Saturday night’s alright

(Disclaimer: So I’ve already had a few people (whom I dearly love!) call or email to advise that I do not know how to spell all right... I do indeed know how to spell it correctly, but I’m going with the thought I had when I wrote the title for this post -which was Elton John’s hit, “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” … and if Elton spells it that way – it’s just fine and more than alright with me!)

After a long day of company picnicking, errands, and cleaning – a quick dinner was in order for Saturday night. I’ve used pomegranate molasses several times before, so just click on that ingredient and it will take you to the easy recipe. Pom molasses is a valuable ingredient to have on hand. It gives a great big punch to everything from chicken, lamb, beef, and fish to your run of the mill – ho-hum vegetable dishes.

Chicken, Onions, and Peppers with Pom-Mustard Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless chicken thighs
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 large white onion, peeled, quartered, and cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 small shallots, peeled and minced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 large red or yellow bell peppers, seeded and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
1 cup water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Freshly cooked brown rice or quinoa

Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the oil and chicken thighs and cook for about 10 minutes per side or until it’s well browned. Add breasts to thighs in pan and cook for about 5 minutes per side. Remove all chicken pieces from the skillet and keep it warm.

Melt the butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, shallots, garlic, and bell peppers and cook for 3 minutes. Add the pomegranate molasses, water, rosemary, thyme, and mustard and heat to a boil, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium, add the chicken back to the pan and simmer for 8 minutes or until the juice mixture is slightly thickened.

Once again, remove the chicken and bring it to a boil for 5 minutes, reducing the liquid to about 1 cup.

Serve chicken with hot rice or quinoa, spooning juices over the top.

Serves 4