Cheery-Cherry Chicken with Crispy Onion Grits

Contest: French's Cook Off 2009 - Erin Ronouf Mylroie

Winner of the People's Choice Award

As a child of the south, you would think I would love a good recipe with grits, but I was kind of not excited about this recipe. We only had a grits a few times when I was a kid. My parents are both from Illinois, so they would make grits every now and then when they felt like trying to be Southern. My mom never made them right and they always put maple syrup on them because they didn't know how to eat grits. Maple syrup is not right, so I was never too impressed with grits and never made them myself. I first had good grits in college when I worked at the Fredonia Hotel, they made a jalapeno cheddar baked grits. Yum.

I made this recipe tonight for dinner and while cooking the chicken I almost chickened out on the grits and made mashed potatoes instead. I only had 2 potatoes and one had been gnawed on by a baby so mashed potatoes were out and grits were in. This turned out to be a really great dish! I was surprised how good the honey mustard and cherry were together, not too sweet but packed with flavor. I thought the grits would seem out of place and the French's Onions seemed like more of an after thought than part of the recipe, but again I was wrong. Grits and French's Onions were a great base for this chicken! I would use it anytime instead of couscous or rice. This recipe is proof, I need to go outside my comfort zone to win contests. Loved this dish and I will make it again.

Cheery-Cherry Chicken with Crispy Onion Grits by Erin Ronouf Mylroie

Ingredients:
1 tbsp FRENCH'S® Classic Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp FRENCH'S® Honey Mustard
3/4 cup FRENCH'S® French Fried Onions
1 lb chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup cherry preserves
1 cup instant grits
2 tbsp chopped parsley
26 oz water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

Sprikle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon pepper and FRENCH'S Worcestershire sauce. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook for four minutes per side, or until nicely browned. In a small bowl combine FRENCH'S honey mustard, 1/4 cup water, and cherry preserves. Add to chicken in pan and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for five minutes or until sauce is warmed through and chicken is cooked through. Meanwhile, bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Slowly whisk in grits and 1/4 teaspoon salt; reduce heat to low and cook for 6 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Keep grits warm Chop FRENCH's Fried onions into small pieces. In a medium bowl, combine parsley and FRENCH'S fried onions. Stir 1/2 cup mixture into grits. To serve, divide grits between each of four bowls. Cover with one chicken breast and cherry pan sauce. Sprinkle with remaining FRENCH's onion/parsley mixture, dividing evenly, and serve. Yield: 4 servings, Prep Time: 25 minutes