Honey Mustard and Pretzel Coated Chicken

This dish was actually inspired by the pictures that I took of the homemade mustard and pretzels.  As I was taking pictures, I just sort of got to thinking, what else could this classic combination do?  And then looking in my refrigerator, I got my answer: perfectly coat chicken in a crispy sweet yet salty crust.  Talk about Yum, right?  The real treat in this is the way that the entire chicken tender is sweet and then the salt from the pretzel sort of pops in your mouth with each crunchy bite.  I paired this with some wilted spinach, mushrooms and on a whim, I tossed in some cranberries to liven things up a bit.  Overall, I found this dish to be a nice little change of pace with an element of fun to it.

Honey Mustard and Pretzel Coated Chicken 
w/ wilted spinach, mushrooms and cranberries


- Chicken tenders (I usually set aside 2-3 person person)
- Homemade Honey Mustard (store bought would also work)
- About 7 medium-sized pretzels, crushed (I used Utz Classic Sourdough because I like them the best and I crushed them by putting them in a small plastic bag and used the back of a spoon.  A nice little stress reliever!)

- 1/2 bag spinach
- 2-3 mushrooms, thinly sliced
- A small pat of butter
- A small handful of dried cranberries
- A couple pinches fresh nutmeg
- Salt and pepper to taste

For the chicken tenders, coat the chicken in just enough honey mustard so that there is a nice even layer.  Dredge the chicken through the pretzel crumbs and lay onto a pan.  Bake at 400 until the chicken is cooked through.

In a small saucepan, brown the mushrooms in a little butter.  Add the spinach and cook until it is just wilted.  Toss in the cranberries and nutmeg.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.