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)

Pork Cutlets with Pear and Maple Sauce

I know that the tradtion is to serve Apple Sauce with pork dishes especially Roast Pork but pears are becoming a very popular replacement. 

Many recipes have roasted pears, using the nice Beurré Bosc pears which become very soft and creamy flavoured when roasted.  I saw this recipe which combined pears, maple syrup and fresh thyme and was immediately excited by the thought of combining all three flavours - three of my favourite flavours.

 

The pork cutlets, were easy to cook so the hero of the dish was the Pear and Maple Sauce.  And a hero it was... tasty and also very easy to make.  The recipe called for the sauce to be blended at the end of the cooking time but I was impressed with the chunky rustic look and left it that way.

 

 

Pork Cutlets with Pear and Maple Sauce

(Recipe adapted from Weight Watchers Cook The Classics Cookbook)

 

Serves: 4

ProPoints per Serve: 8

 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 brown onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

3 pears, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/2 cup chicken stock

cooking spray

4 x 150 gram pork cutlets, fat trimmed

4 carrots, cut into batons

2 cups frozen peas

 

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic and thyme leaves and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened.  Add pears, maple syrup and stock and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until pears have softened.  If desired, process pear mixture in a food processor until smooth.

 

Lightly spray a large non-stick frying pan with cooking spray and heat over a medium heat.  Cook pork for 5 minutes each side or until browned and cooked through.  Remove from pan and allow to rest.

 

Meanwhile, boil, steam or microwave peas and carrots until tender.  Drain.  Serve pork with carrots, peas and pear sauce.  Add an addition 3 propoints if served with a medium baked potato.

 

(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)

Stir Fried Beef with BBQ Sauce

Recently in the Australian Weight Watchers Magazine this recipe was published. I must say it looked very nice the first time I read the recipe and it was also raved about on the Weight Watchers forums for several weeks.

So you know what that means, right? I just had to give it a go and of course, made a few minor changes to the recipe to suit us.....

Firstly I don't like microwaving vegetables for an asian style dish. I always prefer to cook them fresh so I removed the beef strips from the wok, proceeded to stirfry the vegetables and then when just about cooked I returned the beef strips to the wok.

Secondly as a family we love saucy chinese dishes especially when serving with steamed rice so I made a little more sauce which I added just before the end of the cooking process.

Stir Fried Beef with BBQ Sauce

Adapted from: WW Magazine (Australia)

Serves: 4

Points per serve: 6.5

2 cloves of garlic crushed

3 tablespoons tomato sauce

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons maple syrup

500 grams beef, thinly sliced

3 green shallots, cut into 3 cm lengths

1 medium carrot, thinly sliced

150 grams broccoli, cut into small florets

80 grams snow peas, trimmed

2 tablespoons dry sherry

2 cups steamed rice, to serve

Combine garlic, 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoons tomato sauce and 2 tablespoons maple syrup in a large bowl. Add shallots and beef allowing to marinade for at least 15 minutes (longer if you can).

Heat oil in a wok or large non stick frying pan over high heat. Cook beef mixture in batches until browned. Remove from heat and repeat with the remaining beef mixture. To the same pan stirfry the carrot and broccoli for 2 - 3 minutes. Return beef mixture to the pan along with the snowpeas. Add remaining combined sauces and dry sherry. Stir fry for a further 2 - 3 minutes or until beef is cooked through.

Serve with steamed rice.

N0te - 3/4 cup rice yields approx 2 cups cooked