Herbed Honey Mustard Dressing

Summer is around the corner so begins the Alfresco dining season or as we would say here Down Under it's ""Barbie Time....

I must admit though I do get sick of salads in Summer.... when I say I get sick of them I mean that I get sick of eating the same boring salad with the same boring dressing all the time.  So I do try and jazz it up here and there.

It was a beautiful balmy night in fact the weather has been beautiful here in Melbourne for the last days, hopefully showing us that this Summer will be filled with lush weather, nice temperatures and lots of sun.   We went to our friends last night, Bernie's for I guess our first official BBQ of the season.

My mission was to bring a salad.... which not a hard call but automatically got me thinking ok and "now for the dressing????" whilst I was preparing and platting all the salad up.  Something different for sure.

Move over French or Italian Dressing - hold the mayo!!!   I decided on this Herbed Honey Mustard Dressing to give the salad a zing... and that it did.  

A creamy little sweet, little spicy sauce with a hint of oregano....

Success - it was perfect.... I was happy with my salad!!!  LOL!!!

Herbed Honey Mustard Dressing 

Makes: 1 1/2 cups

1 cup low fat mayonnaise

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1 tablespoon American (yellow) mustard

1 tablespoon dried oregano

In a two cup mixing jug combine all ingredients until mixed through.

Put in fridge and allow to stand for at least 2 hours for flavours to develop if time permits.

Serve. 

(Can be stored in a sealed jar in fridge for up to 1 month, stirring/shaking well before use)

(Click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Mustard Maple Chicken Fillets (aka World's Best Chicken)

So chicken fillets in hand (well out defrosting for dinner) and I really needed some inspiration.  So I turned to good old Google.  Typing in "Chicken Fillet Recipes" and praying that something would catch my eye and inspire me.

 

One of the google hits was called 60 Awesome Ways to Spice Up Boring Chicken Breasts (yep of all the eye grabbing titles to choose). Of course me being me that was the first link I clicked on - and gee was I amazed!!  After having a look at several of the recipes via links I got down to number 45 and it was hook, line and sinker for me.  I immediately thought that is what we are having for dinner.

 

Oven baked with minimal ingredients always is a win win - often these recipes are quick, simple and involve the least amount of washing up.  There was no need to marinate before hand and all the ingredients I had on hand.

 

The title of "World's Best Chicken" of course is quite bold.  But it's an understatement.  For such a truly easy and foolproof dish the flavour was magnificient.  The chicken was tender and juicy.  The sweet tanginess of the mustard, maple syrup and vinegar combined was out of this world. 

 

Infact, for the first few mouthfuls the table was silent savouring every mouthful each of us took but at the same time we were looking around the table to see if others were having the same experience....

 

You MUST try the Worlds Best Chicken....

Mustard Maple Chicken Fillets (aka World's Best Chicken)

(recipe adapted from Rachel Schultz)

 

Serves: 6

ProPoints per serve: 8

 

cooking spray
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, syrup, and vinegar.

Place chicken breasts into a large rectangle casserole dish or a lined baking dish. Season with salt and lots of pepper. Pour mustard mixture over chicken. Make sure each breast is coated. Sprinkle with some more pepper.  Sprinkle with chopped rosemary.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Place fillets on serving platter or individual plates.  Drizzle remaining sauce evenly over chicken.  Serve.

 (Click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Creamy Mustard Chicken Casserole





I am back - hopefully on a more regular basis that what has occured over the last six months.  To be totally honest I have no idea where January has gone but I have to admit to having two enjoyable holidays with the family, one to Canberra and one to Tasmania where as you can imagine there wasn't a great deal of cooking done during either trips.

 

So with school back and a routine once again in place at the House of Murray I am back to attempting organisation!  First thing was to do a menu plan for this week.  Second a shopping list was created.... and from there here is Monday night's dinner and the first slow cooker recipe for 2014.  The recipe was adapted from a stove top recipe to a slow cooker recipe to ensure that dinner was ready for when Noel and I got home from work knowing that all we had to do was cook the accompanying dishes.

 

Creamy Mustard Chicken Casserole was totally enjoyable. The flavours of the bold tarragon and thyme against the creamy dijon mustard sauce was tantilising to the taste buds.  The herbs not overpowering infact they were quite subtle considering their flavours.  The chicken was so very tender and the casserole served with steamed veg (0ppts) and fluffly mashed potatoes (2ppts per serve) made this dinner was a wonderful mid week wonder which will definitely be cooked again.

 

Creamy Mustard Chicken Casserole

(recipe adapted from Weight Watchers Family Favourites)

 

Serves: 6

ProPoints per serve: 7

 

1 kgs lean chicken thight fillets, fat trimmed, cut into 3 cm peices

2 brown onions, thinly sliced

4 carrots, chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

4 fresh thyme sprigs

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves, chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 cups chicken stock

freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons cornflour

4 tablespoons water

1/2 cup Pauls reduced fat thickened cream

Place chicken, onions, carrots, garlic, thyme, tarragon in the slow cooker dish.

In a large jug combine wine, mustard and chicken stock.  Mix well. 

Pour over ingredients in slow cooker dish.  Season with freshly ground black pepper and mix ingredients to ensure the liquid in stirred through.

Cooked for 8 hours on low heat setting.

Combine cornflour with water and mix into a smooth paste.  Gradually stir cornflour mixture and cream into the chicken mixture.  Turn slow cooker setting to high and cook for a further 30 minutes or until slightly thickened.

(Click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Maple Glazed Pork Chops

Tonight I wanted to try something that I have never served to my family... maple syrup with meat. I have read quite a few recipes using maple syrup and I have been eyeing off the maple syrup bottle that has been sitting in our cupboard just waiting to be used. Let's face it there are obviously more uses for maple syrup than putting on pancakes, right?

One of the recipes that caught my attention during my search was Pork Tenderloin with Maple Glaze, this can be found over at For The Love of Cooking. Pam's blog is magnificent, reading her blog make you hungry and her photo's just make you want to lick the computer screen! Needless to say I have adapted her recipe as I only had pork cutlets.

The result was a meal full of flavour and enjoyed by all. It wasn't too sweet considering the use of maple syrup nor was it overpowering. Infact the balance between the maple syrup, vinegar and dijon mustard was perfect.

Maple Glazed Pork Cutlets

(adapted from For The Love Of Cooking)

Serves: 4

Points per serve: 5

5 tablespoons pure maple syrup

5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

4 pork cutlets (200g each), fat trimmed

1 tsp dried sage
sea salt

freshly cracked pepper, to taste
cooking spray

In a small bowl whisk together maple syrup, 3 tablespoons of the vinegar and Dijon mustard. Set aside.

Rub the pork cutlets with the dried sage, sea salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the pork cutlets and cook until brown on both sides, turning once, about 3-4 minutes each side. Transfer cutlets to a plate, cover with foil to keep warm.

Deglaze the same frying pan by adding the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium then add the maple syrup mixture and cook until sauce thickens a bit, about 2-3 minutes.

Return pork and juices, if any, to the frying pan and coat the meat with the glaze. Season glaze to taste with salt and pepper if desired. Serve with glaze spooned over the cutlets.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Honey Mustard Pork Cutlets

I have to admit that I was a little worried about how these pork cutlets would turn out. It wasn't the fact that the cutlets were marinated as I often marinade meat but I think it was the fact that the marinade itself called for orange rind.

Why was I worried about the orange rind of all things?

Because my family are not lovers of fruit and meat cooked together and there would have been mass disappointment if the orange flavour was too intense and overpowering. I think I have mentioned this little issue before, I can get away with cooking Ham Steaks with Pineapple and more recently managed to cook Sweet and Sour Chicken without any complaints.

Thankfully, the flavour was magic - sweet yet tangy. The combination of the honey, mustard and orange flavours was powerful yet delicate against the pork.

Basically this is a must cook recipe that is quick to prepare, easy to cook and the proof of it's worthiness... nothing left on the plate except for the bone itself. Needless to say I can cook this again!

Honey Mustard Pork Cutlets

(recipe adapted from WW Recipe Collection 2001)

Serves: 4

Points per serve: 6

4 medium lean pork loin cutlets

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange rind

1/4 cup wine

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup light thickened cream

In a shallow dish (or a snap lock bag) combine pork, honey, mustard, rind and wine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, longer if time permits.

Coat a pan with cooking spray, heat and cook pork chops, reserving marinade, until browned on both sides and cooked through. Remove from pan and keep warm.

In the same pan add the marinade and water, bring to the boil. Reduce heat and stir through the cream until combined, simmer for 4 - 5 minutes. Thicken with cornflour if you prefer a thicker sauce.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

I have had quite a busy week and Noel decided that he would cook on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend just to give me a break, isn't he sweet? And boy did he step up to the plate.

Noel, like me, enjoys the challenge of trying something new and when he puts his mind its sure to be a winner. What can I say - these were delicious and he can definately cook them for us any time he likes.

The lamb was delicately cooked, still nice and tender and was complimented by the crunchiness of the herbed breadcrumbs. I am positive that this would make an impressive main at your next dinner party.

Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

(recipe courtesy of Noel)

Serves: 2

Points per serve: 7

200 grams fresh rich white bread

2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

100g unsalted butter

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 lamb racks

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

500 ml lamb or beef stock

1 large sprig of rosemary

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C.

Remove all visible fat from lamb racks.

Blend bread until fine, add herbs and garlic and blend for a further 30 seconds.

Heat oil and butter in a large frying pan until foaming. Season the lamb racks with salt and pepper. Add racks to pan, placing meat side down first, cook for 3 - 4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and rest for 5 minutes.

Brush mustard onto the meat side of the racks ensuring you generously cover. Press herbed breadcrumbs onto the meat side, pressing firmly to form a crust. At this point, you can cover the bones with foil to reduce burning.

Place on a rack on a foiled lined baking tray. Cook for 10 - 15 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Remove foil prior to serving.

While lamb is cooking, place stock and rosemary in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half. Strain before serving.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Veal Cutlets with Mustard Sauce

Out of all the cuts of veal I would have to say that we all enjoy the cutlets the best - a bit like a beef rib eye. A thicker cut of meat but still very tender. When I tell Alexandria, our 8 year old, we are having veal cutlets she always asks if that is the "fluffy cushion" meat?? LOL!!

Normally I just pan fry the veal and serve with a seperate sauce for example blue cheese or creamy mushroom but tonight I thought it was time to try something different and I really fancied experimenting with mustard for some unknown reason! I have to say that I am glad that I did.

Veal Cutlets with Mustard Sauce

Serves: 4
Points per serve: 6

4 Veal Cutlets, 200g each
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
cooking spray
1 cup water
1 teaspoon chicken stock powder

Place veal cutlets in a shallow dish or a snap lock bag. Mix together the mustard, pepper, olive oil and wine until well combine. Pour over the cutlets and allow to marinade for at least 30 minutes, longer if time permits.

Heat a large non stick frying pan and spray with cooking spray. Remove the cutlets reserving remainder of the marinade. Fry cutlets 3 - 4 minutes eash side or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a plate to allow to rest.

Meanwhile return pan to stovetop, add the combined water and stock powder to deglaze the pan, scrapping while stirring over a high heat. Add the reserved marinade and mix well. Allow to boil and reduce by half.

Serve with the cutlets.

(Click here for a printable copy of this recipe)