Coconut Chicken and Coconut Curry Sweet Potato Fries

I love anything coconut and then add in curry and I'm REALLY there! I saw these and knew I had everything on hand to make them. I was looking forward to this meal ALL week and it did NOT disappoint!

There is a recipe for the Pineapple Curry Dipping sauce also found in the link, but I decided to leave it out as I didn't think it was needed!

Coconut Chicken -shared from Cooking During Stolen Moments
1 lb chicken, cut into fingers or bite size
1/2 cup flour
salt, pepper, curry powder to taste
2 eggs
2 tsp water
1 cup panko crumbs
1/2 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix together flour and spices, place on a plate. Beat together eggs and water in a shallow plate or bowl. Mix together coconut and panko and place that into a shallow bowl. Dredge chicken in flour, followed by the egg mixture, and finally the coconut mixture. Press this onto the chicken if needed. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown and cooked through!

**These were delicious! I love the crispy panko with the sweet coconut! I'm not usually a fan of making breaded chicken and I was thinking that as I had 2 kids running around my feet and I was covered in goo, luckily these were very much worth it!

Coconut Curry Sweet Potato Fries

I know I saw this recipe on someone's blog, but I can't remember which one. I did actually combine 2 different recipes I wanted to try.

2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into fries
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp curry powder

Melt coconut oil. Stir in curry. Coat potatoes with mixture and lay on baking sheet. Cook at 400 degrees for about 20 mins. Potatoes should be soft when poked with a fork and crispy on one side.

**These were pretty delicious, but I do think they were missing something. I think next time I'll add just a little salt to the coconut/curry mixture. The coconut flavor was very subtle.

Barley Risotto

I came across this recipe on another blog I frequent quite a bit. She calls it Barley Pilaf, but the process is more like a risotto so I renamed it. I was also looking for something to do with the barley I had in the cabinet, it was for soup, but it never got made. I had the Goya barley and had no idea what kind it was after a little research I think I came to the conclusion that it is the pearl barley, this may have been a quicker process if you use quick cook barley(as the original states) You have to have a little patience with this recipe and perhaps maybe not a crying 1 year old at your feet, but it got done!

Barley Risotto-shared from Finding Joy In My Kitchen
4 cups broth(I used veggie)
1 pkg frozen peas
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups barley(quick cook or pearl)*
2 tbsp oil
1/4-1/2 cup cream
1/4-1/2 cup parm or asiago cheese, shredded(I did use grated)

Place oil in pan(I have a deep sided skillet so I used that). Saute onions and garlic for about 5 mins. Add in barley and let brown for a few minutes. Slowly add in broth, stir until the liquid is absorbed. Keep adding the liquid until it is all gone(I did about a cup at a time). Stir in peas, cream, and cheese. Stir and let cheese melt.

*Because I used pearl barley and not quick cook, I found I needed more liquid. So that is why the cream is up to a 1/2 a cup. I also added extra water as the barley still was not fully cooked and it had no more liquid. I let it simmer and cook longer than if using quick cook. I am still not sure that it is fully cooked as I've never cooked barley this way. It had a bite to it, but it worked for me and after 45 mins and a baby who wasn't having it, I served it up!

**I LOVED this. I loved the texture, the taste, and just everything about it! K wasn't as sold as I was. He said it was good and I could make it again, but I gave it high honors! Next time I'll try it with quick cook so maybe it won't take quite as long. The original recipe uses asparagus, we are not fans of it or had it in the house so we went with the peas.

Coconut Rice and Sweet Potatoes

I'm not sure what my appeal is to coconut is lately, but I seem to see coconut and I must try the recipe. This one I found in our local paper. The original recipe also calls for a 10 oz bag of edamame, but I did not have it, but it was great without it!

Coconut Rice and Sweet Potatoes
1 tsp olive or canola oil
1 cup peeled, diced sweet potatoes(I used 1.5)
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 to 1 1/4 cup jasmine rice*
15 oz can coconut milk(I used lite)
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tsp lime zest(which I didn't have)
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
coconut

*I use a little bit more than a cup of brown jasmine rice, if you use white go ahead and use 1 1/4 cups.
In a large saucepan with a lid, heat the oil up. Add in sweet potatoes and ginger. Cook for about 4 mins.(Mine did take a little longer as I had to make sure all the potatoes got to the heat). Stir in rice, milk, juice, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 mins.(Mine seemed to take more like 20-25 mins) Use a fork to fluff the rice and add in the lime zest, stir. Serve topped with peanuts and coconut.

**This was delicious! I wasn't sure how it was going to be with the sw. potato even though it sounded really good. I'm sure the zest would have made it even better. The boys almost ate it even...A ate the rice at least.