Dijon Dipped Chicken and Asparagus with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Asparagus is so good and so cheap right now I'm cooking with it on a weekly basis. However, just the good ol' steamer gets old after awhile and quite frankly, I don't want to post another blog post that doesn't contain something a bit creative and unique, so I found a great recipe for asparagus involving fruit. I paired this with a beyond basic chicken recipe that I've made for more than 10 years. Some of my guy friends in college would rave about the "stuff" on this, rather, what oozed off the chicken and got a little crispy in the oven. So I present to you...

Dijon Dipped Chicken and Aspargus with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts (about 6 oz total)
• dijon mustard (approximately 1/2 cup)
• light sour cream (approximately 1/2 cup)
• breadcrumbs (approximately 1/2 cup)
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup sliced red onion
• 2 TB pine nuts
• 2 1/2 TB orange juice
• 3 TB raisins
• 2 tsp honey
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp orange rind
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Combine equal amounts of sour cream and dijon mustard in a bowl and mix well. Dip each chicken breast into sour cream/mustard mixture and coat with Italian breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes depending on thickness of the breast.

For the asparagus side dish, you'll only need about 10 minutes to prepare and cook.

Cook asparagus in boiling water 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and pine nuts; cook 4 minutes. Add orange juice, raisins, and honey; cook 2 minutes. Stir in salt and orange rind. Arrange asparagus on a platter; top with onion mixture. Sprinkle with pepper.