My mom recently got us a subscription to Everyday Food Magazine. I love it because it's basically like a small cookbook in my mailbox every month. In fact, my favorite cookbook is an Everyday Food compilation, and I'd say we use it more often than any of our other cookbooks. The pages throughout my cookbook are spattered from cooking, and the book often falls open to our most-frequently-made dishes.
Our first issue of Everyday Food arrived not too long ago, and after I eagerly read through it, I bookmarked a few recipes for us to try. The most recent issue is filled with a plethora of lighter recipes, which I am finding perfect for after-the-holidays (and going into Valentine's Day!). The recipes that stood out to me were a Chicken Tortilla Soup, Braised Chicken Thighs, and a few recipes for desserts!
The Boy and I decided last week that we wanted to try one of the bookmarked recipes, and settled on this one: Braised Chicken Thighs with Winter Vegetables. The recipe looked fairly easy, and even though the cooking time was a bit longer than I'd prefer, it sounded like a good and filling one-pot meal.
When we went grocery shopping, we were able to find all but one of the ingredients: the savoy cabbage. We made the decision to make the recipe without, rather than change plans. Because of the amount of time needed to put this meal together, we made it for Sunday dinner, after I got back from a seven-mile run.
The recipe was easy enough to follow, and I was lucky to have an oven-proof skillet. There was a lot of sautéing and taking the pan in and out of the oven, but overall, I found the recipe to be more hands-off than anything else. While the chicken was braising in the oven, the house smelled incredible: like bacon and chicken, onions and carrots, mustard and garlic. We couldn't wait to dig in once the pan was out of the oven and on the table.
My first bites were incredible: the chicken was tender and flavorful, with a hint of the Dijon mustard used in the braising liquid. The potatoes and carrots were perfectly cooked - soft, without being mushy. Neither The Boy or I liked the apples - they seemed to absorb a lot of the Dijon flavor, to the point of being overwhelmingly mustardy, but everything else was lightly flavored. The bacon added a rich, almost smoky quality to the chicken and vegetables, and was a nice compliment to the chicken. I would absolutely make this recipe again.
Have you made any fun recipes lately?
