Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce

My mother-in-law passed this recipe along to me and I was so excited! I really like coconut chicken, but every recipe I looked at before this one used coconut milk and a bunch of other weird stuff that I didn't want to go buy for one recipe. But this one is just simple ingredients, AND it tastes delicious!

The recipe has a mustard-based apricot sauce, which Jeff loved, but I didn't eat (due to a hatred for mustard). I think it's delicious without the sauce, and Jeff liked it with, so you could go either way!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup butter, melted

For sauce:
1/4 cup apricot preserves
2 tbsp dijon mustard

Directions:
1. Lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Mix the coconut, flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a second bowl.
3. One at a time, dip the chicken breasts into the beaten egg, then coat them with the coconut mixture.
4. Place the coated chicken breasts in a lightly-greased baking dish. Drizzle melted butter evenly over the top.
5. Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes, flipping the breasts about halfway though.
6. While the chicken bakes, (if making the sauce), mix the apricot preserves and dijon mustard in a small bowl. Serve over chicken.

Beaten egg

Coconut mixture ingredients

Coating the chicken...

Coated and in the pan!

Mmmm, butter! Ready for the oven!

Sauce ingredients

Apricot Sauce

Flipped halfway through...

All done!

Yumm!! (without the sauce)

... and here it is with the sauce!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones

To finish off Pumpkin Weekend, here's a recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup mini chocolate chips
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
milk for brushing
sugar for sprinkling

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
2. Add in the cold butter. Note: Cold, cut butter is the secret to good scones! Your butter needs to be in small pea-sized pieces. If you have a pastry cutter, use it! If you're like me and you don't have a pastry cutter, a couple of forks or a food processor will work just fine. Do not use your hands - the warmth will melt the butter! 
3. Add in the chocolate chips and lightly mix it all together.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the pumpkin and eggs until well-blended.
5. Add the pumpkin/egg mixture to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix everything together. Use your hands if necessary!
6. Put a sheet of parchment paper (or a Silpat) on a baking sheet. Form the dough into two round disks on the parchment paper. Flatten each disk until it is about 3/4 inch thick, and use a knife or pizza cutter to separate it into six slices. Spread the slices apart.
7. Preheat the oven to 425. While oven is preheating, put the scones into the freezer to set.
8. Brush milk over the tops of the scones, and sprinkle some sugar on each one.
9. Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a scone comes out clean).

Dry Ingredients

Butter!

With butter added...

Adding chocolate chips...

Pumpkin + Eggs

All mixed up...

Adding pumpkin mixture...

The Dough

Two Discs

Cut into 6 slices...

In the freezer...

In the oven!

Ta-da!

Yummm!

 

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing

Happy Day 3 of Pumpkin Weekend!

These cookies are DEE-licious. They're a fluffy cake-like cookie, and they tend to get eaten up really quickly!

Recipe adapted from here (cookies) and here (icing).

COOKIES:
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, & salt. Set aside.
2. In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla, and mix until smooth. Gradually add in dry ingredients and mix until combined.
3. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

ICING:
Ingredients:
1 8oz block cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (half a stick) of butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Beat cream cheese and butter together in a mixer until well blended.
2. Add in vanilla and stir. Add in powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing until blended.
3. After cookies have cooled, use a knife or icing bag to spread/pipe the icing onto the cookies.

Dry Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

Cookie Dough!

Ready for the oven!

Ta-da!

Icing!

I put the icing in a Ziploc and cut the corner of the bag to create a makeshift piping bag.

Yummm!!

Delicious!

Enjoy!

Gran-mom's Pumpkin Pie

To finish up Day Two of Pumpkin Weekend, here's a tried-and-true family recipe!

When I was in fifth or sixth grade, my Gran-mom taught me how to make the pumpkin pie that she serves every Thanksgiving. Ever since then, pumpkin pies have been my job for the holidays, and it's a job I take very seriously!

Last year's pies!

My sister, my Gran-mom, my mom, and me!

We brought a pie to every Thanksgiving last year... we just spent the day driving pies around the Dallas /Ft. Worth area! Haha!

I know there are some people who just don't like pumpkin pie, but among those who do, this one is generally loved by all!

Recipe from my Gran-mom.

Ingredients:
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust (I use the Pillsbury rolled ones... they're delicious!)
1 15oz can pumpkin puree
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Mix the pumpkin, condensed milk, eggs, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a bowl until well-blended.
2. Place the pie crust in a pie dish, and pour the pumpkin filling into it. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top, and roll down the edges of the pie shell to form a crust.
3. Bake at 375 for 50-55 minutes
4. Serve alone, or with Cool Whip, vanilla ice cream, or even Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream!

Filling ingredients

Pie crust

Filling in!

(sides of the crust rolled down)

I tried something fancy this time and tried to do the cute pie crust braid thing that's going around Pinterest. I took an extra pie crust and sliced thin strips with a pizza cutter, then braided them and put them around the edges of the pie:

It actually turned out pretty well, although they did slip off and into the filling a bit. 

Ta-da!

Enjoy!