Sunday, May 29, 2011

Honey Mustard Chicken With A Pretzel Crust

I do not make plain chicken.  I just cannot do it.  My chicken is always dressed up with flavor!  Perhaps it is just a revolt against the tasteless Minnesota cooking that I grew up with.  It was good, but Heaven help us if anyone had a cold or allergies...not even standard Minnesota chili will help clean out the sinus passages.  My mother was a great cook, but had no idea how to use spices beyond salt and pepper or the sweet spices such as cinnamon.  When I moved out...I decided to broaden my horizons with cooking...that is one reason my husband LOVES me...I am a great cook and I put alot of love, time and effort into what I make because I want to please him and give him a reason to get home quickly after work!  Of course my kids reap the rewards of my labor of love as well.  My sons have very high standards for their future wives!

***FYI, in this recipe, I do not use skin on my chicken to reduce calories.  I omit the mayo and use unsalted pretzels and let the mustard do most of the talking.  It alters the recipe quite a bit...or you could try Grapeseed Mayo (my Grandma turned me onto this) as a healthier alternative.



Ingredients

  • cooking spray
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
  • 1 tablespoon spicy mustard
  • 1 tablespoon coarse-grained mustard
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 4 cups salted pretzels
  •  
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
  2. In a bowl, mix together the red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon yellow mustard, the spicy mustard, coarse-grained mustard, 1 tablespoon of honey, and the vegetable oil.
  3. Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of heavy plastic (resealable freezer bags work well) on a solid, level surface. Firmly pound the chicken with the smooth side of a meat mallet to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Coat the chicken well with the mustard mixture.
  4. Place the pretzels into a resealable plastic zipper bag and roll the bag under a rolling pin to finely grind the pretzels. Place the coated chicken breasts, one at a time, into the bag, seal, and shake the bag to thoroughly coat each chicken breast with pretzel meal. Place the chicken breasts on the prepared baking sheet and spray each breast with cooking spray.
  5. Bake the chicken in the preheated oven until the coating is golden brown and the meat is no longer pink in the center, about 25 minutes. Flip the chicken after about 12 minutes of cooking to brown both sides.
  6. Mix together the mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of yellow mustard, 3 tablespoons of honey, and salt in a bowl. Drizzle the honey-mustard sauce over the chicken to serve.

1 comment:

Extraordinary Ordinary Life said...

That sounds wonderful! I also do not like plain chicken.