Coconut Chicken with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 large eggs

1/4 c. coconut milk, optional

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. panko bread crumbs

1 c. shredded coconut

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. vegetable oil, divided

1 c. sweet chili sauce

Recipe:

1. Cut off any extra fat globules from your chicken breasts. Cut each breast into 6 strips, diagonally to prevent the end strips from being really short.

2. Prepare your breading station by gathering three bowls. In the first bowl, combine the flour and salt. In the second bowl, combine the eggs and coconut milk. Whisk together until well combined. In the third bowl, stir together the panko bread crumbs and shredded coconut.

3. Place 1/4 c. of vegetable oil in a large heavy duty skillet and heat over medium heat until it is just below smoking. You can test the heat by throwing in a little bit of flour. When it is hot enough, the flour with sizzle and create a lot of bubbles.

4. While the oil is heating, dredge chicken strips. First, coat each strip in the flour and salt mixture. Then dip each into the eggs/coconut milk and finally coat each in panko shredded coconut.

5. Place about 6 strips in the pan at once. There should be only one layer of chicken and about 1-inch distance between each piece. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side of until they are golden brown and crispy. Place them on a plate with paper towel. Continue frying remaining chicken. Oil might become low, in which case, add the second 1/4 c. of oil.

6. Serve with chili dipping sauce.

Rating: 4 of 5

LaDon wanted to rate these higher, like 4.5, but I didn't like them that much. The chicken was good, but in all honesty, I couldn't taste the coconut at all. It was just a crunchy chicken strip (which are good). I was hoping for a much more flavorful chicken considering all the frying that went on. However, with that said, I did serve these up with some honey-mustard and it greatly improved everything (which means that we didn't use the sweet chili sauce). For the sake of crispy chicken strips for LaDon, I would make these again.

Source: Budget Bytes, Coconut Chicken with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix

Ingredients:

2 T. dried parsley

1 t. dried dill

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. onion powder

1/2 t. dried basil

1/2 t. pepper

Recipe:

1. Add each of the dried spices to a bowl and gently stir.

2. Store in a resealable plastic bag or small canning jar with tight fitting lid.

3. To make the ranch dressing, whisk together 1/3 c. mayonnaise with 1/4 c. milk and 1 T. of the homemade ranch dressing seasoning mix. (Makes about 4 T. of dressing)

4. Season with salt, to taste.

5. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Rating: 3 of 5
So, this rating is not a full-on rating. I used the dry mix in a crock pot recipe, so I'm not sure if it tastes like Ranch dressing or not when it's all put together. But, it did smell like it! One thing that I think I'll do differently next time is crush up the parsley even more. 

Source: $5 Dinners, Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix

Copycat: Chick-Fil-A Nuggets and Sauce

Ingredients:

For the Honey-Mustard sauce:

1/2 c. mayo

2 T. mustard (regular prepared yellow mustard)

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 T. vinegar

2 T. honey

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the nuggets:

8 chicken tenderloins or 6 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

2 1/2 c. flour

1/4 c. powdered sugar

4 t. salt

3 t. pepper

1 t. paprika

peanut oil or canola oil for frying

Recipe:

For the sauce:

1. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce, mix well, and set aside or pop in the fridge.

For the nuggets:

1. In a large dutch oven or stockpot, heat up the oil over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. (Note: If you don't have a thermometer for the oil, you can test the oil by dropping a small piece of chicken or batter into the oil and if it sinks and floats to the top with swift speed, the oil is just right. If it sinks and takes forever to come to the top, the oil is too cold. If it sizzles and immediately fries up, the oil is too hot.)

2. While the oil is heating, in a gallon Ziploc bag, combine flour, powdered sugar, salt, pepper, and paprika. Seal it and shake to combine well.

3. Throw the chicken bites into the Ziploc bag, close it, and shake until all are coated well.

4. Using a slotted spoon, fish out the nuggets and shake off excess flour and place on a clean plate.

5. Before you start frying, prepare a plate by lining sheets of paper towels to drain the nuggets after frying.

6. When ready, place about 10-12 nuggets in the oil and let cook for about 5 minutes (but it also depends on the size of your nuggets.)

7. Remove nuggets from oil with a spider strainer or slotted spoon and set on lined plate to drain. Continue until all nuggets have been cooked. *

8. Serve hot with dipping sauce, ketchup, ranch, or your favorite dip.

* Once they were fried, I let them drain for a minute or two and them threw them into the oven, about 200 degrees F, so they would stay warm while I cooked the rest of the nuggets.

Rating: 4.75 of 5

I debated whether I should rate these separately or together, but really, they would get about the same score anyways! I love honey-mustard dips, and this one was really good. It's not the best, but it really is soooo good. It's not super thick, you can taste the mustard and honey equally, and it goes perfectly with these chicken nuggets! The nuggets are really good too. That might have something to do with the fact that they are fried though.....but I'm sure there is a good way to bake them too. I'll have to figure that out, because, let's face it, frying is so messy, takes a long time, and isn't so pretty on my hips. I was surprised that the recipe called for powdered sugar, but it's a perfect amount. You can taste the sweetness, but it's not too much. Same with the paprika. One thing I love about these nuggets is that they are incredibly moist! The chicken cooks really well.

Source: Table for Two, Chick-Fuh-Lay Nuggets and Sauce

Chicken Gyros

Ingredients:

For the tzatziki sauce: *

16 oz. plain yogurt

1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded

2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)

1 t. red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

squeeze of fresh lemon juice **

extra virgin olive oil

*I halved it.

** not sure exactly how much this means, so I did almost one whole lemon

For the chicken: (didn't halve this)

4 cloves garlic, smashed *

1 lemon, juice of

2 t. red wine vinegar

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 heaping T. plain yogurt

1 T dried oregano

salt and pepper

1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed **

*I just used minced garlic

** I used 3 chicken breasts

To assemble:

pita bread

fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced

red onion, thinly sliced

Recipe:

1. To make the tzatziki sauce, strain the yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl. Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible. If using a Greek yogurt, then staining the yogurt like this is unnecessary.*

2. Shred the cucumber. Wrap in a towel and squeeze to remove as much water as possible.

3. Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.

4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

* I actually skipped this step and just took the yogurt from the top of the container. All the moisture was in a pool in the middle anyways.

5. To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken peices to the bowl and mix well to coat.

6. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

7. Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler. Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.

8. Heat pitas. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions. Serve immediately.

Rating: 4 of 5

I've only ever had Greek food, or more specifically gyros, a few times in my life. And I love it. The flavors seem so exotic, but a safe exotic. I thought the tzatziki sauce was right on (well, except for maybe there is just a tad bit too much red wine vinegar), the chicken was delicious, and the warm pitas were perfect. I left out the red onions, because I really don't care for raw onions. Ever. If I could find a recipe that replicates Daphne's lamb gyro exactly, then that would be amazing! Overall, a very good dish.

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe, Chicken Gyros

Tortilla Crisps

Ingredients:

1/2 c. sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 c. butter, melted

12 7- or 8-inch flour tortillas

Recipe:

For plain tortilla crisps:

1. Cut each of 12 tortillas into 8 wedges. Spread 1/3 of the wedges in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree F oven 5-10 minutes or until dry and crisp; cool.

2. Repeat with remaining wedges. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 weeks.

For Cinnamon Tortilla Crisps:

1. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Brush butter over 12 tortillas.

2. Sprinkle tortillas with cinnamon-sugar mixture.

3. Follow steps for Plain Tortilla Crisps and bake as according to directions.

Rating: 3 of 5

These are pretty good. I'm actually not a fan of pre-baked tortillas (have you tried the uncooked tortillas from Costco?), but I liked the way these turned out. Sweet and crunchy. And easy. I found that 7 minutes worked out the best crunchy-ness time for me.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, pg. 64

Easy Bean Dip

Ingredients:

1 can of refried beans

1 can of corn, drained

1 can of olives, drained and sliced

3-4 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1-2 c. shredded cheese

1/2 - 1 c. chopped cilantro

Sour cream

Recipe:

1. Heat beans. Slice olives, chop tomatoes and cilantro.

2. Layer in a 8x8 pan:

beans

a little cheese

corn

olives

tomatoes

cilantro (or you can just put it on top)

sour cream

remaining cheese

3. Serve with tortilla chips. Refrigerate leftovers.

Rating: 3 of 5

I think LaDon would probably give it a higher rating, but I don't think it's that amazing. It's good though. Easy to put together. I think taco flavored meat on top of the beans would be good too.

Source: my own

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

2 c. milk

1/3 c. (3 oz)cream cheese

2 T. flour

1 t. salt

1 T. butter

3 garlic cloves

1 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Recipe:

1. Place milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.

2. In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don't want to burn it.

3. Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3-4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.

4. When it's nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

Rating: 3 of 5

Surprise, surprise! A lower rating for an OurBestBites recipe. I don't think this is a bad recipe at all. It really is pretty good, I just prefer Michelle's Alfredo Sauce. I think I like her's better because it has a much stronger Parmesan taste.

Source: OurBestBites.com, Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

Texas Caviar or Bean Dip

I've seen this recipe by a few names, but either way you call it, it's delicious!

Ingredients:

1 15-oz can black beans, drained

1 15-oz can corn, drained

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 avocado, chopped*

1 c. cilantro, chopped

1/2 c. green onion, chopped

1 package dry Italian dressing mix, prepared as instructions direct **

1/4 c. vinegar

3 T. water

1/2 c. oil

* I left out the avocados this time. Honestly, I don't really think they add much other than a mushy factor. Avocados, by nature, are rather bland and actually absorb the taste of the flavors it's around.

** I actually half the vinegar, water, and oil, but keep the full amount of dressing mix. I do this just because as the dressing sits overnight or for a few hours, the tomatoes tend to run. So....when I half it the dip isn't soupy by morning.

Recipe:

1. Dump all ingredients except for dressing in a medium bowl.

2. Mix Italian dressing together in a dressing vase or ziploc bag. To do so, pour in 1/4 c. vinegar and 3 T. water. Add the dressing and shake well. Add the oil to the mixture and mix again.

3. Pour dressing over vegetables in bowl. Mix together.

4. Refrigerate approximately 1 hour before serving. Serve with tortilla or pita chips.

Rating: 5 of 5

Honestly, this is one of our favorites! It can be put together in less than 10 minutes and, I think, is pretty healthy. Love it! Eat it! I do think a little garlic might be a tasty addition...or maybe just a hint of lime. I'm not sure....I'll have to try that next time.

Source: um...not sure, but I've seen it everywhere. Today I'll site Ann Griggs.