Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Let's just come out and admit it, fellow chicken lovers: chicken can be dry. It can be one of those things you put in your mouth, knowing that you can only chew each morsel a certain small number of times, or you will simply be unable to swallow it. And yet, I do like chicken breasts when they are cooked nicely and still moist and juicy (yes, yet another reason I'm not a vegetarian). I'm therefore always on the lookout for recipes that don't create slabs of chewy, dry chicken with the texture (and taste) of clumped sawdust, but through which I can actually celebrate my love of chicken. Many of these are slow cooker recipes, since I find the slow cooking process in an enclosed dish often preserves the moisture lost through other cooking methods. This recipe is an exception though, since it is a simple pan-fried chicken dish, but one with a lot of flavor. Moreover, it contains sour cream. If my son is informed there is sour cream in a dish, you can be pretty sure that he will eat it, and in large quantities. Not sure why. Not sure I need to know, quite frankly. If it works, don't question it.

The original recipe came from Clean Eating magazine. Now often I like my food dirty - yes, sugar and butter are staples in my house. I believe in everything in moderation though, and we can only continue to eat the unhealthy things if we balance out our diet with some healthier options, like this dish for example. The advantage of this one, is that no one knows they are being healthy.

Dijon Chicken
Serves 5

1 1/3 cups brown rice
5 chicken breasts (skinless and boneless)
1 1/2 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 TBSP olive oil
2/3 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
2 TBSP fresh chopped basil
4 packed cups spinach, coarsely chopped
4 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1. Cook rice according to directions, drain and set aside.
2. Sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with paprika, salt and pepper.
3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium/high heat. Add chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes each side, until cooked through. Remove from skillet and transfer to a plate. Cover and set aside.
4. Reduce heat to medium/low and add sour cream, mustard, lemon juice and basil to skillet. Stir until heated through, scraping off browned bits from bottom of pan (around 20 seconds).
5. Uncover chicken and slice into strips. Spoon 2 TBSP of sour cream mixture over the top, dividing evenly. Cover again and set aside.
6. Add rice, spinach and lemon zest to remaining sour cream mixture, along with 1/2 cup water. Taste and season with more salt if necessary. Stir gently until spinach is wilted (about 20 seconds).
7. Spoon rice mixture on to plates and top with chicken.