Honey Mustard Pretzel-Coated Chicken

 At least once a week I have been trying to make what I call a "pantry meal," a meal that uses up leftover ingredients already in my pantry or fridge.  I am hoping this will help me keep my pantry under control and keep my grocery budget under control.  I have enjoyed that it has also helped my creativity. Some times I try to make up a recipe (ahem, alter recipes I already know to fit the ingredients I have), and others I go to the Internet to find a recipe that uses what I have.  This is one of those.

This recipe got 2 thumbs up from all three of us!  Definitely worth trying and an easy one because you probably have every ingredient in your fridge/pantry right now!

- 10 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp honey mustard, plus more for dipping if wished (one time I used honey and yellow mustard because I was out of honey mustard)
- 1/4 cup egg substitute (I used two eggs)
- 20 standard-size pretzel twists (I used pretzel sticks)
- 1 tbsp and 1 tsp sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Season chicken strips with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine honey mustard and eggs.  Whisk well.  Submerge the chicken and set aside to marinate for at least 5 minutes.  (Perfect timing to set aside while getting pretzels ready!)

Crush pretzels.  Add sugar and mix.  Put mixture in a dish.

Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray.

Transfer chicken to pretzel mixture and thoroughly coat.  Then transfer to baking dish.  Mist the tops of the chicken strips with nonstick spray.

Bake for about 20 minutes, turning halfway through cooking, until the chicken is cooked through.

Thank you Hungry Girl (and foodnetwork.com's search) for such a quick, easy, super yummy recipe!!  I made a spicy barbecue dipping sauce for me and Will.  I gave Anna-Kate some of the extra honey mustard. Truly yummy and a hit for all!  Hope you enjoy!

Sneaky Mashed Potatoes, Part 2

Earlier I posted about making sneaky mashed potatoes with half potatoes, half cauliflower. So good! But now, I have a new favorite! Sneaky mashed potatoes with parsnips; thank you Rachael Ray for introducing me to the Parsnip! RR describes the parsnip as "a carrot with attitude." I mainly wanted to do this post because I wanted to remember her ratio of potato to parsnip.

3-4 medium potatoes to 2 medium parsnips

These were great! Anna-Kate ate them. Will enjoyed these, asked me to make mashed potatoes with parsnips instead of the cauliflower ones. I definitely recommend them!

Zucchini Bread

Will, Anna-Kate, and I love breads, cereals, cinnamon rolls, etc for breakfast. We are not good at eating hearty eggs, bacon for breakfast. I have wanted to cycle in healthier and longer-lasting options. Will has given me his approval to make anything I want to try, even if it has whole wheat flour in it. (He is still getting use to how dense it makes things.) I am looking forward to experimenting a lot more!! Here is my first super-healthy breakfast bread attempt.

We all loved it!!

- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup oil
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups grated zucchini
- 1 cup chopped nuts, optional (I didn't use any)

Preheat oven to 325 for large loaf pan and muffin pan; preheat to 300 for small loaf pans.

Blend the dry ingredients.

Make a well (or hole) in the center and pour in the eggs, oil, honey, and vanilla. Stir just until mixed - do not over mix. (It appears quite dry while mixing, but the end product is not as dry as you fear it will be.)

Fold in grated zucchini (and chopped nuts).

Pour batter into desired pans. Bake 30-40 min for small loaf pans; 50-60 min for large loaf pan; and 15-20 min for muffin pan.

Thanks to inspiration from my sister-in-law and http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/ for this recipe. Hope you enjoy!!

Sneaky Mashed Potatoes

This idea is not new and not mine, but I am so glad I finally tried it!! Last night I made my mom's country-style steak recipe (to come on the blog as soon as I perfect it like she has), which meant I had to have mashed potatoes. My family-oriented goal: get more vegetables into my toddler. My actual, selfish goal: allow me to eat a generous scoop of mashed potatoes but not regret the amount of carbs I ingested.

I finally made mashed potatoes where they were actually half potatoes, half cauliflower. I, knowing the cauliflower was in there, didn't taste it. My husband, swearing he always knows when I try to make something more healthy, said he wouldn't have known to ask if something was different this time. And, my toddler ate mashed potatoes for the first time in the last 3 times of making them. That is a true, good endorsement!

- about 5-7 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced for boiling (or however many you need to feed your family)
- one small head of cauliflower, cut in small pieces
- milk, to your desired thinness (the way you always would in your own mashed potatoes)
- butter, 1/4 cup or more :)
- salt, pepper to taste

Boil potatoes and cauliflower in same pot. When tender, drain water. Add milk, butter, salt, pepper. Mash. I like mine halfway between chunky and smooth. I have found the key to good mashed potatoes is taste them. Make sure they are salt/peppered well. Add if needed.

**Basically make the mashed potatoes you like, just cut the potatoes in half and sub in cauliflower!

I mean it, try this!!! Not only do you get out of peeling so many potatoes, you get to eat more with less guilt!

Cheesy Chicken [Nuggets]

My sister-in-law recommended this recipe to me, thinking Anna-Kate might really love it. Well, she was right!! Anna-Kate loved it, and so did me and Will! So, I stole this from her blog, and she stole it from KellytheKitchenKop. Definitely try this one! especially you guys with kids.

- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 6 thin boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.

Coat dish with melted butter.

In one bowl, mix the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder together. In another bowl, whisk the milk and egg together. In a third bowl, mix the cheese and bread crumbs.

Dip each piece of chicken first in flour mixture, then egg mixture, then bread crumb mixture. Place in baking dish.

Drizzle the 2 tbsp melted butter over the chicken.

Bake for 35 minutes (less for nuggets) until the chicken is golden brown and juices run clear.

Yummy!!! This really did get rave reviews from the whole family! I served as a dipping sauce with it, a mixture of half honey mustard, half barbecue sauce mixed well together! (Forgive the picture above; it is the ready-for-the-oven picture. I forgot to take the after picture.)

Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins

I lead with the above picture, not because it is a great picture, but because it is true that my toddler has enjoyed these muffins! I have a toddler who will eat most foods as she wants to, but not consistently. I have normal amounts of mom-guilt that she doesn't get enough vegetables in her diet. Then I was given Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious for Christmas. The whole point is to sneak in vegetables where kids won't know, so that you can be mom-guilt-free and they can be happy eaters.

All I will say about this recipe is that it truly is good. I enjoyed eating them for breakfast, as well as Anna-Kate.

- nonstick cooking spray
- 1 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup [natural] peanut butter
- 1/2 cup carrot or cauliflower puree I used carrot.
**For the puree, steam the vegetables. Then puree in blender or food processor. I used two carrots for this recipe, which was not enough to reach 1/2 cup.
- 1/2 cup banana puree
- 1 large egg white
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the overn to 350. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.

In a large mixing bowl, mix 1/2 cup of the brown sugar with the peanut butter, the vegetable and fruit purees, and the egg white, using a wooden spoon.

Put the flour, baking bowder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl or zipper-lock bag and stir/shake to mix. Add to the bowl with the peanut butter mixture and stir just to combine (the batter will be a little lumpy-do not overmix.) Add the remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar adn stir once or twice.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake until the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or wrap individually and freeze for up to 1 month.

I know you're skeptical, but really, try them!