Creamy Chicken Dijon

I know I've mentioned before my great aunt who is (well, was as she passed away a few years ago) a James Beard award winner for a cookbook she authored. One of the cookbooks she wrote was a low carb slow cooker one. My mom had a copy and gave it to me the last time I did Phase One of the South Beach Diet. I hadn't used it, then when I was meal planning for this past week I got it out to see what was in it. I had originally slated this for Wednesday night because I knew we'd be getting home late, but then plans ended up changing, so I didn't make it. I had meant to make it for Saturday night then but forgot. So it then became our Sunday night dinner.

Creamy Chicken Dijon
Source: Low-Carb Slow & Easy by Frances Towner Giedt

2 large leeks, white part and 1 inch pale green
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp crushed dried tarragon
1-1/2 ounces prosciutto, cut into 1-inch wide strips
1/2 cup white Burgundy wine or low-sodium canned chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream

Cut the trimmed leeks in half lengthwise and wash well. Thinly slice on the diagonal. Place the leeks in the bottom of a 5-quart or larger crockery slow cooker.

Rinse the chicken; discard any fat. Pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. In a small dish, combine the Dijon mustard and tarragon. Spread on the chicken pieces and wrap strips of the prosciutto around each piece. Place the chicken on top of the leeks. Pour the wine over the chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2.5-3 hours. Transfer the chicken to a heated serving platter. If cooking on low, increase the temperature setting to high. Whisk the cream into the pan juices and cook, uncovered, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Info (per serving):
222 calories, 12 grams fat, 24 grams protein, 5 grams carbohydrates

*****

The store where I did the bulk of my grocery shopping last week didn't have leeks. I tried another store. They only had organic leeks, which I was okay with, except that they all looked horrible. You know how if you leave green onions in your fridge too long they get kind of slimy and stick together? That's about what these leeks looked like. I wasn't paying good money for bad leeks. So I skipped that part of the recipe. And I couldn't find any tarragon in my pantry, so I used Italian seasoning instead. I also used all chicken breasts because I didn't have any chicken thighs on hand. And since wine isn't allowed in Phase One, I used chicken broth instead of a white Burgundy wine. And half and half instead of cream. So really I kept very little of the original recipe intact.

We were all kind of ho-hum about this. My sauce didn't really turn out, and the chicken really needed some sauce. My kids resorted to dipping theirs in ketchup. I have some ketchup issues, but if it got them to eat...fine. And they both did eat all the chicken that was on their plates. Whenever I cook chicken in the crockpot, it's so dried out when we eat it. That's my only real complaint. And the dijon mustard didn't provide a whole lot of flavor like I thought it would. I think this dish done in the oven instead of the crcokpot would turn out a lot better.

Sadly, it's probably not something I'd make again. Also sadly, my memory card wasn't in my camera, so I didn't get a picture of it.