Coconut-Crusted Chicken with Cashew-Curry Sauce

Now that's an alliteration if I've ever heard one.  Try to say that 10 times fast! 

I've been intrigued by this recipe ever since I saw it in my subscription to Cooking Light.  I'm not a big fan of coconut but I like coconut shrimp and thought this might be similar.  The recipe does have a lot of ingredients but most of them we have in our pantry. I think I only needed to buy chicken for this recipe.  You might not have as many ingredients in your pantry, and may be turned off by the number of ingredients, which I understand. 

I'll save you the trouble of buying the ingredients, this was another 'meh' recipe.  Now I will say that I like bold flavors, so if you like delicate flavors this may be your dish.  The chicken was delicious, I would make it again and serve it with another sauce.  And I probably would, if Cooking Light didn't have a bunch of other similar recipes that are panko-coated chicken tenders.  I expected way more flavor out of this sauce and was let down.

As of today's post, 18 people gave this an average rating of four out of 5. 

This is probably one of those 'decide for yourself' type of recipes. It's not awful but I can see how some people might like it.

Recipe by Jackie Mills, Cooking Light, May 2009

• YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and 3 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients

• Chicken:
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/2 cup flaked unsweetened coconut
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• Sauce:
• 3/4 cup light coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon red curry paste
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup chopped dry-roasted cashews
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 4 lime wedges (optional)
• 4 cilantro sprigs (optional)

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 400°.
• 2. To prepare chicken, sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch and red pepper in a large zip-top plastic bag. Combine panko and flaked coconut in a shallow dish. Place egg white in another shallow dish. Add chicken to bag; seal and shake well to coat evenly. Remove from bag; discard remaining cornstarch mixture. Dip 1 chicken breast half in egg white; dredge in panko mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining 3 chicken breast halves, egg white, and panko mixture.
• 3. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Place skillet in oven. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until done.
• 4. To prepare sauce, combine coconut milk, sugar, curry paste, and 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch in a small bowl. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots, ginger, and garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add coconut milk mixture; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or just until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in cashews, juice, and fish sauce. Garnish each serving with 1 lime wedge and 1 cilantro sprig.

Nutritional Information

---

• Amount per serving
• Calories: 376
• Fat: 15.4g
• Saturated fat: 5.8g
• Monounsaturated fat: 5.8g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 2.4g
• Protein: 43.8g
• Carbohydrate: 15.4g
• Fiber: 1.1g
• Cholesterol: 99mg
• Iron: 2.4mg
• Sodium: 772mg
• Calcium: 34mg

---

Chicken, Cashew, and Red Pepper Stir Fry

I guess I'll preface this recipe with the fact that 35 people gave this an average of 5 out of 5. It's that delicious.  This is another superfast weeknight meal that comes together quickly, especially with 90 second brown rice.  Most of the ingredients you can keep on hand.  The thinner you cut your chicken, the more quickly it will cook.  The cashews are a MUST. You cannot skip the cashews. They give this a perfect crunch. 

In the past, we've added water chestnuts and broccoli to add vegetables and texture to this dish.  But this time, we made it strictly by the recipe.  The recipe gives you enough sauce for the rice. 

We've made this a few times and honestly I had forgotten just how tasty it is. I can say we'll be making this more in the future. 

Add it to your rotation, you won't regret it.

Recipe by Barbara Lauterbach, Cooking Light, April 2009

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 3 3/4  teaspoons  cornstarch, divided
• 2  tablespoons  low-sodium soy sauce, divided
• 2  teaspoons  dry sherry
• 1  teaspoon  rice wine vinegar
• 3/4  teaspoon  sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon  hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
• 1  pound  chicken breast tenders, cut lengthwise into thin strips
• 1/2  cup  coarsely chopped unsalted cashews
• 2  tablespoons  canola oil
• 2  cups  julienne-cut red bell pepper (about 1 large)
• 1  teaspoon  minced garlic
• 1/2  teaspoon  minced peeled fresh ginger
• 3  tablespoons  thinly sliced green onions

Preparation

1. Combine 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and next 4 ingredients (through hot pepper sauce) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.
2. Combine remaining 2 3/4 teaspoons cornstarch, remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and chicken in a medium bowl; toss well to coat.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cashews to pan; cook 3 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring frequently. Remove from pan.
4. Add oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add chicken mixture to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove chicken from pan; place in a bowl. Add bell pepper to pan; sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and ginger; cook 30 seconds. Add chicken and cornstarch mixture to pan; cook 1 minute or until sauce is slightly thick. Sprinkle with cashews and green onions.
Quick rice pilaf: Cook 1 (10-ounce) package frozen white rice (such as Birds Eye SteamFresh) according to package directions. Combine cooked rice, 2 tablespoons drained chopped water chestnuts, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 324

Fat: 16.6g (sat 2.5g,mono 9.2g,poly 3.8g)

Protein: 30g

Carbohydrate: 13.5g

Fiber: 2g

Cholesterol: 66mg

Iron: 2.4mg

Sodium: 350mg

Calcium: 33mg

Salmon with Spicy Cucumber and Peanuts

I try to incorporate fish in our diet at least once every two weeks.  Winter can be tough because all you want to do is sleep and eat white, starchy carbs.  But now spring is coming and when you want a light weeknight meal, this is a great option. 

Once again we had green beans with this meal (recipe found here).   I forgot to seed the cucumber, so it doesn't look perfect. I didn't notice a difference in taste either way.  But I love the combination of rice wine vinegar, red pepper flakes and sugar.  It gives you a totally unique taste of the spicy/sweet combination.

This is another great easy weeknight meal. Once you mix together the sauce and toss the cucumbers, all you have to do is cook the fish. I steamed the green beans while I made the sauce and finished the green beans while the fish cooked.

As of today's post only 3 people have rated this recipe from 2008.  They gave it an average rating of 3 out of 5. 


Recipe by Alyson Haynes, Cooking Light, August 2008

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4  cups  sliced seeded peeled cucumber (about 2 large)
• 1/4  cup  seasoned rice vinegar
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley
• 2  teaspoons  sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt, divided
• Cooking spray
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 4  (6-ounce) salmon fillets
• 4  teaspoons  chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

Preparation

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper over fish. Add fish to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Place 1 fillet in each of 4 shallow bowls, and top each serving with 1/2 cup cucumber salad and 1 teaspoon peanuts.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 262 (38% from fat)

Fat: 11g (sat 1.7g,mono 3.8g,poly 4.2g)

Protein: 30.5g

Carbohydrate: 8.9g

Fiber: 1.3g

Cholesterol: 81mg

Iron: 1.7mg

Sodium: 666mg

Calcium: 41mg

Five-Spice Pork Lo Mein

If you read the ricotta broccoli Alfredo post here, you're probably remembering that awful looking stuff.  Look how appetizing this is in comparison!  This was a super easy and quick meal that we made using soba.  Soba noodles are made from buckwheat, and while I don't know a lot about the differences in pasta, I know that they are tasty. You can find them in the International/Asian section of your grocery store.

We didn't make any changes to the recipe.  We thought the recipe was a good, solid recipe.  It's not among the best we've ever made, but it was really tasty, easy and a great way to get a sampling of that Asian cuisine without all of the bad stuff.  We will make it again, but will add water chestnuts and possibly snap peas for color and crunch.  It was great to have this warm comforting meal on a cold winter's night.

As of today's post, 17 people gave this an average rating of 3 out of 5. Some of the reviewers threw in some additional ingredients, so check them out depending on which add-ins you like.

Recipe by Lorrie Covin, Cooking Light, July 2005

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

Ingredients

• 8  ounces  uncooked Chinese-style noodles
• 1  tablespoon  grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2  teaspoons  five-spice powder
• 1  (3/4-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into thin strips
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 2  tablespoons  toasted peanut oil
• 1/4  cup  water
• 1/4  cup  hoisin sauce
• 1/2  cup  chopped green onions

Preparation

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Place in a large bowl. Snip noodles several times with kitchen scissors.
Combine ginger, five-spice powder, and pork in a medium bowl; add 1/4 teaspoon salt, tossing to coat. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture; sauté 2 minutes or until browned. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, water, and hoisin sauce; cook 2 minutes or until pork is done. Add pork mixture and green onions to noodles; toss well to combine.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 273 (29% from fat)

Fat: 8.9g (sat 1.9g,mono 3.6g,poly 2g)

Protein: 16.3g

Carbohydrate: 34.8g

Fiber: 5.7g

Cholesterol: 38mg

Iron:2.8mg

Sodium: 399mg

Calcium: 31mg

Apricot Pork Chops AND Butternut Squash Gratin with Blue Cheese and Sage

This is one of the easiest recipes you will ever make (and maybe one of the cheapest too)!  All we have to do for this recipe is buy pork chops and (depending on our fridge stock) some green onions.  Great for those who need weeknight meals fast, this is super easy and super delicious.  Now I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that this makes a MESS in your pan and it's not too pretty in the picture (who wants to eat that black looking pork thing) but the pan comes clean and that's just the soy sauce making it tasty. :)

While this is probably better with steamed veggies and rice (it has an Asian influence), we tend to make this at the same time we make Butternut Squash, Blue cheese and sage gratin. It's not planned and I don't know why, but we always plan to make these together. 

For the pork chops, 17 people gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5. It's definitely a 5 people.

Now as far as the Butternut Squash gratin goes, I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this recipe. It's such a great way to get some of those fall veggies in and the flavor combination is so awesome.  I would eat this everyday if I could. Talk about healthy comfort food.

We do make some changes to this recipe.  Adding more onions and sage is a must.  I would also recommend you steam the squash until it's really really (read: fall apart on the fork) tender. It just makes everything taste better.

For the gratin, 31 people gave it an average rating of 4 out of 5.

Apricot Pork Chops
Recipe by Michele Powers, Cooking Light, July 2005

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and 1 tablespoon sauce)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 4  (4-ounce) boneless loin pork chops
• 1/4  cup  prechopped onion
• 1/4  cup  apricot preserves
• 1  tablespoon  low-sodium soy sauce
• 2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  cup  sliced green onions

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm.
Add prechopped onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in preserves, soy sauce, garlic, and salt; cook 3 minutes or until thickened. Add pork to pan, turning to coat. Sprinkle with green onions.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 231 (32% from fat)

Fat: 8.3g (sat 2.5g,mono 3.6g,poly 1.2g)

Protein: 23.9g

Carbohydrate: 15.2g

Fiber: 0.5g

Cholesterol: 73mg

Iron: 1.2mg

Sodium: 345mg

Calcium: 24mg

 

Butternut Squash Gratin with Blue Cheese and Sage

Recipe by Jackie Mills, Cooking Light, December 2008

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 5  cups  (3/4-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
• 1  (1 1/2-ounce) slice white bread
• 4  teaspoons  olive oil, divided
• 2  cups  thinly sliced onion
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh sage
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Steam butternut squash, covered, 10 minutes or until tender.
3. Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 12 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1/2 cup. Transfer to a small bowl; add 2 teaspoons oil, and toss with a fork to combine.
4. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced onion to pan; saute 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Transfer the onion mixture to a large bowl. Add butternut squash, chopped sage, salt, and black pepper to bowl, and toss gently to combine. Spoon squash mixture into an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle crumbled blue cheese evenly over squash mixture, and sprinkle evenly with breadcrumb mixture. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and crumbs are golden brown.

Nutritional Information

Calories:186 (31% from fat)

Fat: 6.4g (sat 2.4g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.5g)

Protein: 5.1g

Carbohydrate: 30.9g

Fiber: 4.8g

Cholesterol:  7mg

Iron:1.7mg

Sodium: 379mg

Calcium: 173mg

Steamed Pork Buns

The recipe says that these are a type of Chinese street food. I verified this with one of my coworkers (who happens to be Chinese) who said that it is true but said "you have to make your own dough, this is too much work!"  I don't mind making my own dough so it's not a problem. I had to buy Chinese 5-spice which was kind of pricey but these were worth it.  I would say the recipe took a total of 2 hours to make if you are trying to budget your time.  The great thing about this recipe is that if you're only making it for 2 people, you have a ton of leftover buns that you can freeze.  So this means you could probably put the work in on a Sunday (or late on a weeknight like we do because we eat late) and then on other nights pull them out of the freezer and cook them in 20 minutes.

We made 3 changes to this recipe. The first was to sub 1 cup of whole wheat flour and the second was to use red onion instead of green (we didn't have green onion).  The most obvious change was to use ground turkey instead of pork tenderloin--pork tenderloin is expensive so I didn't want to eat cut up pork tenderloin stuffed in bread when I can enjoy it like this instead: Peppercorn-crusted pork tenderloin with Soy-Caramel Sauce

As of today's post 23 people gave this an average rating of 5 out of 5!

I hope you enjoy this trip to the Orient in your home as much as we did in ours!

Goat Cheese Spring Rolls with Asian Pear Salad

Alright here's a way to use those leftover eggroll wrappers if you made the last recipe.  The flavors in these eggrolls are slightly different from a 'typical eggroll' due to the addition of the goat cheese.  After a while, the soon-to-be Mr. VaFoodie said that he could taste the goat cheese and it was too much for him (he's not a huge fan). So we may adjust to add more of the red chili sauce because it's delicious.  One other reviewer subbed Feta instead of GC, so maybe i'll do that next time to make my man happy. If you chop most of the ingredients for the eggroll beforehand, this dish comes together quickly.  Eggrolls are much easier to make than samosas!  


Um, can we just say the salad is a MUST make!?  The rice wine vinegar and maple syrup have the perfect sweet/bitter combination and the pear matched with the cilantro is awesome. I would make this for a dinner party as a side salad on it's own, it's that good.


As of today's post 5 people (including me) gave this an average rating of 5 out of 5!


I hope you enjoy this in your home (at a dinner party?) as much as we did in ours!!


Recipe by Cooking Light, March 2005

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 2 spring roll halves and 1/4 cup salad)

Ingredients

• SALAD:
• 2  cups  sliced Asian pear or ripe pear
• 1/4  cup  chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4  cup  chopped red onion
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro
• 2  tablespoons  rice vinegar
• 1  tablespoon  maple syrup
• 
  SPRING ROLLS:
• 1  tablespoon  sesame oil
• 1 1/2  cups  matchstick-cut carrots
• 1 1/2  cups  vertically sliced red onion
• 1 1/2  cups  chopped green onions
• 1 1/2  cups  thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps
• 1 1/2  cups  red bell pepper, cut into (1/4-inch) strips
• 1  tablespoon  low-sodium soy sauce
• 1  tablespoon  sweet red chile sauce
• 1/4  cup  (2 ounces) goat cheese, crumbled
• 8  egg roll wrappers
• Cooking spray

Preparation

To prepare salad, combine first six ingredients.

Preheat oven to 425°.

To prepare spring rolls, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots, 1 1/2 cups red onion, green onions, mushroom, and 1 1/2 cups red bell pepper; sauté 3 minutes or until slightly tender. Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce and chile sauce. Cool 5 minutes. Stir in cheese.

Working with 1 egg roll wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers to prevent drying), spoon about 1/3 cup vegetable mixture into center of each wrapper. Fold lower right corner over vegetable mixture; fold lower left and top right corners over vegetable mixture. Moisten top left corner with water; roll up jelly-roll fashion. Coat spring rolls with cooking spray; place rolls, seam sides down, on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until golden brown, turning rolls over halfway through baking time. Cut rolls crosswise at an angle; serve immediately with salad.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

171 (23% from fat)

Fat:

4.3g (sat 1.8g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.1g)

Protein:

5.7g

Carbohydrate

30.3g

Fiber:

3g

Cholesterol:

6mg

Iron:

1.5mg

Sodium:

267mg

Calcium:

53mg

Honey-Hoisin Pork Tenderloin

Looking for a quick Asian meal? Here it is!!  The combination of soy sauce, garlic, hoisin sauce and honey in the marinade make this a great sweet/salty combo.  Hoisin sauce is an Asian cooking sauce, with a plum-based flavor. You can find it in the Asian aisle of your supermarket. It also lasts a while so you don't have to worry about buying a random ingredient. I think we've had ours for 2 years and used it only to make this recipe several times.  Also they want you to use 'clover' or 'sage' honey but we always just use regular honey.

Instead of using tenderloin, this time we made this with thinly sliced chops, only because we had chops in the freezer and tenderloin can be expensive.  We served it with steamed broccoli and Trader Joe's Pork Gyoza potstickers.  We've made this before using the tenderloin and it's equally as tasty. If you use chops, be sure to adjust your cooking times accordingly, no one wants extra tough pork.  Instead of 2 cloves of garlic minced, we used 2 tsp of the minced garlic in a jar.

As of today's post, 28 people gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5.

I hope you enjoy this in your home as much as we do in ours!

Marcia Whyte Smart, Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2005

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces pork and about 2 teaspoons honey mixture)

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  sliced green onions
• 2  tablespoons  hoisin sauce
• 2  tablespoons  low-sodium soy sauce
• 2  tablespoons  sage honey
• 1  tablespoon  hot water
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• Cooking spray
• 1/2  teaspoon  sesame seeds

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl. Pour 1/4 cup honey mixture into a large zip-top plastic bag; reserve remaining honey mixture. Add pork to bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning bag occasionally.

Remove pork from bag; discard marinade. Sprinkle pork with salt. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork; cook 2 minutes, browning on all sides. Brush 1 tablespoon reserved honey mixture over pork; sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place skillet in oven. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink) or until desired degree of doneness.

Place pork on a platter; let stand 5 minutes. Cut pork across the grain into thin slices. Drizzle with the remaining honey mixture.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

195 (20% from fat)

Fat:

4.3g (sat 1.4g,mono 1.9g,poly 0.6g)

Protein:

24.7g

Carbohydrate:

13.6g

Fiber:

0.5g

Cholesterol:

74mg

Iron:

1.7mg

Sodium:

633mg

Calcium:

12mg