Rituals. They come in every style and many colors. Some might call them superstitions, others call them routines. And most every pro sports player won’t go into a game without following theirs. All I know is I think I’m ready to add a few new ones to my day.
I was reading an article in this month’s Esquire about things to do in January, because it’s January. Number 2 on the list of items to improve life and have fun while doing it was the suggestion to engage in a daily ritual. A ritual, not a resolution. I like the sounds of that much better. And just for one month.
Their suggestions sound pretty good:
Read a poem every night,
Walk around the block twice at noon,
or
Drink a finger of Scotch after dinner.
Does eating a finger of ice cream instead of Scotch count?
It can’t be that hard to come up with a new ritual. After all, I already have a few in the bag.
I take a tub every single night,
I read the tabloids while I’m waiting in line at the grocery store,
and
I drink at least 8 glasses of ice water a day. And sometimes a finger of Scotch.
My husband has a ritual he’s been suggesting I start for months, and it might be time for me to take it to heart.
I freeze while I work at my computer during the day. Literally freeze. Even though the thermostat is set at 73 in my office, I sit in a sweatshirt and scarf, my lower half wrapped in a blanket as I type away. My interns can attest, it’s a realllly pretty sight.
So his suggestion is for me to do jumping jacks every hour to get my blood moving. It can’t hurt, and it just might help.
And that finger of ice cream after dinner might not make as much of a difference any more either.
So let’s have fun in the comments below, what ritual would you add to your day?
There’s really no segue to this recipe. Nothing very ironic, punny or clever, anyway. So, let’s just get to the recipe.
About the recipe:
I’ve professed my love of chicken thighs before in recipes like my Lemon Chicken Stew, Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup and Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken. The darker meat creates an almost always juicy bite. 45-50 minutes in a 350 degree oven was just right.
If you’re averse to dark meat, go ahead and do the old routine of chicken breasts. I would start checking the doneness of the meat at about 35-40 minutes since breast meat dries out quicker.
German grainy mustards reign supreme in this recipe. If you don’t have a grainy mustard, double up on the Dijon.
I used tarragon in this recipe, but if you’re a fan of rosemary or thyme, those would be tasty as well.
Why is there soy sauce in this recipe? Umami baby. Soy sauce lends a salty flavor and gives the sauce a bit of a hearty base.
- ¼ cup grainy mustard
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- ½ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons tarragon leaves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced finely
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Trim any excess fat or skin from the chicken thighs, rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towels then set aside.
- Combine the grainy mustard, Dijon mustard, honey, soy sauce, tarragon and ginger in a large bowl. Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat.
- Place the thighs and sauce in a roasting dish, spooning sauce over the thighs and top with more tarragon leaves if desired. Bake for 45 minutes or until the thighs register 175 degrees and the juices run clear. Spoon sauce over the thighs and serve.
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As cheesy as this sounds I had add a ritual to find at least one thing in the day that made me smile. However I had also added the “ritual” of ice cream afterwards; so take what you can from that.
This is gorgeous! I adore honey chicken and that glaze with rosemary would be perfect weeknight wonder for any meat.
Thanks for your take on an old favourite.
Thank you and have a Happy and warm Thursday.
LOVE this Heidi! I think I should take the stairs to one of my upper floor meetings once a day. And have 3 fingers of red wine.
Stairs are good. Probably better than jumping jacks if you’re working with others 🙂
I am so in love with this chicken. It looks so flavorful and so juicy!
honey mustard is everything – the end. love!
I’m not usually a fan of honey mustard (usually too sweet) but this looks awesome, I hope my picky eaters would eat it– but if not I don’t really care this looks so good, and paired with rice yum!
It’s going on next weeks meal plan!
I am always freezing, yes that can happen even living in Las Vegas, and my husband finally busted out a little space heater that I have next to me at all times. Even when I am standing in my kitchen cooking meals. I feel your chilly pain. Oh and yes, chicken thighs for the win.
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment.
There’s no doubt that that you should write more on this subject, it may
not be a taboo matter but typically people do not talk about these subjects.
To the next! All the best!!
My husband bought thighs this week by mistake and we made slow cooker chicken adobo with them last night – I am totally sold on the thighs!!
I have never been a resolution setter, but for some reason creating a ritual sounds more doable and right up my alley. I love thinking of it that way. We have recently started a ritual of talking about our favorite part of the day with our 3 year old. She loves it and we usually laugh at her response (nap time, singing a song, or hugging a baby doll).
And, I don’t know if it’s because it was the only thing my mother would actually make while I was growing up, but I cannot get enough of honey mustard chicken. I think I must have 10 different recipes and I love every one of them. Can’t wait to try this one!
My daughter and I have the same ritual of talking about her day. Every day after school she tells me three things that she did that day, and they can’t all be “eat lunch” or “go to recess.” It’s a great way to let your kids know you’re there, and listening.
Gorgeous and I love the tarragon in this!
I love honey mustard with chicken! I often freeze/get tense while on the computer too. I’m trying to take more breaks to stretch.
My office is freezing too. Jumping jacks should work. Right now–I wear long underwear and use a Vornado personal heater under the desk. When my husband comes into the office he says,” It’s HOT in here!” Perfectly warm for me.
Ritual: 2 glasses of warm water in the morning. Works better than coffee for that constitutional.
😉
My grandmother did the same water trick every morning, but with lemon. Water, it’s always key to keeping things moving. 🙂
This sounds so delicious! My daughter has a soy allergy and I recently discovered you can substitute coconut aminos for soy…and I am going to try it in this recipe.
I may start a ritual of reading a FoodieCrush blog post every day. I loved this one and just realized how much I TRULY love your writing and your spirit! 🙂
I am with you on the thighs. So flavorful!
This meal looks so good!
New ritual? Planning out my days! I need organization!
I make a honey mustard chicken (thighs too) with honey, mustard, and bacon…this looks delicious! I am definitely pinning to try it…every one of your recipes I have ever tried have turned out amazing. I am constantly making the avocado cream enchiladas…that is a huge favorite here.
Thanks so much for letting me know Michelle! That’s so cool to hear your family enjoys the dishes here!
We made it tonight…it was really good!
Do you think this would work for wings if i halved the cook time maybe? I’d definitely want to try the thighs, but I’ve been trying to compile a list of wing recipes outside of the usual barbecue/hot/buffalo varieties.
Looks absolutely delicious! I need to try this recipe. Not usually a fan of honey mustard chicken but I’m willing to give it a shot!
Honey mustard chicken is one of my favorite ways to cook chicken—This chicken looks sooo good. Gorgeous photos!
Hmm, great flavors!
It looks simply delicious and I off to the grocery store to get the ingredients and make this tonight. Would you by any chance know the nutritional info? I’m on My Fitness Pal and counting calories. If you don’t, that’s ok. I’m gonna make it anyways. 😀
Sorry! I don’t do nutritionals on my recipes, but it should be on the healthier side.
I used the recipe importer at MyFitnessPal and it calculated this at:
Nutrition Facts
Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 487
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 16 g 25 %
Saturated Fat 4 g 20 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 180 mg 60 %
Sodium 919 mg 38 %
Potassium 495 mg 14 %
Total Carbohydrate 38 g 13 %
Dietary Fiber 0 g 1 %
Sugars 35 g
Protein 46 g 93 %
Vitamin A 0 %
Vitamin C 0 %
Calcium 0 %
Iron 13 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.
Thanks for adding the nutritionals. Very helpful.
I made the honey mustard chicken tonight, and it was delicious. I used rosemary instead of tarragon since we had it in a pot on our front porch. Other than that, everything else was the same. Yum! This is definitely a keeper and a great way to use chicken thighs. Very tender and tasty. Thank you for sharing!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and used your own rosemary!
Made this tonight… DELISH!!!!!
I used chicken breasts and double the sauce to pour over rice.
Thank you for such a delicious and easy recipe. My husband loved it!
This looks amazing. Forgive me for being a bit clueless but what is “grainy mustard” .
by “grainy” mustard I think she’s just referring to a mustard that is not completely pulverized i.e. a whole grain mustard where you can still see the seeds. I just learned how to make it actually and its super easy!!! (link, if you want: http://lovebeerlovefood.com/make-your-own-beer-mustard/)
I have a square of chocolate after dinner with a cup of tea every night. It has to be after the kids are asleep and the day is ‘done’
Can you put this together ahead of time and leave it, uncooked, in the fridge overnight? Or best to cook straight away?
Tried it – turned out great making it the night before and letting it sit overnight, then putting in the oven before dinner. Will definitely be making this recipe again!
Dear Heidi, great recipe! I’ve cooked it several times since you’ve posted it and everybody were delighted. Here is the link of my post: http://kuhinjazaposlenezene.blogspot.com/2014/02/piletina-u-sosu-od-senfa-i-meda-honey.html
Best regards,
Tanja Leković
Belgrade, Serbia
kuhinjazaposlenezene.blogspot.com
This was amazing! I made it with fresh basil leaves instead of tarragon but it turned out wonderful. I will definitely be making this recipe again!
This was a huge hit with my kids! Thank you 🙂
Heidi, this chicken looks amazing! This is going on the menu this week. I love how simple it is to make. Pinned!
Made this for my family last night. I am not usually one to post comments, but this was awesome. My son hates honey-mustard but scarfed this down. I doubled the sauce and reserved some back. When the chicken was almost ready to come out of the oven, I drizzled the remaining sauce and put it under the broiler for about a minute.
Thank you!
I love chicken with Dijon mustard…I use agave on it; otherwise it is done exactly like this. What an easy dish and quick, not much prep. Thanks for sharing.
My office is cold all winter…..I work at home in a basement office making custom window treatments. I discovered LL Bean wool socks this past winter which help along with silk long underwear, a scarf around my neck and a long sweater or fleece over layers of clothes! Sometimes I even pin a fleece wrap around my hips and legs! So I sympathize with you! My ritual is to have a nice glass of red wine with my dinner each evening! Can’t wait to try your recipe!
I only have bone-in thighs and I want to make this! Any adjustments need to be made because of the bone? Thanks!
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Making this tonight, my mouth is watering!
Hi there! I would love to try this recipe for dinnerr soon. A quick question, can I substitute Dijon to Brown Spicy mustard? I’m out of Dijon. Will substituting totally ruin the recipe? Thank you in advance!
It will just mellow the flavor, but will certainly be great I’m sure. Let me know how it goes.
This.looks.fabulous. Definitely going on my menu for next week! Thanks for sharing!
Hi. I just wanted to stop in and say that I found this recipe on Pinterest and made it last night. So, so good and easy! The tarragon is an awesome touch! Thank you!
I’m so glad you liked it! If you ever think to make something from FoodieCrush and take a photo, tag #foodiecrusheats on Instagram.
love the honey mustard chicken recipe. But sadly there is a BIG problem with adding the sauce after cooking. why would you tell some one to add a sauce that raw chicken has been in, to cooked chicken? Inbetween step2 and step 3 you should say make enough sauce to divide into 2 bowls, then in step 4 at end say spoon over chhicken with leftover sauce! After all, eating a sauce that raw chicken has been in can and will make you sick.
I didn’t read the directions that way. I took it to mean spoon the already cooked sauce that was in the dish over the chicken thighs and serve,
I agree with Jayme – I think you read it the wrong way. Sauce bakes in baking dish with chicken and gets fully cooked – then spoon it out and drizzle over chicken, rice, etc.
Delish! And so easy! I used chicken breast strips and dried tarragon. My 5 year old said that he loved the chicken more than he loves me…
Made this today and must say that this recipe is a keeper. My family and I really liked it. Thanks!
Does this get baked covered with foil or uncovered?
This sounds yummy. My husband loves all kinds of chicken. I am definitely going to try this one.
I too freeze. So my ritual is to prepare meals that I can cook in the oven. That way my kitchen heats up and smells great, which in turn brings my hubby in. We share a glass of wine while we wait for the meal to cook.
I like to read reviews from people who actually tried the recipe – here it is: I made this yesterday. I prepped it ahead of time and kept in fridge until I was ready to put in oven. I’ve never cooked chicken thighs before – I bought some but found the fat trimming process was going to be quite lengthy and I had limited time so I put away thighs and used chicken breasts. Will try thighs next time. I doubled recipe and drizzled sauce over chicken and rice on the plate. It was very good – I’ll be making this again. I’d still like to know if you’re supposed to bake it with foil on or not – I baked with foil about half way then removed it.
Made this today! I think I went overboard with the fresh ginger though, the ginger was overwhelming:( Should have stuck to exact measurements(I just eyeballed it). Had to wipe the hubby’s chicken off so he could eat it…haha oops:) My kids gobbled it up though so that’s a plus!!!
looks damn tasty! pretty sure I’ll be making this tonight.
Very nice recipe – just made it tonight, was super quick and delicious. I did not have tarragon so I subbed thyme…was tasty! I served over brown rice with a side of brussel sprouts – yum!
I made this tonight and it is definitely a keeper. All of my picky boys gobbled it up…until they asked the ingredients and I told them ginger. The looks were priceless. Next time I will just have to grate it instead of tiny dicing it. I am off to discover more of your delicious recipes.
I’m so glad you liked it! Great idea on grating the ginger, I’ve started doing that more often too.
Made this twice already. So easy and delicious. The tarragon really adds to it.
Thanks 🙂
I’m so glad you liked it Tricia, I’m a big fan of tarragon too.
nice recipe. Thanks! mom is gone and im looking for things to make…and i found this. Very simple and easy to make! Thanks Heidi!
This has been a family favourite since I first found on Pinterest last year! I dated a boy at Uni who made Honey Mustard Chicken as his speciality, so I knew the flavour combo was a winner, but the fresh tarragon and ginger lift it to a whole new level! This is our dinner tonight, with a brown rice quinoa blends and a green salad – perfect summer meal!
So glad you’re continuing to enjoy it!
My husband and I literally make this at least every 2 weeks. It is a staple in our home. We like to pair it with some yellow saffron rice and omg . its incredible. and seriously SO EASY.
I’ve just made it and it is AWESOME! The ginger makes it even better. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Can I cook in microwave.
I was wondering if I could use the dry spice tarragon instead of fresh?
I absolutely LOVE chicken thighs, because it’s inexpensive, flavorful and juicy. 🙂
I made this dish without the tarragon, as I didn’t have any on hand. So delicious!
Made this tonight just remember, I forgot the ginger it was gorgeous, I’ll have to make it again with the ginger
I meant to write and let you know that this is one of my favorite dinners. Since you posted this recipe, I’ve made this dozens of times. It’s absolutely delicious!