Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken ~ Heart healthy!

This is a simple way to spice up a low-calorie dinner, I enjoy this honey mustard chicken breast recipe prepared on the grill using boneless, skinless chicken. But you could easily prepare it in the oven during the winter months.

You simply prepare the marinade, set a few tablespoons aside for spooning on at serving time, and let the chicken relax in the sauce before cooking. I often make the marinade at lunchtime and put the chicken in for about 6 hours. But when pressed, I've marinated in as little as 45 minutes, and it still comes out good. The marinade takes under 10 minutes to prepare and the chicken breasts take under 15 minutes to grill. So it really is a quick yet flavorful dinner and a great way to prepare those hard-to-grill boneless, skinless breast pieces which I typically avoid when grilling. Using the marinade helps to keep them moist and flavorful.

As I mentioned at the outset this recipe has a little kick, and that's mostly from the red pepper flakes. If you don't like even mildly spicy (hot) food, then omit the red pepper flakes. With that said, the red pepper flakes really just add a medium bit of heat that compliments the sweet honey, so I do prefer to include them.

Ingredients (serves 4)
1/2 cup of whole grain Dijon mustard
1/2 cup of honey
Juice of 1/2 a lemon (1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved*

*I'm actually using cut pieces of chicken breast in these photos, as I find a half of a chicken breast these days to be extremely large. I'm not sure how they grow such large chickens, but I find the size of these 'organic cut chicken breast pieces" more palatable.

Instructions

Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl. Reserve 4 tablespoons of sauce and then pour the rest over the chicken, turning each piece to coat. Place in a zippered storage bag or in a dish covered with plastic wrap. Marinate for as long as possible, up to 8 hours, although as noted above it can be as little as 30 minutes. Remove from refrigerator during the last 30-60 minutes and let it sit at room temperature. Remove chicken breasts from excess marinade and cook. Dispose of honey-mustard mix in which the chicken has been marinating.

Grill:  Clean and oil grill grates. Preheat the grill on medium-high heat for 15 minutes Grill chicken for about 5 to 7 minutes per side turning half way through. Cooking time will depend on thickness. Oven: Place in a uncovered baking dish in a preheated 350F degree oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is done (about 160-165F degrees internal temperature).

Pour the reserved 4 tablespoons of honey-mustard sauce over cooked chicken and let rest covered with foil for 5-10 minutes and serve.

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