Mixing up our weeknight dinner routine sometimes can feel like a challenge . It’s hard to constantly be creative and inspired to try new things, particularly when we have an arsenal of go-to recipes that we can prepare with our eyes closed. What keeps us motivated is our desire to mix things up in the kitchen and make meals that feel fresh and exciting. The inspiration for this dish is pretty simple: Tuck’s dad came home from a baseball game and brought home a Chick Fil-A sandwich in the car. We don’t eat there very often, but he loves their dipping sauce that comes with the nuggets and sandwiches. The sauce is essentially a honey mustard sauce, which led us to create this version at home. Our version of honey mustard for this recipe is decadent and absurdly flavorful. The dish comes together in 40 minutes and will please any dinner guest. We’ve even served this to people who “hate mustard” and they’ve come back for seconds!

Creamy Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

Makes: 4 servings

Total Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 large chicken thighs (about 1.75 lbs)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs garlic powder
• 2 tsp paprika
• salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup heavy cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Season the chicken thighs on both sides with the garlic powder, paprika, and salt and pepper. Heat a large, oven safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and brown the chicken thighs for 6 minutes per side, starting with the skin-side down. Turn the chicken thighs back to being skin-side down and put them in the oven for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the chicken from the oven and place the pan on your stove top. Remove the chicken from the pan and onto a plate. You lightly cover the plate with foil to keep the chicken warm.
4. Bring the pan that you cooked the chicken in up to medium heat. Remember it was just in the oven and do not grab the handle without an oven mitt! Add the wine and use a whisk to scrape all the brown bits from cooking into the wine. Cook for 3 minutes to cook the alcohol out of the pan.
5. Add the Dijon mustard and honey to the pan. Stir well to combine. Turn the heat down to low and add the heavy cream, if you are using it. Whisk everything together and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Add the chicken thighs back into the pan and let the chicken cook in the sauce on low for a 3 minutes before serving.