Roasted Chicken with Basil and Snap Peas

My oldest son is in love with roasted chicken. He is in a very picky food stage and has decided that he pretty much doesn't eat anything. It seems that every week he changes what foods he hates. Last month he loved soup, then this week he informed me that he will no longer eat any type of soup. I know a large part of it has to do with being in school. He is strongly influenced by what his friends like and dislike. I just wish that his friends were a little less finicky. Luckily I still have a couple years until my youngest starts school and the real food struggles begin. Roasted chicken has become a weekly staple in our house since my son loves it. While he might turn his nose up at everything else, roasted chicken still holds a place in his heart. Last week I made a new recipe for Chicken and Snap Peas from Everyday Food magazine, which looked perfect for my picky oldest son.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes a total time of 30 minutes, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I did make a few changes. Instead of cutting-up a whole chicken (which I hate) I bought half thighs and half drumsticks. My boys prefer the drumsticks while my husband and I are bigger fans of thighs. The recipe uses 1/2 pound of snap peas, but I chose to use closer to a pound since my boys love them so much. Finally, the recipe states that it takes 8-10 minutes to brown the chicken. I used a stainless steal pan and it normally takes around 15-20 minutes to get a nice crispy skin. If you use a non-stick pan to brown your chicken I would suggest changing this method. In order to get beautiful crisp chicken skin you must use a regular pan. Non-stick pans are great for some things, but browning chicken is non one of them. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys really enjoyed this recipe. I wouldn't say that it has an intense flavor. The flavor from the basil in subtle, but when combined with the vinegar it works well. The chicken came out moist and not overdone. If you like more kick I would suggest adding additional red-pepper flakes up to a full teaspoon.

For the recipe go to Chicken and Snap Peas.

Woman's Day Coconut Beef with Rice Noodles

I absolutely love coconut! I love it in cakes, cookies, curries, you name it, I love it. Growing up I was always the odd one out in the family. While everyone was raving about the great brownies, I was disappointed that my mom hadn't made macaroons. So one of the first things that I learned to bake was macaroons. Then quickly came coconut cake and seven layer bars. To this day, seven layer bars might possible be my favorite dessert food, it combines all the great memories of my mother baking them every Christmas with my love of all things coconut. To me they are the perfect food. As an adult I have tried to tone down my sweet tooth which has been helped by turning thirty. I always thought that everyone was joking when they told me that my thirties would slow down my very fast metabolism. To my dismay I have learned that having two pieces of coconut cake in a day will indeed catch up with me now. So in order to not give up all things coconut I have learned to cook with coconut and coconut milk in various dishes and curries. The May issue of Woman's Day magazine had a recipe for Coconut Beef with Rice Noodles, which looked like an easy crockpot recipe full of flavor.

This recipe has 12 ingredients.. It takes 15 minutes of prep and five hours of cooking time and makes four servings. I did have to make a few recipe modifications. I was unable to find rice noodles, so I substituted the only similar thing at the grocery store, rice sticks. I chose to use fresh cilantro instead of basil and the full 2 tablespoons of red curry paste. I would suggested browning the beef before placing it in the crockpot, it was very dry by the time it was done. Additionally, if I made this recipe again I would add the full can of coconut milk and increase the other ingredients accordingly.

I was a little disappointed by this recipe. The beef turned out dry and the flavor was too subtle. I would suggest making the changes I suggested in the last paragraph. Without the changes this recipe is lacking. I do think that it could be saved, it just needs the beef to be browned before placing it in the crockpot and the liquid to cook the beef in definitely needs to be increased so the beef doesn't become overly dry. What this recipe does have going for it is that it has 39 grams of protein and 11 grams of fat and only costs $3.07 per serving.

For the recipe go to Coconut Beef with Rice Noodles.