Coconut Crusted Chicken with Curried Apple Rice Pilaf

In another edition of "OMGIHAVENOIDEAWHATTOMAKEFORDINNER," I put together a gourmet feast with junk I found in my kitchen.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a coconut in my co-op basket. A COCONUT.

So I went online, figured out how to prep it, let the boys whack the hell out of it, shredded it and put it in the fridge, ostensibly never to be seen again.

Flash forward to last night, I'm gazing into my fridge trying to figure out if there is a combo of eggs, bacon and cheese that I haven't tried yet when I see the coconut and a lighbulb goes off. I'm a big curry fan, so I pulled out a Pilaf recipe (from my bestie, epicurious.com) I've been serving with my Yam Cakes and the rest is in my belly. Well, probably not anymore.

Coconut Crusted Chicken

(adapted from MY BRAAAAINS)

ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 eggs beaten

1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

1 cup almond meal

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

Preparation:

Combine coconut, almond meal, cinnamon and ginger in a wide shallow bowl or plate. Dredge chicken breasts in egg (will egg sub work? idk.) and then coat with coconut mixture, patting to cover. Cook however you prefer (bake or pan-fry if you like) but I'm lazy, so I cooked it on the Forman Grill for about 10-12 minutes. I tend to overcook chicken because I am terrified of raw/undercooked chicken.

This is also great with a little mango chutney.

Curried Apple Rice Pilaf

(adapted from epicurious.com)

ingredients:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup basmati or jasmine rice

1 apple, peeled, cored, chopped

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 1/4 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups water

preparation

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Stir in rice, apple, cinnamon, ginger, curry powder and salt. Add 2 cups water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is tender and water is absorbed, about 18 minutes. Remove from heat.

Curried Sweet Potato Pancakes with Quinoa and Grilled Asparagus

Unappealing iPhone photo of a delicious meal

Since we're poor, I can't waste any food right now. But that doesn't mean we should eat crap, right? Well, sometimes it does. But not this time! The other night I was feeling sick to my stomach. I just couldn't eat rice pasta with marinara sauce again, but I had nothing in the fridge and one more day until Hubs got paid. What to do? I pulled out the perishables that were soon to perish: green onions, sweet potatoes, baking potatoes, asparagus. Then I pulled out my trusty iPhone and got to work.

Found this recipe for Sweet Potato Pancakes and altered it thusly:

Potato cakes:

1 8-ounce red-skinned sweet potato (yam)

1 8-ounce russet potato

4 green onions

2 large eggs, beaten to blend

1 tablespoon all purpose GF flour

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For potato cakes:

Heat oven to 300°F. Peel both potatoes and coarsely grate into medium bowl. Chop the white part of green onions finely and discard rest or reserve for garnish. Place grated potatoes and green onion in clean cloth and squeeze out excess liquid. Place potatoes and onion in large bowl. Add eggs, flour, curry powder, and sea salt; mix to incorporate evenly.

Line baking sheet with paper towel. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Measure scant 1/4 cupful of mixture, shape into ball, and add to skillet. Using spatula, gently flatten ball to 1/3-inch-thick, 3-inch-diameter pancake. Repeat, forming 3 more pancakes. Fry until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer pancakes to prepared baking sheet; keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining mixture for total of 8 pancakes.

The recipe also includes a recipe for mango chutney and recommends using plain greek yogurt as well. I had neither with the first try and it was yummy enough for me to make again. It was even better the second time with the yogurt and some pre-made chutney from TJs that is not certified GF.

I served it with some asparagus that I coated in olive oil and sea salt and grilled on the old Foreman grill for about 8 minutes, and some quinoa that I cooked with vegetable stock (no water!).

This is destined to become a regular in our rotation.

Olive Garden Eat Your Heart Out!

So, I have yet to try any recipes from my new book. I did go grocery shopping and while I got tons of great, tasty stuff, (I went when I was hungry...yummy for the tummy, but not so happy for the bank account) I didn't get anything that I needed for ANY of the new recipes.

Anyhoo, I had been craving chicken alfredo for quite some time. I don't think I've had that meal since I was living in Tucson and went to Macaroni Grill, ate delicious chicken alfredo and subsequently became violently ill afterward. I've stayed away from it since. I don't think I need to tell you why.

A couple of weeks ago, Brad was camping with the dogs and I was alone for a couple days. Really alone. It's different when there aren't even any animals to babble to. I really enjoyed it for the first couple of days, but then I got lonely, bored and inventive! Alfredo sauce? Who did I think I was? I don't even remotely know how to make such a luxurious sauce much less one without a ton of gut-wrenching dairy! But I popped on some tunes, poured myself a glass of wine and rolled up my sleeves. I browsed a few recipes online. The dairy-free, vegan sauces sounded horrid and the traditional ones made my stomach turn. So this is what I did:

1/4 c. Earth Balance
1 can coconut milk (in loo of the heavy cream)
4-5 baby bella mushrooms
2 chicken breasts
1 1/4 c. shredded cheddar style goat cheese from TJs
8 leaves fresh basil (from my herb garden yay!)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and cook in a little olive oil. Melt earth balance and saute the mushrooms and half of the basil. Add coconut milk and bring to a boil. Turn down to low heat, add chicken, S&P and rest of basil. Slowly stir in goat cheese. I also added a dash of xanthan gum because I was afraid it wouldn't thicken, but in retrospect, I don't think that was necessary. Let simmer on low heat and sauce will thicken nicely on it's own. Add your GF noodles to the water you've so thoughtfully already started boiling!

One word: YUM! It was divine! It was heavenly! It was rich and creamy! It did NOT cause a night bowing to the porcelain god! I am grateful for goats! Take that cows!