Coconut Chicken and Veggie Polenta Bake

I've been quite the lil Chef Boyardee here lately.  Last night we had one of my favorite people over for dinner and a good long chatfest.  She loves food more than me, so I thought I'd try out this Coconut Chicken recipe I found from Chef Eric Ripert.  I'm a super duper Top Chef fan, and bottom line - this looked like something even I could handle!  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 (8-oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• Salt & pepper

• ½ cup cilantro leaves

• 1 lime, sliced into 8 rounds and 1 lime to squeeze

• 2 cups coconut milk (This equals 1 can of the Coconut milk you find in the Indian/Asian section)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 4 (20x8-in.) pieces of aluminum foil; fold each piece in half crosswise. Place foil sheets on ungreased baking sheet.

2. Place breasts on each sheet. Season with salt and pepper; top with several cilantro leaves and 2 slices of lime.  I also squeeze lime juice into the packets because I love lime!

3. Pull edges of foil over chicken, creating a pouch. Pour ½ cup of milk into each packet; crimp remaining edges to seal.

4. Bake packets 12 to 15 minutes or until they’re puffed. Cut an opening in top of each; fold back edges and serve.

People.  This recipe was legit!  I'd maybe salt and pepper a little heavier than I did, but it was by far the juiciest chicken I've had in a long time!  I cubed sweet potatoes, tossed them in EVOO and S&P and baked them in the oven, too.  Paired with a Sauvignon Blanc, I'd say it was a really nice meal (and even nicer company, Melly!  We love you!)

Another recipe I made today is Zucchini Squash Polenta Bake.  This was almost as easy, it just required a little more prep time with cutting up the veggies.  Here are the details:

2 zucchini

2 squash

1 tube of Polenta from Trader Joe's (Gluten Free)

1 jar of Marinara from Trader Joe's (Gluten Free)

A big bag of Mozzerella, shreaded (or if you like have spare time - shred your own.)

Parmesan Cheese

*I sliced the veggies into long strips, but you could probably dice them so they are easier to eat (especially if you have kiddos)

Oven Temp: 375 degrees

1st - place sliced veggies (about 1/2 of them) on bottom of glass dish.  Salt and Pepper

2nd - pour 1/2 of your sauce on top.

3rd - make a good layer of cheese 

4th - layer your thinly sliced rings of polenta on top

5th - place remainder of veggies.  Salt and Pepper again!!! (I didn't.  You will need to.  Italian seasoning would be good, too)

6th - dump rest of your sauce

7th - top with another good layer of cheese, using the Parmesan on top so it will give it a nice crust.

Pop that bad boy into the oven for about 25 minutes and then serve.  

~Afterthoughts: this would be good with spinach, carrots, green beans - basically make it veggie overload.  I'll have to play with this more.

Both of these recipes are Husband Approved.  I figure that is good enough for me.  Sawyer ate both, but he was not in the best of moods so it wasn't by choice.  Too bad, brother.  

I need to get better about taking Food Glamour Shots.  The chicken totally deserved it - the presentation in the foil was pretty cool and my sweet potatoes were diced to perfection.

With all of that said, I'm off to watch Top Chef and stare at food I would never even dream of making myself.  Cheers!