Coconut Curried Chicken

I just love when my husband finds a recipe he wants us to try. I was really surprised when he picked this one because he is a picky eater and this recipe calls for curry and coconut milk. You will have half a can of coconut milk left over so I used it for in my rice...yummy.

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

(3 or 4 breasts), cut into bite-size pieces

2 Tbs. curry powder (I only used 1, not a big fan of curry)

1/2 cup canned light coconut milk

1 Tbs. canned tomato paste

2 tsp. vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp chopped fresh ginger

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

In a 2 qt, microwavable dish, stir the chicken with the oil until it's good and greasy. Stir in the curry powder, garlic, onion, ginger and cayenne pepper. Nuke for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring a few times, until the spices are fragrant and the chicken is almost cooked through. Move the chicken to the sides of the dish and mix the coconut milk and tomato paste in the middle. Mix thoroughly with the chicken and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Heat for 10 to 12 minutes , stirring a few times. Stir in salt and serve . Makes 4 servings

serve over rice to soak up the sauce and top with 1 tbsp. chopped cilantro.

adapted from men's health magazine , may 2005 A man, a can, a microwave.

Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding

Oh my goodness!!! This is the BEST banana pudding recipe ever courtesy of Paula Deen. She uses Pepperidge farm chessman cookies instead of vanilla wafers. Trust me you have to make this for your next potluck! You will thank me later.


Ingredients
2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
6 to 8 bananas, sliced
2 cups milk
1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream
Directions
Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.
In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

French Toast

I love french toast...I was craving it for days so I decided to cave in and make some. I didn't follow any written recipe I just used what I had on hand. I use vanilla and chocolate soy milk to make my cappuccino so I am always looking for other ways to incorporate them in other recipes.

Texas toast
egg substitute
cinnamon
orange juice
vanilla soy milk
fresh berries

YUmmY!

Asian Chicken & Noodle Skillet

This was the easiest dinner ever!!! If you are short on time this is a quick skillet dish. Although the look on my husbands face was priceless....he asked me why he was getting ramen noodles for dinner? I told him that these were special ramen noodles and I had "dressed" them up. He wasn't impressed but it sure was tasty!

2 medium carrots, julienne strips

1 medium red bell pepper, cut lengthwise or chopped

5-6 green onions with tops, divided

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips

2 T. toasted sesame oil

2 T. Asian Seasoning Mix (I used pampered chef)

4 pkg. (3oz. each) oriental-flavor ramen noodles

1 T. vegetable oil

4 cups of water

• Cut carrots into julienne strips, cut bell pepper lengthwise into 1/3 in. strips ( I chopped mine because I wasn't paying attention). Slice green onions; set aside tops for garnish.
• Thinly slice chicken breast. Combine chicken breast, sesame oil, seasoning mix, and two of the ramen seasoning packets ( I used one so it would not be over powering) in bowl; mix well.
• Add vegetable oil to (12 in) skillet; heat over medium high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add chicken and cook; remove from skillet and keep warm.
• Add carrots and bell pepper to skillet. Cook 1-2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add water and remaining ramen seasoning packets ( I omitted this step); stir to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet. Add ramen noodles and white parts of green onions to skillet.
• Cover; bring to a boil and cook 4-5 minutes or until noodles are softened. Add chicken; stir to break apart noodles. Remove skillet from heat; let stand, covered, 3-4 minutes or until chicken is heated through. Garnish with reserved green onion tops.

This recipe was adapted from Season's Best recipe collection Pampered chef spring/summer 2009 p.13. You can substitute the chicken for 2 pork tenderloins about 1 pound each. I cut the recipe in half there fore I only used one packet of ramen noodle seasoning mix. I didn't want it to taste salty.

Whole Grain Penne with Fresh Vegetables

I just love asparagus! I am taking advantage of them now that they are in season. I found this recipe on the back of Barilla pasta box. Its a perfect dinner to fix for the summer.

1 box of Barilla Whole Grain Penne

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 small white onion, finely chopped

1 (1 cup) yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 small (2cups) zucchini, diced

1 small (2 cups) yellow squash, diced

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 pint (2cups) cherry tomatoes, halved

salt and black pepper, to taste

4 fresh basil leafs, torn

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, HEAT olive oil in a large skillet. Using the side of a knife, gently press and peel the garlic and saute in skillet for 1 minute, until slightly brown.
• ADD bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash and asparagus and saute until heated but not completely cooked.
• ADD tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and saute for 2 additional minutes.
• DRAIN pasta and toss with sauce and basil.
  

Asparagus Carbonara

I found this recipe in "Everyday with Rachel Ray" magazine. It is very quick, easy and yummy!

2 large eggs

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 pound spaghetti

1 bunch asparagus, halved lengthwise,

and cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil

5 slices bacon, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup dry white wine

salt and pepper

• In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and cheese. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, adding the asparagus during the last minute of cooking. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Add the hot pasta and asparagus to the egg mixture; toss to coat.


• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, stir in the garlic, add the wine and cook until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Stir the bacon mixture into the pasta, adding enough of the reserved pasta water to moisten; season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4 prep: 15 min cook: 15 min

Lemon Pound Cake with Limoncello Cream and Fresh Berries

This cake was so perfect for our family gathering! A wonderful refreshing treat..fresh berries, lemon and fresh whipped cream! You absolutely have to try it! I used my mothers homemade limoncello liqueur its was a perfect treat to honor my mother and sister for mothers day.

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 tsp lemon zest

5 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 recipe Limoncello Cream (recipe follows)

Fresh blueberries

Fresh strawberries

Fresh blackberries

Garnish: lemon zest

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spray a 10 inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray; line with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine sugar , shortening, butter, and lemon zest, beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition.
• In a small bowl, sift together flour and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternately with milk beating to mix well. Beat in vanilla. Spoon batter into prepared pan . Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack, and cool completely. Spread Limoncello cream on top of cake. Top with fresh berries. Garnish with lemon zest, if desired.

Limoncello Cream (makes 4 cups)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup Limoncello

• in a medium bowl, beat cream at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar beating until stiff peaks form. Beat in Limoncello. Cover, and chill until ready to serve.

Easy Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies

After a busy week I was craving a little comfort. I could not make up my mind if I wanted a warm gooey chocolate chip cookie or an oatmeal cookie...How about both!! Did I mention it was a busy week? The last thing I wanted to do was cream eggs, butter, and sugar. I came across this SIMPLE and quick recipe from Christmas Southern Living 2002 cookbook. I was unsure of it at first but what the hey....can I just say they were awesome!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup (6oz) semisweet chocolate morsels

1 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

• Stir together first 9 ingredients in a large bowl. Add oil, eggs, and vanilla; stir well.
• Shape mixture into 1"balls. (Dough will be crumbly & greasy) Place balls on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degree F. for 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield 6 dozen.

Back from vacation.....

Hello everyone! I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post but I have been on vacation and then had a small kitchen crisis! After returning from San Francisco our refrigerator decided to break down after we had just went grocery shopping! I wish I was still in San Francisco! Anyway this is a busy time of year at work and of course Sailing season started so my goal is to post one recipe a week. Have a great and safe summer!