Honey Mustard Chicken with Pretzel Crust

Honey Mustard Chicken with Pretzel Crust by Debbi Does Dinner

1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. mustard
1 tbsp. spicy mustard
1 tbsp. honey
1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken breast (I had 6 - 4 oz. breasts)
4 cups salted pretzels (4 oz)

Honey mustard sauce:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. mustard
2 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:  In a bowl, mix together the red wine vinegar, the 2 tbsp. mustard, spicy mustard and honey.  Place the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap (I use gallon size freezer bags) and pound until they are thinner and equal size. Coat the chicken with the mustard mixture. 

Place the pretzels into a resealable plastic zipper bag and smash the pretzels until finely ground. (the kids might like to do this). Place the coated chicken breasts, one at a time into the bag, seal and shake the bag to thoroughly coat each chicken breast with the pretzel. Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake the chicken at 400 for about 25 minutes or until done. Flip about 1/2 way through to brown both sides.

Mix together mayo, 1 tbsp. mustard, 2 tbsp. honey and salt in bowl. Drizzle the honey mustard sauce over the chicken to serve.

6 servings = 300 calories per chicken breast with sauce

Modifications:
-I didn't have any red wine vinegar so I used apple cider vinegar instead.
-I used 1/8 of a cup of Greek yogurt (1 heaping Tbsp) and 1/8 cup of mayonnaise (1 heaping Tbsp)

Here's what I started with:
 

Here's how I did it:

#1 The vinegar, honey and both mustard wer mixed together.

 #2 I placed a chicken breast into a Zipoc bag and pounded it until it was about 1/2 inch thick.  Repeated for the other 3 chicken breasts.

#3 I placed some pretzels in a Ziploc bag and rolled and pounded them until they were in crumbs.

#4 Preheated the oven to 400 degrees.

#5 I brushed both sides of each chicken breast with the honey mixture and then individuall placed them in the bag with the pretzels and shook and rolled them up.

#6  I layered a baking pan with tin foil and sprayed it with cooking spray.  The chicken breasts went into the oven for 25 minutes.  I turned them over half way through.

#7 Meanwhile, I mixed together the honey, yogurt, mayo, mustard and salt.  This was used to top the chicken and we had some on the side for dipping.

The Finished Product:

Review:

This dish was fantastic!  I was a little worried that the pretzel coating would be soggy and not crunchy but that was not the case at all.  There were a few pieces that weren't as crunchy as others but the bready, salty flavor of the pretzels made a great coating.

The honey mustard sauce was so good, too.  While the chicken was cooking, I kept dipping pretzels into the honey mustard sauce.  It was great.  Plus, since I used the Greek yogurt instead of all mayo it was a healthier version.  I think next time I will just use straight Greek yogurt.

Scott's words, "This was one of the best things we have had in a while."

I served this with Bulgur Wheat with Sauteed Vegetables.

Hope you enjoy!

April

Low-Fat Spinach & Cheese Meatloaf

Low-Fat Spinach & Cheese Meatloaf from Debbi Does Dinner
Meat mixture:
3 slices bread, crust removed
1/2 c. milk
1 lb. ground chicken
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 egg white
1 tsp. oregano
Fresh ground pepper

Directions:  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with cooking spray.  Tear bread into 1 inch pieces. Put in a bowl, pour in the milk and mash the bread with a fork until all the milk is absorbed.  In another bowl, mix the chicken, mustard, egg white, oregano and pepper.  Add in the bread mixture and mix well, until creamy.  Press the meat mixture onto the baking sheet so that it covers 1/2 the baking sheet.  Place in the refrigerator for at least one hour (up to three hours).

Filling:
1 10 oz. package of frozen spinach
3 green onions, chopped (green part only)
1 egg white
Fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
Parmesan cheese, grated, about 1/3 cup

Directions:  Thaw and drain spinach. Press out all the water.  Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the spinach and onion and cook until mixture is somewhat dry and the onions begin to wilt, about 5-6 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool. Mix in egg white and season with lots of pepper. Preheat oven to 350.  Remove baking sheet from fridge and spread the spinach mixture over the meat, leaving 1 inch border all the way around.  Sprinkle the cheese over the top.  Starting at the end closest to you, use the foil to lift the meat and roll jelly roll style, pushing forward a little bit at a time.  Bake at 350 for about an hour.  Serve with tomato sauce.

Here's what I started with: 

 Here's how I did it:

#1 I cut the crust off of 3 pieces of bread.  Then, I tore the bread up into pieces.

#2 I added milk to the bread.  A fork was used to smash up the bread and soak up the milk.

#3 In a separate bowl I mixed the turkey, mustard, egg white and oregano.

#4 To the meat, I added the bread mixture and kneaded it all together.

#5 Then I took a baking sheet and place tin foil on it.  I sprayed the tin foil with cooking spray and then pressed out the meat onto 1/2 of the sheet.  It then went into the refrigerator for about 2 1/2 hours.

#6 After about 2 1/2 hours, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees.

#7 Cut up 3 green onions.

#8 I thawed out a box of frozen spinach and drained it by squeezing it in a towel.

#9 Once the spinach was drained, it went into a pan with olive oil and the onions.

#10 I put the onions and spinach into a bowl to let it cool.  Then, I added 1 egg white and lots of pepper.

#11 The spinach was spread over the turkey.  I was supposed to put the parmesan cheese on top of the spinach here but I forgot it.

#12 I then rolled the meat up like a jelly roll.  It was kind of sticky and mushy but it really helped that I had sprayed the tin foil with cooking spray.

#13 Into the oven it went.  I sprinkled the top with parmesan cheese.

#14 Once the meatloaf had cooked for about 45 minutes, I poured tomato sauce all on top and sprinkled a little more cheese.

The Finished Product:

Review:

This dish was so good!  I loved that by adding the spinach to the middle of it I was able to sneak in some extra veggies.  This would also be a great way to put some carrots or celery into the dish just by running them through the food processor.

I only used about 1/4 of the can of tomato sauce on top so we actually used it to pour over when we were eating, too.  I can see how this might have a tendency to be a little dry just because turkey does not have a lot of fat in it.

Hope you enjoy!

April

Cheesy Artichokes, Cauliflower and Red Pepper

Cheesy Artichokes, Cauliflower and Red Pepper from Debbi Does Dinner
Adapted from Cooking Club magazine, January 2010

4 cups cauliflower florets (about 12 oz)
1 can artichokes, drained and chopped
2/3 cup red pepper, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp. butter
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tbsp. flour
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup gruyere cheese (or swiss)
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:  Place cauliflower in a bowl with some water and microwave for about 3 minutes until starting to soften but still crisp. Drain and rinse. Toss cauliflower, artichokes, pepper and green onions in a large bowl.

Melt butter in a pan. Cook and stir in garlic for about 30 seconds. Whisk in flour, cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. Pour in milk, whisking constantly. Whisk until smooth for a couple of minutes and starting to thicken. Add salt and pepper and shredded gruyere cheese. Pour cheese sauce over veggies and mix.

Spoon vegetables into an 8 x 8 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake 35 - 40 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbling.

Total calories = 920 calories

6 servings = 153 calories
4 oz. steak with steak sauce + Cheesy Artichokes, Cauliflower and Red Pepper + watermelon = 413 calorie dinner

Modifications:
-I used whole wheat flour.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 Preheated the oven to 350 degrees.  The oven temperature was not given in the recipe so I guessed.  Later, though, I ended up turning the temperature up to 400 degrees.

#2 I cut up 1 head of cauliflower.

#2 I added water to it, probably about 2 cups, and put it in the microwave for 3 minutes.

#3 While the cauliflower was cooking, I opened a can of artichokes and cut them up.

# 4 I cut up 3 green onions and 1 red pepper.

#5 I pulled the cauliflower out of the microwave and drained it.  I then mixed the artichokes, green onions and cauliflower together.

#6 I melted butter in a saucepan and I threw in 1 clove of garlic.  The recipe did not say to chop up the garlic but I think it should have been.

#7 I added the flour and whisked it for about 1 minute.

#8 The milk was then added and I whisked it for another minute.

#9 I grated some Gruyere and added it to the pan.

#10 Then the cheese mixture was poured over the vegetables.

#11 In to an 8x8 greased (sprayed with cooking spray) pan.

#12 Parmesan cheese was sprinkled all over the top.

#13 In to the oven for about 40 minutes.

The Finished Product:

Review:

I really enjoyed this dish.  I loved the fact that it is healthy and I was excited to try Guyere chese (yes, I know I have lived a sheltered life-lol). 

The cauliflower was crunch soft, the artichokes were delicious and sweet and the red pepper added another type of sweetness. 

My only complaint about this dish is that there was not enough cheese sauce.  Some bites were absolutely delicious and others just tasted like baked cauliflower.  I understand that adding more cheese sauce would raise the calorie count but I really think that the cheese part of this recipe should be doubled and it would be fantastic!

Hope you enjoy!