Coconut and Pineapple Chicken Curry over Rice Noodles

There was a time that I hated curry.  In fact I would not touch it with a 10 foot pole.  The first time that I tried chicken curry I was 22 or 23 years old living in Washington, DC.  I worked close to Le’fant Plaza which has a sort of underground food court.  It was on the “specials board” at one of the sandwich shops, so I thought I would give it a try.  It wasn’t cool….in fact I thought it was disgusting.  I don’t remember what it was about this chicken curry that was such a turn off but I remember being seriously perplexed that my co-worker was scarfing it down like it was a fillet Mignon covered in butter.

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Kitchen Sink Cookies (AKA Spring Cleaning, Royale or Ranger Cookies)

I call these cookies Kitchen Sink Cookies, not because I make them in the kitchen sink but because they have everything you want in a cookies.  You know how that goes.  I have heard many other names for these cookies like, Ranger Cookies, Cookies Royale and Spring Cleaning Cookies.  They are close to an Oatmeal Chocolate Chip but they got some coconut tossed in there.

I made these cookies because I signed up for dessert duty for a friends Bar BQ/Pool Party.  I figured that everyone would be stuffed with chips, dip, burgers and dogs, so I figured a cookie would be a good way to finish off.  Besides there were quite a few kids there and you can never go wrong with cookies for kids.  The kids were toss around a bit from the waves  caused by our host doing cannonballs into the pool, but they were all in floaties and pulled through just fine.  

We had a great time hanging out at the pool with food and friends.  One of the girls brought this dip in a crockpot that I gorged on.  I probably ate a modest 15 serving of it. It was deliscious, my guess is that is had velveeta, ground beef and I thinks some salsa in it.   Unfortunatly I ate some much chips and dip I barely had room for my burger.  Which made me very sad because it was awfully tasty.

The cookies were great.  They come out very crispy which I LOVE.  I am not a fan of the soft bake cookie.  It almost seems like they aren’t cooked through when they are soft baked.  I may as well just eat cookie dough.  My favorite part had to be the bit of spice from the nutmeg and cinnamon.  I am a nutmeg fanatic, love the stuff.  If I have a reason or opportunity to put in some nutmeg I am all for it.  I can be a little heavy handed with it I love it so much.  If it calls for just 1/2 a teaspoon I usually put in 1 full teaspoon. 

Yeah nutmeg freak here….you got a problem with that? 

Print Recipe

  Kitchen Sink Cookies  (4 dozen)  (adapted from Allrecipes)

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons evaporated milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs in one at a time, then add the evaporated milk and vanilla. Combine the all dry ingredients into a bowl; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the oats, chocolate chips, coconut and pecans. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be spaced about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Cool slightly on cookie sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Coconut Shrimp Soup, Some Like It Hot…..

It has been a little crazy these past few days.  Yesterday, I was at my church playing Bunkopalooza, which was a ton of fun. However, I got home late and I was starving.  I didn’t really want to take the time to cook because: first, I was starving and second, Hubby had worked late and was on his way home.  So, I ran out to the grocery store.

I have to be honest and tell you that I did not go to the grocery store to buy missing ingredients for this soup.  I didn’t make this soup yesterday.  I made it on Monday.  I am taking this time to confess that I ran out to the grocery store and bought……well, I got…..I GOT A FROZEN BAG OF BERTOLLI PASTA DINNER AND GARLIC TEXAS TOAST…….okay, I feel better now.   Yes, it is true! I bought something pre-made and frozen and it wasn’t  pastry dough.  Dude!  What can I say? I was tired and hungry. Any food blogger out there that says they have never bought a frozen bag of something or other for dinner is probably a fibber.  

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Limber de Coco (Coconut Cream Popsicles)

In every neighborhood in Puerto Rico there is an old lady that will sell you limber for 50 cents, back in my day it was 25 cents. Usually she will come out in a “bata” or mu-mu with curlers in her hair.  I remember when I was a little girl there was this lady that lived down the street and sold limber in 5 different flavors, coconut was my favorite.  Limber is basically a popsicle, but it is usually sold in small dixie cups.   These are a great treat on a hot day.  

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Pineapple Curry Glazed Chicken Skewers

I am so proud of this dish, I made it all by my lonesome, no recipe or cookbook used. If you like the flavors of coconut, pineapple and curry this is definitely a dish for you.   These delicious little morsels turned out even better than I thought they would.  I swear they were like meaty candied morsels….LOL.  They are savory and sweet with just a bit of heat, soooo yummy.  I will admit though I was inspired to use pineapple from Kayotic Kitchen’s twitter feed, she mentioned a pineapple version of her Peachy Chicken.   

Of course the best part about this dish was that it was easy to make.  Hubby said that this had to be one of the top five, although I am not really sure which ones the other four would be.   I would definitely use this glaze again, Hubby said to be sure to write it down so we can use it on the grill this summer.

I served these skewers over a bed of jasmine rice that I cooked with equal parts water and coconut milk.  Yum!

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Yummy Homemade Granola

I have been wanting to make homemade granola for a long, long time, but I never got around to it, don’t know why.  Well today was finally the day and it is a shame I didn’t do it sooner.  It was easy to make and delicious to eat.  It filled the house with a great cozy aroma.  When my husband got home he grabbed a handful straight off the cooling rack and being an accountant he began to wonder if it was more economical to make our own granola instead of buying it, not mention it just tasted better.   We didn’t finish the math because we were getting ready to go out for dinner, so I will have to answer that another day. 

When we got back home I was craving something sweet and made myself a bowl of granola, it hit the spot.  Enjoy!

 

 

 Yummy Homemade Granola

• 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup  shredded coconut
• 1 cup nuts of pecans
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place rack in the center of the oven and grease baking sheet

Combine oats, pecans, coconut, salt, cinnamon & nutmeg.

In another bowl combine butter, honey, syrup and vanilla, mix well.  Pour over dry ingredients and toss until it is well coated.

Spread on to baking sheet and bake for 30 mins, until golden brown, stirring about every 5 minutes.  Be sure not to over bake.

Remove from oven and cool on cooling rack.  The granola will still be a little soft but it will harden as it cools.

Enjoy in a bowl with some cold milk and fresh berries.

This is my weekend splurge, a chunk of Callebaut 60% Cocoa chocolate for the tartlets I am planning on trying this weekend.  Come back to see how they turned out.

In the Works for This Weekend!

This weekend I am hoping to attempt and accomplish 3 recipes that I have been wanting to do, one of which if fresh pasta! 

Weekend Line-up:

Homemade Granola – I have been wanting to make a homemade granola forever and I always forget. I figured that if I commit myself it will get done.

Fresh Pasta with Meat Sauce (no pasta maker) – I picked up this month’s issue of FoodNework Magazine and there is an article on how to make your own pasta at home, so I am going to give it a try.  We will see what happens.  I maybe rolling pasta on my dinning room table  because my kitchen counters are tile.

Raspberry & Chocolate on Coconut Tartlets – This was inspired by 3 different recipes that I have seen in the last few days so we will see how it turns out.  This one makes me a little nervous but who can go wrong with this combo?

So stay tuned and be sure to come back.

Coquito (Coconut Eggnog)

Coquito

• 3/4 cup of bottle rum, light or dark
• 1  can coconut milk, preferably Coco Lopez
• 1  can cream of coconut, preferably Coco Lopez
• 2 1/2 cans evaporated milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 large cinnamon sticks
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• ice cubes, for serving

Mix all ingredients in the blender. Taste and add more rum if you like it stronger. You need to add the water because it will get thicker later in the fridge. Pour into a bottle and refrigerate well. Make ahead for richer flavor. Serve in small glassware, garnish with cinnamon stick.

Appox 10 servings.