Roasted Mustard Chicken Breasts with Sauerkraut

I am guessing this recipe very well may just get passed over, since it has sauerkraut in the title, which not everyone cares for. Hopefully though, that isn't the case, as this was delicious.

If you're like me, you will typically will eat sauerkraut on the occassional Rueben and the even far more occassional hot dog, but that's about it. I found myself with 3/4 of a 2 lbs. bag, (which Sage had recently bought for a bratwurst topping) Since my misson this past week has been to use up the things I already have on hand to come up with healthy dinners, I wanted to incorporate it into a main dish. Most recipes I found, seemed to be either an unhealthy (an unappetizing) sounding Rueben-esque casserole, or contained pork, which I didn't have.

Then I recalled a recipe I had saved from one of my favorite blogs, Daily Unadventures In Cooking- Roasted Mustard Chicken Breasts Recipe with Sauteed Cabbage. I knew the outcome would be different with sauerkraut, but it seemed worth attempting the substitution. And it certainally was (provided, of course you like mustard, sauerkraut and thyme to begin with.) All of the flavors went so well together, and this chicken was so moist. I still would like to try it as originally written, but this way was a great usage of leftover sauerkraut. (Speaking of that, I used 1 1/2 lbs, about 3 cups, worth of it, and it was way too much, so I am going to adjust it below.)

Roasted Mustard Chicken Breasts with Sauerkraut, adapted from Daily Adventures in Cooking, serves 2
2 boneless skinless breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 tsp dried thyme, divided
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cups drained sauerkraut
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard, divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat a large oven proof skillet to medium.

Rub the chicken breasts with oil, half of the thyme and season with salt and pepper. Sear in skillet until golden brown on both sides, then remove and set aside.

Add onion and reduce heat to medium-low. Sweat onion until soft, then add 1/4 cup of the stock (I needed to slightly deglaze my pan with it, ) sauerkraut, a pinch of salt, a generous amount of pepper and 1/2 tbsp of the mustard and toss. If mixture seems dry, add remaining broth.

Combine remaining mustard and thyme and additional pepper, and brush over chicken. Nestle breasts into sauerkraut mixture. Place skillet in oven and bake until chicken is cooked through, 20-30 minutes. (Mine took about 25 minutes.) Slice breasts and sever over sauerkraut.

California Reuben/ Rachel

When I started working at my first flowershop job, we had a wonderful (but overpriced) cafe across the street. Everyday, they would have a sandwich special, and they were always so good. I thought of one of my favorites the other day- the California Something, but it been nearly 15 years and I couldn't remember it that well. I know it had turkey, coleslaw, and Thousand Island and perhaps swiss. While I remember it being Reuben-like, I am pretty sure it was served cold.

I tried looking up this sandwich discovered there are tons of versions of it, usually called a California Reuben- which is either grilled or cold, sometimes with the Thousand Island, sometimes without- or the Rachel, which can vary from having Russian dressing or Thousand Island or even spicy mustard, sauerkraut or slaw, corned beef or turkey or both, and any kind of bread from rye to pumpernickel to sourdough. We tried ours both grilled and cold, with dressing, and grilled, without. The grilled was our favorite and the dressing didn't make enough of a difference to warrent extra calories. The cold wasn't as good, but you could taste each individual component in it more. Regardless, its delicious however you make it.

For each sandwich:
2 slices of bakery rye
2-3 slices of oven roasted turkey breast
2 slices swiss cheese
Homemade Coleslaw (recipe below- or sub store bought)
Cooking spray (we use organic vegetable spray)
Thousand Island (if desired)

1. Spray skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium.
2. Place 2 slices of bread in pan. Top each slice with a slice of swiss, and place turkey on one slice. 3. As cheese is melted, and outsides of bread are becmoing a golden brown, spread a few spoonfuls of coleslaw to turkey side. When bread is desired toastedness, place the slice with just cheese on top on coleslaw side. (If using dressing, add a small amount before putting sandwich together, or serve on the side.)

Simple Homemade Coleslaw
2 1/2 cups finely shredded cabbage
1/4 cup finely shredded carrot
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cidar vinegar
1/2 cup lite mayo
1/4 tsp celery seed

1. Put cabbage and carrot in serving bowl.
2. In a small bowl, combine vinegar and sugar. Stir to disolve.
3. Put mayo in another small bowl, and add vinegar mixture, and blend well. Add celery seed.
4. Pour half of dressing on cabbage. If needed, add more, a tbsp at a time. (Keep in mind, on a sandwich, less runny coleslaw is best. Save unused portion of dressing- you can always add more if needed after chilling.) Chill for at least 4 hours.