Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken

We had this for dinner last night and really liked it.  It was fast prep to the oven.  The chicken stayed moist and the crust was kind of salty.  With the honey mustard drizzled on top, it was that sweet/salty thing I love.

Honey Mustard Chicken with Pretzel Crust

PREP 20 mins

COOK 25 mins

Ingredients

cooking spray

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard

1 tablespoon spicy mustard (Dijon)

1 tablespoon coarse-grained mustard (brown)

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

1 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. (I didn't do this.  I had thin breasts (1/2"), so I just increased my baking time a bit)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. (I did 16 min per side)

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

Crockpot Hungarian Goulash

Quick and yummy.  If you have never had goulash before, it is kind of like a Hungarian chili.  Instead of meat and beans with chili powder it is meat, bacon and paprika.  Using the sweet paprika just gives it good flavor instead of heat.

Crockpot Hungarian Goulash

Ingredients

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 onions, sliced

4 slices bacon, cut in ¼ inch pieces

2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 1/2 cups water

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until just starting to turn brown.  Add onions in oil until soft, stirring frequently. Remove bacon and onions and add to crockpot.
2. In a ziplock bag, combine paprika, 2 teaspoons salt and pepper. Coat beef cubes in spice mixture.  Add a little bit of oil and cook in onion pot until brown on all sides. Add to crockpot.  Pour  tomato paste, water, garlic and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt into skillet and cook for a couple of minutes trying to get any brown bits up.  Add sauce to crockpot.  Cook on low about 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender.
3. Serve over cooked noodles.  Garnish with sour cream.

Meatloaf with Balsamic Glaze

We had this for dinner last night.  My guys love meatloaf, so I doubled the recipe.  I had one piece, and there was a small 3” piece leftover for lunch today.  The rest of it was gone!  We all really liked it.  We did decide for our taste, it had too many bread crumbs. (The breadcrumbs make it more tender.)  Next time I will half the breadcrumbs and milk and double the glaze.  I want enough glaze to do the sides.  It was yummy.  I will definitely put this one into the rotation.

Meatloaf with Balsamic Glaze
1 pound 93% lean beef
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I use Italian)
1/2 cup 2% milk
4 tablespoons ketchup, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350° (for glass or dark roasting pan).  Add 25° if you are using a light colored pan.

In a large bowl add beef, bread crumbs and milk.  Pouring milk directly over bread crumbs.  Add 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and your spices. Set aside.

In a small bowl, crack egg and beat it slightly.  This helps prevent overworking the meat while combining, resulting in a tougher meatloaf.  Add egg to large bowl with meat mixture.  Combine well with hands, do not overwork the meat mixture.

Form meatloaf in bowl, into a loaf form and then transfer to a roasting pan (I use glass).  Free form into a loaf shape.  You may notice cracks in the loaf.  Run your hands under warm water and then across the meatloaf to smooth the cracks out.  Set meatloaf aside.

In a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar.  Mix well with a fork.  

Apply glaze evenly to the top of your meatloaf.

Cover pan with aluminum.  Place meatloaf in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Sides should be lightly browned when ready to uncover foil.

Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Allow to rest uncovered for 10 minutes.  Slice and serve with your favorite sides!

Herb and Citrus Roasted Chicken

We had this for dinner last night.  It was really good.  I put it in the marinade about noon, and cooked it about 5:30.  Great flavor.  We all really liked this.  Even though it went in the marinade hours before, it was really easy and fast. Marinating it the night before is totally doable. I only baked it for 30 min.

Herb and Citrus Oven Roasted Chicken

YIELD: Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons sugar

2 whole lemons, one juiced and one sliced

2 whole oranges, one juiced and one sliced

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

10-12 pieces (about 4 1/2 lbs.) bone-in chicken parts (thighs and legs are best w/skin), pat dry

1 medium onion (any kind), thinly sliced

1 teaspoon dried thyme, or fresh chopped

1 tablespoon dried rosemary, or fresh chopped

Chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, parsley), for garnish, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, garlic, sugar, lemon juice, orange juice, Italian seasoning, paprika, onion powder, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.

Place chicken in a rimmed 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Place parts skin side up and spread them out evenly in the pan. Pour olive oil mixture all over chicken, turning pieces to coat all sides. (If you marinated the chicken in this mixture, still add it all in). Arrange slices of lemon, orange and onion around and under the chicken. Sprinkle all over generously with thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Bake uncovered for about 1 hour, or until chicken is cooked and juices run clear. Remove parts to a serving platter and garnish with additional chopped fresh herbs, if desired.

Enjoy!

(Note: I used boneless skinless thighs for this.  I didn't worry it having the skin on since the marinade had oil.  I only roasted mine for half an hour though.  They were perfectly done, and not dry.  I think I may try with the skin next time to see if it adds any more flavor.  Both options work.)

Just 30-40 minutes is all that's needed to bake this recipe with chicken breasts in place of chicken parts.

For best results, chicken can be marinated in a plastic container or bag for several hours or overnight in the olive oil mixture.

This is great served with a big salad, and/or lemon orzo/potatoes, or garlic bread!

You can also switch up the seasonings to a spicy mix and toss in lemons and limes instead of oranges. Swap cilantro for the rosemary and thyme. Serve it over rice, maybe? No need to be a recipe robot – get creative!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I adore soup!  I have been looking for a good chicken tortilla for several years.  Playing around on Pintrest the other day and found a recipe for 8 can tortilla soup.  The ingredients looked interesting.  I made a pot last night with some leftover chicken.  It was soooo good.  To top it off, not only is it crockpot, it is a dump recipe.

Can Chicken Tortilla Soup

Author: Tiffany Ivanovsky

Recipe type: Soup

Ingredients

·         1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained

·         1 (15 oz) can sweet corn, drained

·         1 (12.5 oz) can chicken breast, drained

·         1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup

·         1 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce

·         1 (14 oz) can chicken broth

·         1 (1 oz) packet taco seasoning

Instructions

1.     Open and pour all ingredients into a large stock pot or into your slow cooker and stir together. Cook on low heat for 2-3 hours. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado and tortilla chips.

NOTE:  This also freezes well for lunch.

Cooking Epiphany

I had a small epiphany of sorts tonight. One day my children are going to be grateful I cooked every night when they were growing up. (Well almost). Even though they had to stomach many of my new recipes. I always assumed it was a given that moms cooked. The older I get, the more irealize this isn't true. Especially nowadays. Aren't they lucky?

Recipe Mailer

I've been on a food journey the last 9 months or so. I had to quit wimping out on dinner and start making it nightly again. I have been searching the web and Pintrest almost daily for recipes. I'm looking for working mom friendly, which means 30 minute meals or crockpot.

Several of my work friends have asked me to share what I find, with our reviews. (I only send out the ones we really like). What working mom doesn't need help in this area? (If there is one, don't tell me). These are meals that my boys and husband eat. In other words not fancy. I have a very wide palette. We eat Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Indian, Thai and any thing else that sounds good. Unfortunately my guys won't eat any kind of seafood. (dramatic sigh!).

I decided that there were more working people out there that might like having ideas for dinner. I'm doing the work for us. Might as well share. I now have a email group at work that are about 9 months ahead in recipes and now this new group I'm starting. I think that I will also share them here.