Preztel Encrusted Mustard Chicken

My husband loves salty snacks. Give him pretzels, crackers, or tortilla chips and he is a happy man. I also recently discovered that he loves pretzels & mustard. Coincidentally enough, I love easy recipes, so I thought why not combine those things. This recipe requires only 3 ingredients, but it is probably something that you have never thought to combine.

When baking this recipe, place the chicken on a cooling rack. A chef at my previous job taught me this trick. Always bake protein on a cooling rack that has been placed on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Of course it makes for super easy clean up, but it also helps the air circulate under the protein so it doesn't get soggy. Thanks, Chef Jim!

Ingredients

• 6 chicken tenders
• 2 cups gluten free pretzels
• 1/4 cup mustard

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F
2. Place the pretzels in a ziploc baggie. Crush the pretzels until they are a breadcrumb consistency. Set aside.
3. Take the chicken tenders and dredge them in the mustard. Then coat each chicken tender in the pretzel breadcrumbs.
4. Place them on a cooling rack that has been set on a baking sheet.
5. Bake for 20 minutes until crispy.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

The other weekend I was lucky enough to spend a full 4 days at my parents house. It was so nice to spend time with them and relax before I started the craziness of planning for my new job. While I was there, my mom and I cooked and baked, per usual. We even had a request from one of my aunts to make a batch of my delicious peppermint patties. They were just as yummy as I remembered. I learned a lot of what I know about cooking and baking from my mother. Actually, my mom also taught me how to completely destroy my kitchen while cooking. She is a pro at that, among other things.

On Saturday morning, my mom and I stopped by the local farmer's market with my aunt and cousin. The options were fantastic. I decided that I wanted to try out a new gluten free, lower carb, zucchini bread recipe. 1) Zucchinis are in season like crazy right now and 2) My uncle follows a gluten free diet and I love giving him new recipe to try. He was also a taste tester of my sugar cookie recipe.

I was happy (and shocked!) to have this bread come out so moist. Usually, when I attempt gluten free baking, my recipes crack and crumble. Not this one. This one was perfectly delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups zucchini, grated
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 very ripe banana
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease a standard 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan and set it aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk to combine well.

3. Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl, add a spoonful of the the dry ingredients to the chocolate chips and toss to combine. Set the chips aside. This will help keep the chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom of the bread.

4. Add the sugars to the flour mixture and whisk to combine. Add 1/4 cup of the grated zucchini to the dry ingredients, and mix gently to combine. Set aside the dry ingredients.

5. Place the remaining grated zucchini, the eggs, banana, and vanilla in a blender, and pulse until well-blended and begins to emulsify.

6. Create a well in the center of the bowl of dry ingredients, and add the wet ingredient mixture. The batter will be very wet. Add about 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips and reserved dry ingredients to the batter and mix until the chips are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

7. Place the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and smooth the top with a wet spatula. Scatter the remaining chocolate chips on top and press down lightly.

8. Place the pan in the center of the oven. Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean; About 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes in the loaf pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.