Grilled Rosemary Honey Mustard Chicken

Today I am grateful. I am grateful that I can fit into a pretty shirt again. I am grateful that my hair is finally growing out. I am grateful for comfy pants and pretty aprons. I am grateful that this semester we finally have enough money to allow me to cook and bake to my heart's content. I am grateful for church that now starts at noon instead of 8 AM, allowing me to bake on Sunday mornings! Doesn't that just sound delightful?? It is. 

I am grateful for a husband who supports and encourages my blogging, who shares my love of food. I am grateful that every day with children is a brand new "do-over". I am grateful that after 7 years of being students, and living from semester to semester, our future is laid out just waiting for us, and it is SO bright! I am grateful that I can do what I love, all day, every day. I am grateful for all the friends I have made through this experience. I am grateful for each day, and each blessing. The End. (but not really...) :)

I have a new love: creating recipes!!! I have never created so many recipes in my whole life as I have in just the past two months. I decide what I am in the mood for, look for a few recipes that look promising, take bits and pieces from each, add my own splashes here and there, always up the vanilla :), and voila! New recipe! Although from time to time, I come across a few recipes too perfect to mess with. Today I have one of each: an original, and a revelation from The English Kitchen. So, I know I use Marie's recipes a lot, and rarely change them... there's a reason for this. The woman was a chef! She knows what she's doing, people! This new recipe is something I have seen in a few places... mostly on British blogs. (I love you, British Food!) Smashed Roasted Potatoes. Hmmm... Well, no cliffhanger, they're fantastic. So here is our menu for this evening, I hope you enjoy. We did! :)

Grilled Chicken with Rosemary Honey Mustard Sauce
Printable Recipe

4-6 chicken breasts, trimmed and halved (if they're large)
buttermilk
1 tsp-ish chopped fresh rosemary

1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard (if you don't want to buy 2 mustards, just use one for both measurements, but I highly recommend both)
2 Tb fresh lemon juice
1 tsp coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
About a tablespoon of fresh rosemary, roughly chopped

Marinate chicken in about a cup of buttermilk sprinkled with about a teaspoon of chopped rosemary for about 30 minutes (while the sauce simmers) Like all those super specifics there? :)

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then lower to a strong simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Taste: if it is a bit too sweet, add a tablespoon or two of mustard. Remove from heat.

Grill chicken on a medium-medium hot grill (all grills are different!) Baste with sauce, then flip when the edges are white and the underside has gotten dark grillmarks. Baste again after flipping, and cook until done. To test, poke it with your finger; if it feels soft or squishy, it isn't done. If it is firm, it's done! *Note: we use a cheap little gas grill for this, hence the lack of specifics. Rely on your own grilling instincts!!*

Serve with more sauce on the side.

Smashed Roasted Potatoes (from The English Kitchen)
Printable Recipe

16 small new potatoes, unpeeled
2 Tb olive oil
a few sprigs fresh rosemary (I was out of rosemary!)
sea salt (or kosher salt) and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450. Place a baking tray/cookie sheet into the oven while it heats. 

Toss the potatoes together with 1 Tb of the oil till coated. Spread them out onto the hot baking tray. Roast for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven. Flip the potatoes over and then gently squash them down with the back of a large metal spoon.

This is a gently squashed potato.

This is an un-gently squashed potato.

It takes practice...

Drizzle with the remainder of the oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the tops. (And rosemary, if you have it!)

Back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until the potatoes are crispy and golden brown.

What a scrumptious meal this was!! Perhaps not the most photogenic, but despite what some may think *cough, Stephen*, not everything is about the blog! :)

The boys (all three!) were in raptures over these potatoes. Crunchy and salty on the outside, sooo soft and fluffy on the inside. They're fabulous. They're our new favorites!

All of us (except Joe) loved this new sauce creation too. It's a keeper. It's tangy and sweet, mellow and savory. I love it. I think I could bottle and sell this stuff...

Served with summery watermelon, it's pretty healthy!! If you don't count the honey... and who ever counts honey??