Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers

Do you ever have those recipes you haven't made in a while, then when you break them out again you're like, "um....why haven't I been making this every week?"  Hello coconut chicken fingers.  Thanks to the panko, these crisp up really nicely in the oven and they have a nice subtle curry flavor that gives the coconut flavor just a little bit of extra punch.  Oh so tasty.  I'm not gonna lie though, I rarely have chicken tenderloins on hand so I almost always just use chicken breast cut into small pieces.  Still delicious, don't worry.

Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers

Number of Servings: 3-4
Time to Prepare: 35 minutes

• 2/3 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
• 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• a pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 8 chicken tenders (or 2-3 chicken breasts cut into pieces)
• olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine coconut, panko, and spices in a shallow dish and mix well. Place the flour in another shallow dish, and the eggs in another.  Dredge one chicken tender in flour, then dip in egg, and finally coat in coconut mixture.  Press in with your fingers to make sure the entire thing is well coated.  Repeat with remaining chicken.

Place chicken tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the chicken.

Bake in your 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear. This could take more or less time, depending on the size of your chicken pieces so just keep an eye on them.

Source: adapted from Our Best Bites

Spicy Thai Noodles

Recovering from an extended "vacation" always takes longer than I think it will.  I've been back for over a week (from a month long trip to see family) and we are just barely settling back into a normal routine.  Thankfully, I have a good number of super quick and easy meals up my sleeve and they have been my go-to dinners while I try to get my life back in order.  These Thai-inspired noodles are a nice change from heavy Italian-type pasta dishes and the spiciness is easily adjustable to your preference (we like just a hint of spiciness...no burn-your-face-off spicy food for us).  The toppings make it fun and colorful, and you can just work with what you have.  They end up a little bit different every time I make them, just based on what toppings I have available in my fridge and pantry.  Added bonus: this is totally vegetarian (but still really tasty and filling).  I served this with a cabbage salad the other night and after dinner my husband said, "Dinner was really good.  You didn't even notice it was a vegetarian meal."  High praise indeed.

Spicy Thai Noodles

Number of Servings: 4
Time to Prepare: 20 minutes

• 3 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (or more, if you want to increase the spiciness)
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 lb linguine
• selected toppings: thinly sliced celery, thinly sliced or shredded carrots, diced bell pepper, edamame, chopped green onion, chopped cilantro, chopped peanuts, etc.

In a small saucepan, heat the sesame oil and red pepper flakes on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Pour the oil through a fine strainer into a liquid measuring cup and discard the pepper flakes.  (It's ok if a couple of the flakes somehow make it in...that always seems to happen to me and it's fine.)   Whisk the lime juice, rice vinegar, honey, and soy sauce into the oil.

Cook the linguine according to package directions. Drain the noodles and place them in a large bowl. Toss the noodles with the oil mixture.  

Serve with the desired toppings sprinkled on top.  (I've only ever eaten these warm, but they would probably be good at room temperature or cold too.)

Source: adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Produce Used: Lime, celery, carrots, bell pepper, edamame, green onion, cilantro

Slow Cooker Jalapeno Popper Chili

The level of spiciness on this fun version of chili is low (and I have a pretty low threshold for spiciness), but if you're really worried about it, you can do it with one jalapeno instead of two. Alternatively, if you love spicy food, you can leave the membranes and seeds in your peppers to ratchet up the heat.  Either way, you're going to love this creamy, chunky chili.  As long as you have plenty of liquid, in the crock pot, you don't even need to soak the beans overnight--the many hours of cooking time will soften them right up.  But if it makes you nervous (or if you want to cook the chili on high for less time), go ahead and soak away.

Slow Cooker Jalapeno Popper Chili

Number of Servings: 6-8
Time to Prepare: 8 hours 30 minutes

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 chicken breasts or thighs (on the smaller side is fine)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper
• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomato
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 lb dry white beans, rinsed and sorted
• 1 cup frozen corn
• salt
• pepper
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

Add all ingredients except cream cheese and bacon to the crock pot.  Cook on low for 7-9 hours.  

Remove chicken and shred with two forks, then stir back in to the chili.  Using an immersion blender, pulse a few times to thicken the chili (you don't want it smooth, just some of the beans pureed).  If you don't have an immersion blender, take a few cups of the chili out and blend it in a regular blender, then stir back in.

Break the cream cheese up into 6 or 8 chunks, place it in the crock pot and let it melt for about 10 minutes.  Stir to combine and mix in crumbled bacon.  Add additional salt and pepper if needed.

Source: slightly adapted from Everyday Reading

Produce Used:  Onion, jalapeno, garlic, bell pepper, corn

Sweet Potato Cornbread

This is a great little variation on cornbread.  The sweet potato adds a great depth of flavor as well as a little additional moistness.  I really love the nice orange-y hue it gives the bread, too.  The recipe calls for already cooked and mashed sweet potato so add in some extra time if you're starting with uncooked potatoes.  I usually do one large sweet potato and cook it for about an hour at 400 degrees (wrapped in foil).  Once it cooks, the peel will come off really easily and you can mash up the potato with a fork.

Sweet Potato Cornbread

Number of Servings: 1 loaf
Time to Prepare: 1 hour 30 minutes

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup mashed sweet potato

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside.

Combine the cornmeal and sugar in a large bowl.  Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs slightly.  Add the sour cream, vanilla, and butter and whisk until the mixture is creamy and thick.  Stir in the mashed sweet potatoes until thoroughly blended.  Add the sweet potato mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just enough to moisten.  Spread the batter in the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Transfer pan to a rack and cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely.

Source: slightly adapted from Treehugger
Produce Used: Sweet potato

Caramelized Green Beans

Since I waxed poetic about bacon the other day, I thought it seemed fitting to post another bacon recipe.  And nothing says bacon-lover like adding bacon to otherwise healthy green vegetables.  Green beans with bacon is kind of a classic combination, but these green beans take it a step beyond, adding in some sauteed red onion and sweetened soy sauce mixture that really give some great depth to the beans.  I almost always use frozen green beans, but if you want to use fresh green beans in this recipe, just blanch them for a minute before adding them to the onion and garlic and you'll be good to go.

Caramelized Green Beans

Number of Servings: 6
Time to Prepare: 25 minutes

• 1 lb frozen green beans
• 1/2 lb bacon
• 1/2 medium red onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• pepper

Rinse green beans under cool water to thaw and set aside to drain.

Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crisp.  Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel.

If you had fatty bacon, drain out some of the drippings, otherwise just leave all the drippings in the pan (you want 2-3 Tbsp of drippings).  

Add onions and garlic to bacon drippings and cook over medium-high heat for a couple minutes, then add green beans and stir-fry for 2-3 minute.  While the beans cook, mix the sugar, soy sauce, and kosher salt in a small bowl, then pour on top of the beans.  Keep stir-frying until the sauce beings to coat the beans. 

Crumble the bacon and stir into the beans.  Season with pepper to taste and keep stir-frying until the beans are cooked through and everything is glazed with the sauce.  Transfer to a serving dish and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Source: slightly adapted from Our Best Bites

Produce Used: Green beans, red onion, garlic

Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

You can wrap just about anything in bacon and I will devour it.  The other day I had bacon-wrapped water chestnuts and about died from the deliciousness.  More things should be wrapped in bacon.  No offense to any vegetarians or vegans out there, but.....BACON.  It just makes life better!  And combined with this delicious homemade teriyaki sauce and the sweet pineapple, it's really hard to beat!  You can use the store bought teriyaki sauce on this, but I really recommend trying the homemade at least once--it is so tasty!  Also, if you're getting your pineapple on, these little skewers are delicious with the lime cilantro pineapple rice recipe I posted a couple days ago.

Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Number of Servings: 4-5

Time to Prepare: 5 hours

• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp cold water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 lb chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1" or 1 1/2" chunks (you want about 36 pieces of chicken)
• 12 slices of bacon, cut into thirds
• 20 oz can pineapple chunks, drained (I've also used fresh pineapple and it turns out great)

In a medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, and pepper and whisk together.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until sauce is thickened and bubbly.  Remove from heat and allow to cool while you prep the skewers.

Wrap a piece of bacon (1/3 of a slice) around a chunk of chicken and secure with a toothpick, then top with a pineapple chunk.  Place in a sturdy, gallon-size Ziploc bag and continue with remaining skewers until you've used all the bacon and chicken. 

Reserve about 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce and pour the rest over the skewers in the bag.  Seal and let marinate in the fridge for 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place skewers on a rack (I just use a cooling rack) over a rimmed baking sheet and baste with half the reserved teriyaki sauce.  Bake for 10 minutes, turn over, and baste with remaining teriyaki sauce.  Bake another 10 minutes.

Source: slightly adapated from Our Best Bites

Produce Used: Garlic, pineapple

Lime Cilantro Rice with Pineapple

Honestly, it's a little embarrassing how much I love this rice.  The fresh zing of citrus from the limes, the brightness of the cilantro, and the sweetness of the pineapple combine so beautifully.  I have been known to make my entire lunch consist of leftovers of this rice and nothing else.  (It has fruit in it so it's good for me, right?)

Lime Cilantro Rice with Pineapple

Number of Servings: 4-6
Time to Prepare: 25 minutes

• 1 cup (uncooked) rice
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tbsp butter
• juice from 2 small limes (about 4 Tbsp)
• 16 oz crushed pineapple, drained (I usually just do about 3/4 of a 20 oz can)
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• salt
• pepper

Place rice and water in a rice cooker or saucepan and cook until the liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat.  Place butter on top of rice and put the lid back on to let the butter melt.  When ready to serve, stir lime juice, pineapple, and cilantro into the rice.  Salt and pepper to taste, then serve immediately.

Source: Our Best Bites

Produce Used: Lime, cilantro, pineapple