Coconut Curry Chicken in the Useful Pot (or out)

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed, diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS
Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear.
Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

CROCK POT DIRECTIONS
I have adapted this to go in the crock pot because if you cook it in skillet, the house smells like curry for days.
I cooked the chicken in a skillet and put all of the other stuff right in the crockpot, mixed it all up, and put in on low (for almost 5 hours) and voile la! The first time I made it I added summer squash, and liked the addition. I cooked the squash separately in a skillet and then threw it in the crockpot for the last two hours.

*I stole this recipe from some online recipe site and adapted it for the crock pot.

*I wish I had taken a pretty picture of this to make this more blog-worthy.  Next time.

Fajitas de Pollo (Chicken Fajitas)

Ingredients:

(Serves 4 and with enough for seconds)

• 2 boneless chicken breasts/steaks
• 1 Avocado (optional)
• Low fat sour cream (optional)
• 2 Bell Peppers (any colors you wish)
• 1/2 White Onion
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1 Jalapeño Pepper (optional for spice)
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 Limes
• Grill Time (TM) Seasonings Chicken Roasted Garlic (or any brand of Chicken Roasted Garlic Seasoning)
• Olive Oil or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Flour Tortillas for Soft Tacos
• 1 indoor grill that is able to be placed on top of a stove (if you don’t have one, an outdoor grill or even frying pan will do)

Directions:

1. Chop up bell peppers and onions into long thing slices and place in a large bowl. Finely dice about 1/4 of the cilantro as well and place in a separate bowl. (Here’s a tip to dice the cilantro: first make the cilantro into a loaf like ball, and then begin to dice).
2. Cut the two limes in half, yielding 4 halves,
3. Heat indoor grill or pan to medium flame.
4. Cut chicken breast length wise into thirds (this helps the chicken cook faster). Take your Olive Oil and coat the chicken breast (this will help the meat from sticking to the pan). Using the Grill Time (TM) Seasonings Chicken Roasted Garlic, season the chicken well.
5. Pour about 1/3 cup of olive oil into frying pan, or coat grill with oil using a basting brush (again so chicken doesn’t stick), then place your seasoned chicken onto the grill/pan. When chicken is about halfway cooked, squeeze 1 half of your lime onto the chicken until lime is completely used up. Then turn over chicken and squeeze the 2nd half of your lime over it. (It will make a sizzling sound and may pop so be careful). Continue to let chicken cook until done (I use a fork or knife to cut into the chicken to make sure the pink has turned completely white). DO NOT OVER COOK! Because then your chicken will be dry and not moist. Take chicken out of the pan/grill and place it in a baking tray, cover with foil.
6. Grab your bell peppers and onion and place in a pan or wok with a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat (use the same pan as the chicken if that is what you used). Sautee and squeeze another half of the lime into the mix, also add a little bit of the seasoning used for the chicken. Cook until onions just begin to caramelize (turn a brown color) then turn off heat.
7. Go back to your chicken and shred them with a knife into good sized strips for fajitas. (You’ll see that 2 chicken breasts go a long away), then place the shredded chicken in the same pan as bell peppers and onions, add your diced cilantro and mix together (I find tongs very helpful).
8. (Optional) If you want to use your avocado cut the avocado in half first then use your knife to carve thin slicing lines. Take a spoon and scoop out the avocado and viola, you’ve got great thinly sliced avocados, use that last half a lime to squeeze onto the avocado so that it does not turn.
9. If you want some spice to your fajita, rinse and finely dice jalapeño pepper and add to your own fajita as desired (be careful, less is more unless you really like it spicey!).
10. Place your mix into a tortilla shell and add tomatoes, sour cream and avocado as desired, and enjoy!

Stuffed Chicken with Bacon Coats and Cranberry/Almond Salad

My favorite light summer recipe…. a quick easy dinner idea that can be modified for a large family or cooking for one.  I don’t generally bake chicken because it dries out, but the bacon coats with the cream cheese seal in the juices. Yum!

Ingredients:
4 Chicken breasts or 6 tenderloins
1/2 c cream cheese
1 TBSP chives
6-8 rashers uncooked bacon

Preheat oven to 400 F. If using chicken breasts, cut a slit in the breast and stuff with mixture of cream cheese and chives. If tenderloins, sandwich cream cheese mixture between the tenderloins…. I’m not afraid to use a healthy amount of cream cheese, but I’m also not afraid of my ever-expanding reflection. Adjust accordingly. :) Wrap bacon around the chicken (I use two for each chicken piece). Place in a glass baking dish and pour about 1 TBSP of oil over the chicken. Bake for 20-25 minutes, brushing with oil half-way through. Season w/fresh ground pepper and enjoy!

Serve with salad:

Raspberry vinaigrette over Green lettuce or spinach w/craisins and toasted almond slices

Serve with a glass of rose’ if you enjoy the vino with dinner!