TODAY tonight: Crunchy Mustard Chicken Bake

It's been a long time since I've done a TODAY: tonight post on my blog.  Heck, it's been a long time since I've blogged!  Is blogging still a thing?  Do people do it?  Am I even a person?  Is existence real?  What are these deranged words I'm writing?  Clearly I'm out of practice.  Let's stick to food.

My "TODAY: tonight" series is made up of the recipes Carson can't stop talking about when he comes home from work.  Even though I haven't been documenting all of them, I've actually made quite a few lately, but this one... this one deserved a post!  There is so much going on in this recipe, I'm not sure what I should discuss first.  Should I start with the flavorful, mustard-based marinade that soaks through the chicken thighs for hours, or should I talk about the bed of roasted vegetables that perfect each bite?  I MUST tell you about the method of draining the solids from the liquids in the marinade and using them both to create this rich, sublime glaze.  And, there's obviously the crunchy, homemade topping that I could write a song about, IF I was the type of person to write songs about food (I am).  My favorite part of the recipe, however?  How adaptable it is.

The first time I made it, I followed it to a T.  It was divine.  The second time?  I used what I had on hand.  It was also divine.  Here's what I did differently... 

I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  Totally doable.  I didn't have leeks or potatoes for my roasted veggies, so instead I used red onion, mushrooms, broccoli and cauliflower.  Yum.  I didn't have tarragon so I used fresh parsley... didn't matter.  It was so, so good.  You see, people??  Recipes are just blueprints.  Trust your instincts and your own creativity.  Trust what you have in your fridge and pantry... it rarely steers you wrong.  Mostly, trust your husband when he comes home from work and begs you to make what he just ate.  He knows things.  (Most of the time.)  

Recipe HERE.