Chicken with Mustard Spinach

The other day I felt inspired by a recipe included in the AJC's Reach edition. It sounded really delicious, and with my usual inability to follow recipes, I did some tweaking. (Everyone who's surprised please raise their hand)  No, really, all jokes aside, it turned out amazing.

Here's my version:

The chicken was a little labor intensive for my tastes, I actually think it could be improved by cooking it in the crockpot.

Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup orange juice
1/3 cup Dijon Mustard
2 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. powdered garlic
1 tsp. wasabi powder
salt
black pepper

First, I browned the (salt & peppered) chicken in a skillet, about 4 minutes on each side, then removed and put to the side.  Next, I scraped the chicken bits from the bottom of the skillet and added the orange juice, honey, and dijon mustard. I poured in the chicken broth, slowly, mixing it as I went.  After bringing the sauce to a boil, I added the cayenne, garlic, and wasabi powder.  Simmer this on low for a couple of minutes, and return the chicken to the pan.  Cook over low heat until chicken is completely  cooked through. If sauce reduces too much, add more broth.  Serve the chicken with extra sauce spooned on top.


I fried potatoes (plain, because we all disagree about appropriate seasoning) and made spinach.  I wanted my spinach to pick up on the mustard in the dish without being overpowering.  It was declared a keeper.

1 bag frozen spinach
1/2 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
3 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. thyme

This was very easy, really.  Because the spinach was frozen and already contained liquid, I was able to throw it in the pan without any oil, and placed the garlic and onions on top.  I cooked over medium heat, stirring constantly.  When the spinach was half cooked, I sprinkled in the mustard and thyme.  Once done, I just threw it in the plate with the chicken.  It had just enough flavor to be the perfect complement.