Gimme some mustard, honey!

Growing up, I always ALWAYS hated mustard. There wasn't a thing anyone could do to get me to eat it; just the smell made me irate! Then, I was diagnosed with all these food intolerances/allergies and suddenly, the list of condiments that I loved that I could still enjoy shrunk severely. Much to my chagrin, many mustards were 100% safe for me to eat and, desperate as I was, I figured I should give them a chance. I still won't eat run of the mill bright yellow mustard, but honey mustard is firmly on my list of wonderful things to put on food.

Here's something I whipped up tonight for dinner without any planning at all (or measuring!), just using what I had on hand. It turned out great and I'll definitely be making it again.

MsChristy's Happy Honey Mustard Shrimp & Chicken

Ingredients: (Please note, these are my best guesses on amounts, as I rarely measure while I'm cooking up something in a hurry!)

• 1 lb chicken breast tenderloins
• 1/2 lb raw peeled shrimp (thawed, if bought frozen)
• 5 Tbsp cooking sherry or white wine
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 sweet onion, diced
• 4 Tbsp honey mustard
• 1-2 Tbsp honey (I like it sweet, so I used 2 Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  
• 2 tsp molasses
  
• dash chili powder (more if you like it spicy)
  
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• dash garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil and 3 Tbsp sherry (reserve the other 2 Tbs for step 2); mix in minced garlic and diced onion. Cook for a few minutes to soften onion slightly, then lay chicken pieces in single layer on top. Cook for about five minutes until perimeter of chicken turns white, then turn each piece of chicken over. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder if desired.
2. While chicken cooks, in a small dish mix all the remaining ingredients, including the 2 Tbsp sherry not used in step 1, EXCEPT for the shrimp.
3. When chicken is white all the way through, pour the sauce mix over the chicken, making sure all pieces are evenly coated on both sides. Cover with lid or aluminum foil and decrease heat to medium, cooking for five minutes.
4. When sauce is bubbling and has reduced slightly, add shrimp and stir in to coat with sauce. Cover and cook for another five minutes or until all shrimp is pink.
5. Remove from heat and serve over jasmine rice with lightly seasoned steamed vegetables.