Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

I thought it would be funny to put this recipe in right now, with all the other coconut food I have been adding recently. I actually used my leftover coconut milk after making the Thai Coconut Rice. I loved the hint of coconut that the ice cream had. It would be especially yummy with some sliced almonds on top (kind of like an Almond Joy). I used the recipe for chocolate ice cream that came with my Cuisinart ice cream maker and tweaked it just a bit.

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2/3 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 c. whole milk

3 1/4 c. heavy cream

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1/2 - 3/4 c. coconut milk

Stir together the cocoa powder and sugars. Add the whole milk and mix with a hand mixer on low speed until the cocoa and sugars dissolve, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla, then stir in the coconut milk. If not freezing immediately, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Pour into your ice cream maker and mix until the ice cream has a soft creamy texture.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

If you don't like coconut, you probably haven't been too pleased with the recent recipes I have been adding. Apparently I am loving all things coconut right now. This recipe actually is supposed to have the chicken grilled, but my little grill wouldn't support the amount of chicken we were making. Instead, I fried the chicken on the stove and served it with rice. It got rave reviews this way, but I am sure it would be excellent grilled, too.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

Adapted from: http://www.sweetluvininthekitchen.blogspot.com/

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 c. canned coconut milk

1/2 Tbsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

1 tsp. chili powder

Glaze

3/4 c. rice vinegar

1/2 c. sugar

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. chili powder

Marinate chicken in coconut milk, ginger, pepper and red pepper flakes for at least an hour. I did mine all day, and the chicken was very tender and flavorful. Put a small amount of oil in your frying pan and fry the chicken until no pink remains. While mine was cooking, I had some of the marinade in with the chicken, but before I glazed it (see next step) I poured most of the marinade out.

While chicken is cooking, combine rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan and stir over medium-high heat, until mixture is reduced and thickened, about 8-10 minutes.

When it really begins to thicken, take it off the heat and immediately glaze it on your cooked chicken (it will firm up pretty fast once it is off the heat).

Enjoy!

*Note: The original recipe calls for red pepper flakes in place of the chili powder. I have never used the red pepper flakes until the last time I made it. It adds A LOT of kick to this dish. If you like a lot of spice and a little sweet, use red pepper flakes. If you like a little spice and a lot of sweet, use chili powder.

Sesame Chicken

Here is one of my favorite recipes for Chinese food, given to me by my friend Beka Madsen. The sweet sauce pairs really well with the broccoli. I absolutely love it, and here is the biggest shocker, my children will eat this! I made it last night and nearly killed over when they all ate it without complaint. Some even asked for seconds! And here is another miracle, I follow this recipe exactly. Actually, I take that back. I reduce the number of chicken breasts to 2 or 3 because we like to have a little more sauce to put on our rice. Sometimes I will also throw in a bag of frozen broccoli instead of using fresh. But I do think that fresh is better.

Sesame Chicken

from Beka Madsen

4 chicken breasts

canola oil

1/2 c. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. oyster sauce

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/4c. sugar

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 1/3 c. water

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 1/2 c. broccoli, cut in chunks

sesame seeds

Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces. Put 1/2 c. cornstarch and chicken chunks in a large plastic bag and toss until well coated. Add enough canola oil into your skillet to generously coat the bottom of the pan. Fry chicken until medium brown.

While frying, prepare the sauce by mixing in a saucepan oyster sauce, 2 Tbsp. cornstarch, sugar, garlic powder, water and soy sauce. Stir the mixture over medium heat until it thickens. Pour it over the cooked chicken and let it simmer for about 3 minutes. Add your broccoli and steam it until it is as tender as you would like. Stir in sesame seeds and serve it over rice.