DIVINE & EASY Creamy Chicken Dijon Tray Bake!

This creamy chicken Dijon tray bake is so easy but tastes so rich and moreish. Chicken thighs are browned and served with bacon, mushrooms and an absolutely delicious creamy Dijon mustard sauce. It is all of your vegetable and protein in one dish that you basically pop in the oven to bake. This is a pushy recipe Dear Reader!

I can't get enough of chicken tray bakes. Not only are they easy but they're also delicious and in one swoop you can get enough dinner for at least a couple of nights sorted out and eat something delicious and home made. I usually serve tray bakes with a salad for crunch but in this case, this makes such a delicious, creamy sauce that I'd suggest mashed potatoes, rice or pasta to help soak up that wonderful sauce.

Dijon mustard comes from the town of Dijon in Burgundy, France. It has a pale, creamy brown colour and is made using brown mustard seeds, verjuice and white wine. Burgundy is a region known for its wine and many centuries ago winemakers grew mustard in vineyards as a cover crop as it attracts bees and helpful pollinators. And now it is a thriving industry of its own. If you use other mustards in this recipe, particularly hot ones, give it a try just adding it by the teaspoon and just taste the cream sauce before adding more.

This tray bake is wonderful with mashed potato or with rice and is very much a comfort food. You can also replace the cream with evaporated milk to make it a bit healthier. Mr NQN absolutely loved this chicken tray bake and I loved it as it took the edge off the chilly Autumn weather. Lately we've been busy with a few things and one of them was adding to our family as Mr NQN promised me that we could get more dogs when we moved.

I came across a little dog called Bella. She was a senior bichon baby with one eye although she was completely blind. She came from a puppy mill and the blindness was probably a result of that. She had other complications like she couldn't stretch out her back so she was permanently curled over from being kept in a tiny cage. Puppy mills are hell on earth for dogs and should be banned and when you see a puppy mill dog your heart breaks for them and the cruelty they have endured. Bella was sweet but holding her was like holding a pudding as she was completely passive. We also felt like she may not have long for this world as she was 12 years old.

I was still keen to give her a home for her last few months or years but Mr NQN was less so. I understood his concerns, she had so many issues and when I go travelling it would be just him, Teddy and Bella and it's a lot to put that on one person. We told the lady we would discuss it and she agreed with that and then let her know that unfortunately we couldn't take Bella. As for Teddy he was fine with Bella greeting her nicely and then carrying on but when we got home he got particularly close to me. I guess I had forgotten to ask his opinion on getting a new sibling!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you have any tips on how to introduce a new pet sibling? How often do you make tray bakes and what would you serve with this?

Creamy Chicken Dijon Tray Bake

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 60 minutes

Serves: 6

• Oil for frying

• 6 chicken thigh fillets, skin on or off (around 1kg/2.2lbs)

• 250g/8.8ozs bacon rashers, chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 3 clove garlic, peeled and sliced
• 250g/8.8ozs button mushrooms, quartered
• 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs. dry white wine or chicken stock
• 300ml/10.6flozs cream (or evaporated milk)
• 2-3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon chicken stock powder
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Heat a frypan or skillet on medium high heat and add oil and brown the chicken on the skin side (even if the fillets are skinless). Remove and set aside. In the same pan fry the bacon until it becomes crisp and add the onion and keep frying in the bacon and chicken fat. You shouldn't need to add more oil but it depends on how much fat you have on the bacon so add a little extra oil if needed. Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Step 2 - Spread the mushrooms out on a large baking dish and add the bacon mixture and mix with the mushrooms. Add the wine or stock and then add the chicken on top. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and take off the foil and continue baking for 15 minutes.

Step 3 - Whisk the cream, Dijon mustard and chicken stock together. Then spoon over the chicken and mushroom mixture and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve with rice or potatoes.