Honey Dijon Chicken

So I had a slight panic attack tonight....it all started with an afternoon snack with the Boy.  We noshed on some fabulous garlic sausage (from HMG Meats and Deli), cheese, and pickles....oh those pickles.  The pickles were in a bowl....somehow the bowl wound up upside down on my laptop with pickles and pickle juice all over the keyboard.  Ack!!  The Boy should just be kept away from electronics!! It was a complete accident.  What to do, what to do??  First I turned the power off (I am told to take the battery out but I couldn't get the battery out) then put the keyboard portion in rice.  That's right, rice.

Things seem to be working well.  There was one moment of panic when I first turned it on and every now and then the keys won't move too easily but then a piece of rice pops out.  I am still finding some pieces of rice here and there but all is working!!  Whew!!

FYI, this rice trick also worked when my Blackberry fell in a puddle!!

Tonight's easy peasy dinner involved minimal dishes and the BBQ again!

Honey Dijon Chicken, adapted from Food Network.  You will need:

• Dijon mustard
• Runny honey
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• zip top freezer bag for marinating

First:  In a zip top freezer bag mix equal parts Dijon mustard and honey.  Add some salt and pepper and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Mix it all up and add some chicken pieces, seal up the bag and move everything around so the chicken gets all covered in saucy goodness.

Make a foil pouch and drizzle in some olive oil.  Toss in some veggies.  Tonight I had some baby potatoes so I used those.  You can use carrots, beans, asparagus....whatever you have.   Add a pat of butter for good flavour and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Toss it all on the grill.

I do love a Monday night BBQ....it means I can get my toes in the grass and enjoy some time outside.

It's a new BBQ so I am still learning the hot spots.

Yummy!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!!

Welcome Back Baseball Pretzel Bites

Today is an exciting day in the Little Kitchen! It is the first day ball fans get to watch their beloved New York Mets play a game...of course we are in the comfort of our own living room and the Mets are in sunny Port St. Lucie but thank you to modern technology, we get to watch!!

We all know what this means!!  Pretzel season has officially opened!  I have been waiting so patiently for this.  I do love pretzels! So much that I make pretzel rolls, pretzels, and now pretzel bites and stuffed pretzel sandwiches!!  Have I gone off the deep end??

Perhaps, but that is another post.

Not too long ago, Kate over at Diethood posted her recipe for her pretzel bites.  If you have never clicked your way to her blog, you really should.....I drooled while I read the pretzel bite post, saved it and today was the day to make them!  Pretzels go so well with baseball. They were made for each other

Once I had the dough made and it had its chance to rise, I started rolling out ropes of dough and cutting them into 1 inch (about 2 cm) pieces.  An idea came to me....we all know how much I like to make fold over type of sandwiches so I grabbed the corned beef, cheese, mustard, and sauerkraut from the fridge and made a couple of stuffed pretzel sammies!!

I saved a couple smallish balls of dough and rolled them out.

Cut up some corned beef into smaller pieces and cheese into cubes.

Layer these with mustard or sauerkraut.

If I had some Swiss cheese and thousand island dressing, the sammie on the left would have been a Reuben!

Seal up the dough by pinching it all around the dough.  Make sure the dough is completely sealed.

Simmer in the hot water/baking soda bath, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with salt, and bake until golden brown....that would be about 15 minutes.

Pretzel Bites

Printable recipe here

·         2 cups warm water

·         2 tbsp light brown sugar

·         1 pkg active dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp)

·         ½ cup butter, melted

·         5 cups all purpose flour

·         3 tsp salt

Hot water bath

·         6 cups water

·         ¼ cup baking soda

Egg wash

·         1 egg

·         1 tsp water

Combine the warm water, yeast, and brown sugar.  Set aside for about 5 minutes and let it get all foamy.

Add the melted butter, the flour, and the salt.

With the dough hook, mix everything.  The dough will come together.  If the dough is sticky, add a bit more flour.

Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and set it in a warm spot to rise until double in size, about an hour.

Put a large pot of water on the stove to boil.  Once it is boiling, reduce the heat slightly to a high simmer and slowly add ¼ cup of baking soda...it will bubble up so add it slowly!

Roll out ropes of dough and cut each rope into sections that are about 1 inch long.

Simmer in the hot baking soda water bath for about 1 minute.  Transfer to a baking sheet, brush with an egg wash, sprinkle with salt.

Bake at 425F for about 15 minutes until golden brown.

 Serve with mustard and cheese sauce for dipping!!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!