Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Easy Chicken Dinner

The time for our Costa Rica trip is finally upon us!  Weee!  I'm so excited!  We leave tonight and fly overnight.  I can't wait!  I feel like I'm only half-way present at my job today, but it doesn't seem as though anyone minds.  I got most of my work done yesterday, anyhow.  I spent a little time (finally) compiling my blogged recipes into an easy list.  The link is up on the main page (Master Recipe List) and I will try and remember to keep it updated!  I'm also hoping to start adding photos of my recipes more often.  I'm giving you this recipe sans photo since I'll be whipping it up tonight before we head out to SFO and thus won't have time for uploading any pics. 

I received this Rachael Ray recipe in an email awhile back and we have made it a bunch of times.  We recently acquired Spicy Curry Powder (thank you, 50% off bin at Safeway!), which I love in this recipe.  Admittedly, it was a little bland before that.  If you like a little bit of heat and only have regular Curry Powder, we have also thrown in a minced jalapeno with half of the seeds removed.  This is so easy, and we tend to have all the items needed in our pantry (or freezer, since chicken in the pantry just sounds yucky), making it an easy go-to dinner.  It definitely makes plenty of sauce, so plan on eating this with whole wheat couscous, brown basmati rice, or some sort of veggie (we've had it over roasted cauliflower as well as some simple sauteed green beans with much success - I highly recommend trying it with roasted cauliflower, try this recipe if you need a starting point).

Coconut Curry Chicken (2 svgs: 317 Cal; 17 g fat; 3 g Carbs; 33.5 g protein)

Ingredients:
3 teaspoons canola oil, separated
1 teaspoon curry powder (I use spicy curry powder)
1/2 can lite coconut milk (6.25 oz; I freeze the other half until needed)
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts (~2 breasts), cut into strips
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium heat. Stir in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and cook until reduced by half, about 7 minutes.
2. Toss together the chicken, five-spice powder, and salt and pepper.
3. In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Increase the heat to high and stir-fry the chicken until just cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in the coconut curry sauce.