crispy coconut chicken

this one and the previous one are both new recipes that i tried last night and tonight. i liked them both and had to share. although, this one is a lot more involved. yes, i was actually good and made two "real" meals two nights in a row! i have one happy husband. enjoy!

chicken:

1 C flaked coconut

1/2 C flour

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. black pepper

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast halves (however much chicken the mixture will allow)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 C butter or margerine melted on bottom of pan.

heat oven to 400 F. mix coconut, flour, salt, and pepper in medium bowl. dip chicken into egg, then coat with coconut mixture. place in buttered pan. bake 25 minutes or until chicken is browned and cooked through. serve with rice and...

red lobster pina colada dipping sauce:

1/2 C coco lopez cream of coconut (found in the grocery store by the daiquiri and colada mixes)

1/2 C pineapple juice

1/4 C water

2 T crushed pineapple (drained)

1 T sweetened coconut flakes

3 T + 1 t. powder sugar

1 1/2 t. corn starch

3 t. cold water

mix coco lopez, pineapple juice, water, crushed pineapple, coconut, and powder sugar in a sauce pan. heat on medium low temperature until sauce begins to simmer, stirring frequently. let mixture simmer slowly 10-12 minutes. mix corn starch and water together, add to sauce and blend well. let mixture simmer for 3-5 minutes longer while stirring during and after adding cornstarch. remove from heat and bring to room temperature.

this dinner is also really good with these rolls!

samoan sweet rolls:

1 12 oz package frozen dinner rolls, thawed

1 10 oz can coconut milk

3 T sweetened condensed milk

3/4 C white sugar

coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. coat your hands with cooking spray or shortening, and roll the dough balls in your hands so that they have a light coating. place in a prepared dish. set aside and let rise until doubled. (i used pillsbury frozen rolls and didn't have to let them rise at all, fyi). preheat oven to 350 F. in a small bowl, stir together the coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk and sugar. pour this mixture over the top of the rolls as evenly as you can. bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. let cool for a few minutes before separating and serving.

whew, that's all, i promise!

quick king ranch chicken

we ate this tonight. it really is so good and so easy.

1/4 cup margarine

1 medium green bell pepper, diced fine

1 medium yellow onion, diced fine

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

2 cans Milder Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles

2 cups cooked chicken, cubed (i use the canned chicken)

12 corn tortillas, torn into bite-sized pieces

2 cups shredded cheddar or velveeta cheese

preheat oven to 325 degrees. in a large saucepan, saute the bell pepper and onion in the margerine until tender (about 5 minutes). add both soups, the rotel and chicken pieces and stir until the mixture is well-blended. in a 10x10 lightly oiled casserole dish, start making thin layers with the corn tortillas first, then the cooked chicken mixture and last the cheese. repeat about 3 times with the cheese on top. bake for 40 minutes, covered, or until hot and bubbly.

serve over rice with sour cream on top.

Stuffed artichokes

One of my most favorite foods is a stuffed artichoke. It looks a little scary at first like a weird flower or something, but it really is very yummy. This picture I took doesn't make it look quite as delicious as it really is, but I wanted it to be authentic. I know most of you won't make this dish, but at least give Mr. Artichoke another chance.

2 artichokes

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1/4 cup EVOO

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tbs. fresh chopped parsley

2 cups chicken stock

Wash artichokes in cool water. Sometimes they have little sharp points on the edges of their leaves, cut those off with kitchen scissors. Place a steaming basket in the bottom of a pan filled with 2 inches of boiling water and steam for 35 minutes. Set artichokes aside and let cool. In a medium size bowl pour in half of the olive oil and lemon juice (reserve other half for topping before serving), all of the cheese, garlic, parsley and bread crumbs. Mix well. Set stuffing mixture aside. take the cooled artichoke and pull back leaves exposing the center of the artichoke. Remove inner leaves and 'choke' ( the stuff that looks like hair...I know I've lost some of you already :)). Divide the mixture evenly into two parts. Open the outer leaves and with a spoon put some of the mixture at the base of the leaves. When you get to the center, fill it with the rest of the mixture. Pour remaining lemon juice and EVOO on top of artichoke. Place in a glass baking dish and fill the bottom of the dish with chicken stock. Bake for 40 minutes covered at 350 and take foil off for last 5 minutes to brown.

So, pretty much you pull off a leaf and scrape the meaty part and stuffing off then work your way to the center. The heart of the best part!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken marinated in lime, honey, and cumin, smothered in gooey cheese, tortillas and tasty sauce.....need I say more?

3/4 cup honey
Lime juice (1-2 limes)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 3 chicken breasts)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream

Mix the first five ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (I tossed mine together in a ziploc bag in the morning and let it sit in the refrigerator all day). Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

Red Lobster Chedder Biscuits

These are so yummy when I go to Red Lobster I could just eat these. So in trying to be healthy I found a recipe for these babies that is low fat and the best part is they don't taste like it. YUM!

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick, reduced fat baking mix

3/4 cup low fat buttermilk (1%)

1 cup shredded low fat Cheddar cheese (I use regular cheese)

2 Tbsp low fat butter spread

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes crushed fine

preheat oven to 400 degrees. combine baking mix, milk and Cheddar cheese in a bowl. Mix by hand until well combined. divide the dough into 12 equal portions (about 3 Tbsp each) and spoon into a lightly greased or nonstick cookie sheet. flatten each biscuit a bit with your fingers. bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops of the biscuit begin to brown. in a small bowl,combine the buttery spread with the garlic powder. Heat this mixture for 30 seconds in the microwave, then brush a light coating over the top of each biscuit.

makes 12 biscuits

112 calories 3 g fat each

orange julius

our "beverage" section was suffering so i thought i'd add this one too. landen's mom makes these and they are soo yummy! you can pretty much drink them any time of the day.

6 oz. orange juice concentrate (the frozen can)

1 C. milk

1 C. water

1/4 C. sugar

any fruit (i like frozen strawberries, but peaches are really yummy too!)

about 8-10 ice cubes

optional: 1 tsp. vanilla

blend everything together in your blender and please drink with a colorful straw. :)

cookie salad

{no i don't know this guy... but i think he says it all!}

so i'll be the first to admit i've been a major slacker on this blog! 100% my fault. how many blogs am i trying to run these days? maybe that was a bad idea... haha. but i love this food blog. so i dug through my recipe box, and low and behold... i actually have more than 10 recipes in there!

this one comes from my friend kalee. you might be thinking, cookies and salad in one dish? yes. it's fabulous. i sometimes crave this. and although i haven't made it for quite awhile, now that the recipe box has been dusted off, i think i might give it a try again this week! yum!

1 large carton cool whip (16 oz)

1 box vanilla instant pudding (large)

2 cups buttermilk (not kidding)

mix those first three together then add:

2 small cans mandarin oranges (drained)

1 large can pinnapple tidbits (drained)

1 pkg. Keebler fudge striped cookies (broken into bite sized pieces... this is the best part!)

mix and refrigerate!