Maple-Dijon Baked Chicken

I have 10.5 days of school left until summer break. It's a good feeling, but winding down the school year just brings an onslaught of wrapping everything up, which causes some stress. I somehow had some extra energy today, because not only did I make dinner tonight, but I made a batch of cupcakes this afternoon waiting to be frosted. There are 3 co-workers getting married this summer, so tomorrow after work we are having a little potluck get-together and I offered to bring some cupcakes. After I finish this post, I'm going to head back into the kitchen to finish up those cupcakes, so stay tuned for another post shortly.

The original title of this recipe is "The World's Best Chicken". I'm not so sure it warrants that title. It's great, and I will certainly make this again, but world's best? The chicken comes out nice and moist and the marinade/sauce gives it a really great flavor. The only issue I have with the sauce is that it sort of congeals when it bakes. Now, I know that sounds gross, who wants congealed sauce? But just the top of it does under it stays a creamy sort of mustard, so you can sort of smother it over your chicken and it's fine. It's easy to make, with nothing I didn't already have in my pantry. I have 4 different kinds of vinegar in my cabinet at all times, so if you aren't like me, you may need to grab some red wine vinegar for this. But Dijon mustard is pretty common, and who doesn't always have maple syrup? I left out the rosemary since I'm not a huge fan of it.

Maple-Dijon Baked Chicken
from Rachel Schultz

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 and grease or line a baking dish with foil. I still spray the foil with cooking spray.
2. Mix together the mustard, maple syrup, and vinegar.
3. Place the chicken in the baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce on, spreading over the chicken to coat it.
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes, mine took about 38 minutes.
5. Serve with sides of your choice.

Sorry for the super terrible picture below. I made myself a plate before I remembered to snap a photo. But, you can see what I mean when I say the sauce congeals/thickens, since it slides off when you cut the chicken.

And I always slice my chicken to check for doneness. I just never trust myself enough to know that they're fully cooked. I'm kind of a freak about fully cooking chicken....