortillas

3 1/2 oz or 100g grated mozzarella

1/2 cup or 128g pizza sauce, homemade or store-bought

24-28 pepperoni slices

2 whole pickled jalapeños, sliced

Method

Use one tortilla to estimate how many slices of pepperoni you will need. My tortillas are about 5-6 inches or 12.7 – 15.3cm so seven pepperoni slices each looks about right. You don’t want to overcrowd the quesadilla.

Start by warming the tortillas in a nonstick frying pan. Set them aside.

Put one tortilla back in the pan then top with 1/8 of the pizza sauce and the pepperoni and jalapeño slices. 

Sprinkle on 1/4 of the grated mozzarella. 

Spread 1/8 of the pizza sauce on another tortilla and carefully set it, sauce side down, on the one with topping in the pan. 

Cook until the bottom tortilla is toasted and then carefully turn the quesadilla over to toast the other side. 

When both sides are toasted, remove the quesadilla to a cutting board and leave to cool briefly before cutting into triangles. 

Repeat the process until you've made four quesadillas, cut into triangles. 

Pack into lunch box containers. I love the flat ones I use also for salami and ham because, unlike the deeper containers, they don’t take up much room in a lunchbox or picnic basket. You can also wrap these in foil.

These pepperoni jalapeño pizza quesadillas can be reheated by a quick zap in a microwave, if one is available, but they are just as tasty chilled or at room temperature. 

Enjoy! 

It's Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing favorite lunch box recipes, easy to pack, great to eat. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the links below. 

• Antipasto Skewers from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Allergy Friendly Granola from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Hawaiian Plate Lunch Macaroni Salad from Palatable Pastime
• Peanut Butter Chip Brownies from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pepperoni Jalapeño Pizza Quesadillas from Food Lust People Love
• Sabudana Vada from Sneha's Recipe
• Vegetable Poha from Mayuri's Jikoni

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Blue Cheese Spinach Fig Tarts

Savory cheese, earthy spinach and sweet figs baked in puff pastry make these little blue cheese spinach fig tarts the perfect light summer meal. 

When it’s fig season, my consumption of fresh figs is only hampered by my reluctance to pay the big prices often commanded in my nearby grocery store. But I do enjoy them so much that sometimes I succumb to temptation.

Mostly I just eat them plain, straight out of the little basket, especially if they are quite sweet. When they aren’t quite a sweet as they could be, I find baking them helps. And adding a savory element like cheese heightens their innate sweetness, like a sprinkle of salt on watermelon.

Blue Cheese Spinach Fig Tarts

If I have a choice of blue cheeses, my favorites are Roquefort, which is made with raw cow’s milk or Bleu d’Auvergne which is marbled with the same blue-green mold from the Penicillium roqueforti. Use your own favorite blue cheese! 

Ingredients

6 3/4 oz or 192g frozen spinach, thawed

1.1 lb or 500g puff pastry block

4 ripe but firm figs (about 7 2/3 oz or 216g)

3 1/2 oz or 100g your favorite blue cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Drain the thawed spinach and squeeze as much excess liquid out of it as you can.

Trim off the stems then cut the figs into wedges.

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C fan. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. 

Crumble the blue cheese in a mixing bowl. 

Add in the thawed spinach along with a few generous grinds of black pepper and toss lightly with a fork to combine. 

On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry out into a large square, then trim the edges. 

Cut the pastry into four equal squares. 

Fold the corners in and then up to create a short wall of pastry all around.

Divide the blue cheese spinach mixture into four equal portions. You can, of course, eyeball the portions and skip this step but I find it easier to use my scale and take the guess work out. 

Add half of the apportioned blue cheese/spinach mixture to one of the little tart shells. Top with 1/4 of the fig wedges. 

Finish with the other half of the blue cheese mixture. 

Assemble the other three tarts the same way and transfer them to your prepared baking sheet. 

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven or until the puff pastry is golden and the cheese is melted. 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before serving. 

Or cool completely before storing in an airtight container, separated by baking parchment or wax paper. These individual tarts are great picnic food and absolutely taste better outdoors with a glass of chilled rosé.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are celebrating Eat Outside Day with recipes perfect for your next picnic. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the links below. 

• Blue Cheese Spinach Fig Tarts by Food Lust People Love
• Cheese Muffuletta (Vegetarian) by Palatable Pastime
• Chicken Fajita Foil Packets by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Heirloom Tomato & Whipped Feta Sourdough Sandwich by Our Good Life
• Keto Salami & Egg Cups by Sneha's Recipe
• Muddy Buddy Marshmallow Brownies by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Pesto Pasta Salad by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Quick Pork Liver Pâté by Karen's Kitchen Stories

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Bacon Cheddar Spinach Waffles

These bacon cheddar spinach waffles are the perfect savory breakfast or dinner, plain, buttered, with syrup or even topped with a sunny-side up egg. 

Despite the savory nature of these waffles, we very much enjoyed them with Pearl Milling (formerly Aunt Jemima) butter lite pancake syrup, which our family prefers to real maple syrup. I know, I know, it’s sacrilege to those from maple producing areas, but the taste buds can’t be convinced otherwise. We ate these waffles as breakfast for dinner one evening and the sweet syrup with the savory waffles was perfection.

Then, the very next morning, I popped a couple of the leftover waffles in the toaster and fried a sunny-side up egg to top them with, along with a couple of pats of butter. The runny yolk ran into the buttered waffle holes in a glorious way! Another fabulous meal. Highly recommend, 10/10.  Grilled tomatoes optional but they did go nicely.

Bacon Cheddar Spinach Waffles

My frozen spinach is whole leaf so I chop it into smaller bits once thawed. If your frozen spinach is already chopped, you can skip that step. Do not skip the step of pressing out excess liquid once it’s thawed. No cheddar? Substitute your favorite semi-hard cheese. In my Belgian waffle maker, this batter makes 11 square waffles.  

Ingredients

3 1/2 oz or 100g frozen spinach, measured frozen, then thawed

1 3/4 cups or 220g flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda or bicarbonate of soda

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

a few generous grinds of black pepper

3 1/2 oz or 100g mature (sharp) cheddar

3 1/2 oz or 100g real bacon crumbles

2 cups or 480ml buttermilk

1/3 cup or 80ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for greasing the waffle maker

2 eggs

Method

Squeeze any excess liquid out of your thawed spinach then chop it with a sharp knife. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

Grate your cheddar and add it along with the bacon crumbles to the dry mixture. Toss to coat.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil and eggs. Add in the chopped spinach and stir well to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold until well combined. 

Preheat your waffle maker as per manufacturer’s instructions.

Using a pastry brush, grease your hot waffle maker with some canola or other light oil.

 

Pour batter into the center of the lower half of the waffle maker, being careful to leave room for when the batter spreads out as you lower the lid and also for when the waffle starts to rise when baking.

Close the lid and watch for the signal that your waffle is cooking. On my waffle maker, the light is red while it heats up. It goes green when it is ready for batter, red when it is cooking and then green again when the waffle is ready.  

I leave the waffles in just a little bit longer after the light turns green the second time so the waffles are nice and crispy.  But if you like them less crunchy, by all means take them out earlier.

Put the waffles single file on a pan in a warm oven to keep warm if you aren’t serving them to hungry hordes as soon as they are ready. 

Repeat the process until all the batter has become waffles. 

Serve them plain, buttered, with syrup or topped with an egg. Refrigerate any leftover waffles and rewarm them in your toaster or oven to serve. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and we are celebrating National Waffle Day which happens to be today! If you have a waffle maker, I suggest you do the same. Check out all of the links below.

• Apple Cinnamon Waffles from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Bacon Cheddar Spinach Waffles from Food Lust People Love
• Gingerbread Waffles from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Gluten Free Waffles with Poached Pears in Balsamic Reduction from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Keto Spiced Omelette Waffles from Sneha's Recipe 
• Oatmeal Waffles from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Protein Waffles from Our Good Life
• Waffle Cupcakes from Amy's Cooking Adventures

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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