Maple and Mustard Glazed Chicken

I may have said it more than once, but I love maple. It is so hard to stay away from real maple syrup low carbing. I do have a nice bottle of maple flavoring that gets me by.  Sorry Vermont purists. What's more, the combination of sweet maple and salty meat makes me happy--hence my ever popular Maple's Meatballs in the Diner e-book. Yes, I am the girl who always dipped her bacon into the pancake syrup. Maple is for me...even if mine no longer comes from a real tree.

I have this son, who is a little different. He loves mustard. Really loves mustard. In fact, he has been known to take a dare to eat mustard on most anything. His last dare was coffee with mustard. He claims it would have been more tolerable if he liked coffee. He would like this dish. Plus, he counts chickens for a living, so this is a double win for him. He gets cheaper chicken than I do. Too bad he is in the next state or I would invite him over.

There are lots of maple and mustard combos out there. Not too many sweet mustards for low carbers, though. That is why I have my own versions of honey mustard dressing for Pooh Bear Salad, and my own Honey Roasted Barbecue Sauce. For this sauce, I used stevia to sweeten the topping for the chicken. You may use erythritol, sucralose, xylitol--whatever floats your boat. You can also use chicken breast. My crew likes the juiciness of dark meat though.

   
Maple and Mustard Glazed Chicken


4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt 
1/4 cup mustard (I used Annie's Organic Yellow, but any kind will do)
3/4 tsp maple flavoring
liquid stevia or other sweetener equal to 1/4 cup sugar

Place thighs in a baking dish. In a small bowl, combine onion powder, paprika, garlic and salt. Sprinkle spice mixture on both sides of the chicken. Place the mustard, maple flavoring and stevia into the empty spice bowl. Spoon the mustard mixture over each thigh. Bake, uncovered on the lower rack of a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and baste with the juices from the pan. Return chicken to the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until juices run clear.

These thighs are great for lunchboxes. The sweet mustard sauce is similar to barbecue sauce. Not too messy, but you can eat them with your fingers if  you don't mind licking a finger now and then. The mark of a good meal, I say. Yum. Mine has cooled and is now ready to pack away for this week's lunches. I really must go now or my Pittyboy dog is going to cry himself silly. While I am here at the computer he is in the kitchen whining while he points to the baking dish on the counter. The smell is just too divine! It brought #2 son out of his man cave for a bite too.