Mango Chicken

When Mason and I were living in Utah, his cousins had us over for dinner. They made this dish and we were hooked. We make it all of the time. It is healthy and DELICIOUS!! Enjoy!



Marinade:

3-4 chicken breasts
1/3 c. teriyaki sauce
1/3 c. pineapple juice
1/3 c. honey
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. olive oil
black pepper to taste

(Keep 1/3 c. for basting)

Salsa:

1 avocado, diced
1 mango, diced
1 tomato, diced (squish out seeds)
5 green onions, chopped
½ c. cilantro leaves, cut with kitchen shears
1-2 jalapeno peppers, finely diced (put sandwich bag over hand to take seeds out)
juice of 1 lime

Marinate meat for approximately 6 hours. Grill meat, while basting with extra sauce. Make salsa right before serving. Serve meat with salsa on top.

Note: Leftovers are excellent on salad with Brianna’s Poppyseed salad dressing.

Coconut Avocado Ice Cream

• 3 ripe medium avocados
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 3/4 cups coconut milk (or the whole can)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• pinch of cloves for garnish

Your avocados need to be ripe, soft like when you'd be making guacamole with them. Pit them, add to blender with lemon juice, coconut milk, and sugar, blending until smooth. Stir in cream and refrigerate for a few hours until mixture is cool all the way through. If you want to add cloves to taste, you can do that, but I didn't want to mess with the beautiful green color of the ice cream, so I added it at the end for garnish along with some almond butter cookies. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. If you want it harder than soft serve (and to make ahead of time), put a 9 X 13 pan in the freezer lined with wax paper and bring it out when the ice cream has solidified, making individual scoops in the pan, and return to the freezer until ready to serve.

Etiquette

Last night was our Young Men/Young Women Etiquette Dinner. The Young Women leaders cooked for days creating Mexican dishes that would please the palate (while also providing opportunities for learning proper dinner etiquette). :o) Hope you enjoy these side dishes!

Spanish Rice

½ lb. bacon, diced
1 c. rice
1 onion, diced
2 c. water
1 c. tomato sauce
½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. thyme
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. garlic
cheddar cheese, grated

Chop bacon and fry. Set aside. (Side note: Bacon is MUCH easier to chop when it is slightly frozen than when it is fully thawed.) In bacon drippings, brown rice and onion. Add water and tomato sauce. Season with spices. Simmer until liquid is absorbed. Top with cheese and bacon.


Refried Beans

2 lbs. dried pinto beans
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 beef bouillon cubes (or 3 tsp. bouillon granules)
1 T. salt
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1/2 c. mild Taco Bell sauce

Rinse beans well before using. In a crockpot, cover beans with water well above the level of the beans and let soak overnight. In the morning, add garlic, beef boullion cubes, and salt. Cook on high about 6 hours or until beans are soft enough to mash. Drain off water about 2 inches below beans. Mix the beans with an electric mixer. Add cheese and Taco Bell sauce.

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

I use this site quite often for ideas and this recipe certainly did not disappoint. I love cooking with coconut milk! The only things I changed: left out the peppers and used a sweet onion instead of the red onion. And this was my first time ever cooking with ginger (outside of baked goods). So, I quite a bit of it left over. Any good recipes using ginger?

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon chili powder
1 medium red onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (by seeding the jalapeno you lose most of the spice/heat but retain great flavor)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 cups hot cooked rice

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Place in medium bowl. Stir together curry, salt, pepper and chili powder. Sprinkle over chicken, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours.

In a large nonstick frying pan, stir onion, basil, garlic and peppers in hot oil over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes until no longer pink.

Combine coconut milk and cornstarch and whisk well to combine. Carefully add to skillet, whisking vigorously. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Stir in ginger. Cook and stir for another minute. Serve over hot rice.

Recipe Source: adapted from Better Homes and Gardens