Nom Nom

Ellie Krieger to the rescue! My ah-mazing friend Heather introduced me to Ellie a while back so I asked for her cookbook for this Christmas. Also, I've been jealous of my friend Alison's recipe posts; now that she has someone special to cook for, she's become Pacific Grove's own Julia Child. Well, I have two someone specials for whom I now cook, Mum and Dad, and here's what we had for dinner last night:

Maple-Mustard Chicken Thighs (ADAPTATION: used chick. breasts instead of thighs)

Ingredients
4 large bone-in chicken thighs (or breasts), skins removed (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 tablespoons grainy French mustard
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Combine mustard, garlic, marjoram and maple syrup in a small bowl. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons mustard mixture evenly on top of each chicken thigh, being careful to cover as much of the surface as possible to form a "crust." Arrange chicken in a glass baking dish. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until mustard mixture has formed a crust and is slightly hardened, and juices run clear when the chicken is pierced.
*I served this with white and brown rice mixed with dried chervil leaves. I will tell you that my chicken never formed a crust though the chicken was all done; I think next time I'll add chicken broth to the chicken paste to make it more of a sauce.

"Dirty" Broccoli
1 bunch broccoli (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1 T. water
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. fresh bread crumbs made from day old whole wheat bread or 1/4 c. plain (store bought) bread crumbs
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. salt
pinch of pepper

Cut the broccoli into spears and place in a large microwave safe bowl with the water. Cover tightly and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Drain the broccoli well and set aside. While the broccoli is cooking, heat the oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring, until the crumbs are toasted and golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the broccoli, toss to coat with bread crumbs and serve.

Mango Lassi

2 ripe, sweet mangos
1 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups ice (1 tray of ice)
Directions
Peel and dice the mango and puree in the blender. Add the rest of the ingredients and puree until the ice is crushed and the drink is frothy. Serve in tall glasses with additional ice, if desired.
*This was absolutely delicious BUT I like to spice up my food a little; next time I plan to add some citrus or fresh mint in with this for interest. Also, I used no honey and, instead, non-fat vanilla yogurt.