14

Jun

Curry Chicken with Mango Salad

Do you ever come up with a dish based on someone else’s title?

I saw this on EatingWell.com: Curried Chicken with Mango Salad

It sounded really good, really filling, really healthy. And we had chicken, mangos and couscous…why not?

But that’s as far as I got with the recipe from Eating Well. I noticed that the chicken was glazed in a mango chutney and closed the computer. It was time to get creative, even if it isn’t the most authentic curried chicken on the planet. The results? One of Matt’s favorite meals that I’ve made. Surprisingly good. Hope you can use this beautiful, sweet mango fruit in your next dinner!

Curry Chicken with Mango Salad
4 servings  *12 oz. Tofu can be substituted for chicken

1 TB olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 t. + 1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
Dash of salt and pepper
1 cup orange or pineapple juice
1 mango, sliced into bite-sized pieces + 1 mango (for salad)
2 large chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise (total of 1 pound)
1/3 cup honey mustard
2 TB curry powder
1/2 cup rice crisp cereal, breadcrumbs or panko crumbs
2 TB chopped mint

Step One: Make the chutney

  • Preheat oven to 375. In a saute pan on medium-high, heat the oil and then add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Let heat for 1 minute, or until flakes are toasted.
  • Then, add the red bell pepper and salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes. Then add juice and mango slices, and reduce to medium heat, letting cook for 10 minutes.

Step Two: Make the chicken

Chicken + Tofu
  • In the meantime, mix the honey mustard, 1/8 t. red pepper flakes and curry powder in a small bowl. In a second small bowl, pour the breadcrumbs (or other coating). Dipping the chicken in the mustard mix, roll it in the breadcrumbs and place on a lined baking sheet (use foil with cooking spray or parchment paper). 
  • Bake at 375 for 18—20 minutes, or until crisp on the outside and cooked in the middle. (I turned a piece of chicken over and cut into it slightly to see no pink.)

Step Three: Make the couscous

  • Boil 1 1/2 cups of water in a pot. Once the water is boiling, immediately remove the pot from the stove and add 1 cup of couscous and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork, and add a dash of salt and pepper.

Step Four: Add couscous or rice to a plate and place the chicken on top. Drizzle with mango chutney and serve sliced mango “ball” on the side (see photo below). Sprinkle raw mango with chopped mint. Eat. Be merry.

Mango Salad “Ball”: 
1) Slice one side of the mango.
2) Holding the slice in your palm, slice vertical and horizontal lines into the mango, without cutting through the skin (and cutting your hand!).
3) After cutting, turn the mango inside out…voila!


Happy eating!
Laurel

~Laurel~

14 years ago Short URL

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03

Jun

Coconut Tropics Salad

Over the next couple of months, you’ll see quite a few salads, both savory and sweet. Here’s another, with toasted coconut and fruits that you probably already have in your produce drawer.

Coconut Tropics Salad
*8 servings*
1/2 cup sweetened coconut
2 red apples
1 green apple
1 lime
1 pear
1 banana
1 mango
2 navel oranges
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds (optional)

Sprinkle coconut and almonds on a small baking sheet and put in oven or toaster at 300 degrees F for 7 minutes.
Get out a large bowl. Chop the apples into small bites and toss into bowl. Squeeze half of lime over apples and toss, to prevent browning later.
Next, chop pears and bananas. Toss into bowl with juice of other half of lime. Toss gently.

Then chop mango and oranges, as well as any other fruits you have on hand. Gently toss with other fruits and top with toasted coconut and almonds. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Laurel~

15 years ago Short URL

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18

May

Summer and Mangoes

Matt grilled burgers last night. They were delicious! I haven’t been eating much (any) beef lately, but I wanted a burger and he obliged.

Burgers

Grilled corn on the cob
Grilled squash
Summer salad

 
I thought a colorful salad would be fun with it, but nothing typical and boring. Plus, it’s (almost) summer…why not mix it up?
 

Summer Salad
*4 servings*

6 cups baby spinach or lettuce of your choice
1/2 cup chopped: strawberries, yellow bell pepper, green bell pepper
Mango Madness dressing (recipe below)
Toss salad. That’s it. It’s pretty, colorful, and really really healthy. The crunch of yellow bell pepper goes really well with soft, sweet strawberries. Who knew? Not I, said the fly.

And now for the dressing…I added 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, but if you want less of a kick, go for 1/4 teaspoonful.

Mango Madness Dressing (ole!)
makes 1 1/2 cups dressing, 6-10 servings

1 large mango
Juice and zest of one lime
1/2 cup cilantro
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1 TB agave nectar
Process all ingredients in food processor, mixing until smooth. Top on salad, dip for fruit/veggies, sandwich spread, salsa with chips.


 
Here’s how I slice a mango:

Take your knife and cut around mango lengthwise. Twist two halves of mango in palms in opposite directions, to loosen fruit from giant seed.



Holding half of the mango in one palm, carefully slice the mango horizontally and vertically, taking care not to slice through to the peel (and your hand).

 Flip the sliced mango inside out and pull or slice off the mango chunks. 

*This method avoids mushy, mucky mango mess and gives you clear cut cubes of mango. I learned this from Cafe Red Onion, a Latin fusion restaurant in Houston.

 The end result…a creamy HEALTHY mango dressing! Ole!

My happy plate…

Happy Wednesday! Matt and I are having a picnic in the park tonight! We’ve never done that before, and the menu includes sweet and sour chicken drumsticks, spinach orzo salad, healthy potato salad, and homemade hummus! I’ll show you more later. Salud!

 

~Laurel~

15 years ago Short URL 1 Comment

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