Honey mustard chicken is the perfect dish for entertaining on a busy weeknight

Today marks the debut of No Frills Cooking, a new Food section column by Julie Hirschhorn.

First, let’s hear from Julie:

Hi, my name is Julie Hirschhorn, and my No. 1 question is always: Are you hungry? I’m 26 years old and a self-proclaimed procrasti-baker pasta lover, and wanna-be Food Network star. Some of my happiest memories involve food — from learning how to make risotto with my grandmother to my first taste of a chocolate croissant in Paris. I work as a communications professional in Washington, D.C., by day and spend my evenings in my kitchen experimenting with new recipes that are fast, affordable, and have minimal ingredients designed to maximize my limited counter space. Join me as I navigate the professional and culinary worlds and create delicious, stress-free dishes that anyone living a busy life can make time for.

When I graduated from college and started working, I was completely overwhelmed. Learning the unwritten rules of a new job, trying to make friends in a new city, AND coming home and cooking a homemade meal every night was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. So, I came up with a few ground rules for cooking:

• Five ingredients or less. I don’t have the patience or counter space to make a recipe that requires 189 different ingredients that I’ll inevitably end up only using once.
• Three dishes or fewer. I firmly believe that a recipe is only as good as the clean-up process. Food is good, but is it worth waking up the next morning to realize that a tornado hit your sink?
• Accessibility and affordability. I must be able to find all components of the recipe at a regular grocery store for a reasonable price. Don’t send me across town.
• Thirty minutes or less. Learning how to navigate a kitchen is scary enough. I need a recipe to be complete, start to finish, in the time it takes to listen to seven Taylor Swift songs.

Shortly after I created this list, a friend introduced me to Sheet Pan Dinners. The concept of cooking everything on one baking sheet for 30 minutes changed my life. There are so many combinations you can make, but this honey mustard chicken is my favorite. It’s the perfect recipe for a busy weeknight, or for entertaining friends. When they ask you if it was easy to make, you can answer honestly: yes!

The key to this recipe is using skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. Don’t be afraid of skin — it keeps the chicken juicy and tender, while adding a delicious crunch and flavor. Yes, you can make this with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or even drumsticks, but thighs work best. I promise.

Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Chicken

• 1 package of skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
• 1 stick of butter, melted (I know this seems like a lot of butter, but it’s important for the flavor and texture of the sauce. However, I’ve made this with a reduced amount of butter and thought it still tasted great)
• ¼ cup of Dijon mustard
• ½ cup of honey
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Heat the oven to 350, line a large baking sheet with foil and place the chicken thighs on it. I line my baking sheets with foil for easy clean-up (read: I don’t want to spend my time hunched over my sink scrubbing my baking sheet). To create the sauce, whisk together the melted butter, honey and Dijon mustard. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper on both sides. With a spoon, cover the thighs with the honey mustard sauce. Save any leftover sauce to pour over the chicken after it is cooked. Bake for about 30 minutes. Enjoy on a bed of rice with greens for a no-frills meal.

Serves four.