Creamy Mustard Chicken ♥ Week One, Day Six - EatingWell Meal Plan

If you have been following my new series on one of EatingWell's 28-day Meal Plans, you probably also noticed I am not posting them in the order in which they were published. There are always many reasons that this happens.
1. The Nudge was traveling so I ate by myself and froze the remains and I just haven't had the time to defrost and take it's proper picture.
2. There were some dishes that did not quite go over well, so have been pushed down further on the list.
3. I had the worst weather that refused to give me ample natural light for a decent picture.
4. I probably buried the leftovers way back in the freezer and now can't find them.
and......
5. The weather finally broke and I just wanted to leave the house, so we ate something I did not have to cook.

All very good reasons, wouldn't you say? The last reason, and this one has been chalked up to life, is
The Nudge wanted a pizza and I wanted a burger, which if you have been following this plan, will notice there is none of either to be found on the menu.

I will say that this dish made it to the top of the list due to outside influences, one being The Nudge. He saw the picture and every day since then has asked me if we are having Creamy Mustard Chicken.

So far, out of the six meals I have eaten, this and the Cowboy Chile have made the 'can make again' list.
It had two things going for it, chicken breasts and angel hair pasta, both being The Nudge's favorite foods. Add in a mustard sauce and he just had to have it for dinner. I waited until he returned from his travels to surprise him, and smiled to be able to eat a homemade comfort meal after eating in way to many sub-par chain store restaurants. I scored a few points that night and you can, too.

Like most of the recipes in this plan, they are all easy to prepare, require minimum inexpensive ingredients, are all things we like and very kid-friendly.

I made a side dish of Asparagus with Sesame-Ginger Sauce (recipe here).

Creamy Mustard Chicken
Makes: 4 servings, 1 cutlet & 1 cup cooked pasta with 1/4 cup sauce each

EatingWell: Thin-sliced chicken breasts (sometimes labeled chicken cutlets) cook up quickly and are delicious smothered in a velvety, light mustard sauce garnished with fresh chopped sage. If you can't find chicken cutlets, cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 4 ounce pieces and place between pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet, rolling pin or heavy skillet (I use a rubber mallet from the hardware store) until flattened to about 1/2 inch thick.)

* 1/2 package whole-wheat angel hair pasta (7-8 ounces)
* 4 thin-sliced chicken breasts or cutlets (about 1 pound)
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 3 tablespoons EVOO, divided
* 1 large shallot, finely chopped
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1/2 cup water
* 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage, plus more for garnish (I used dill)

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken with garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon each salt & pepper. Place flour in a shallow bowl and coat both sides of chicken, shaking off any excess.
Reserve 2 teaspoons flour (for thickening the sauce); discard the rest.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-heat. Cook the chicken, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to a clean plate.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon oil to the pan. Add shallot and cook, stirring until beginning to brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute. Combine water with the reserved 2 teaspoons flour. Add to the pan and cook, stirring until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream, mustard, 2 tablespoons sage (dill) and the remaining 1.4 teaspoon each salt & pepper. Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat with the sauce.
5. Top the pasta with half the sauce, the chicken and then the remaining sauce. Garnish with more sage (dill), if desired.

Per serving: 447 calories; 16g fat (3g sat, 10g mono); 69g cholesterol; 42g carbohydrate; 0g added sugars; 31g protein; 6g fiber; 456mg sodium; 367mg potassium.

Nutition bonus: magnesium (25% dv), Iron (16% dv).