Sticky Coconut Chicken

As I've mentioned before, I am always on the look-out for new recipes, and I'm always up for a little adventure when it comes to trying new things. So, when I saw this recipe, I knew I HAD to try it! I did a couple variations, and it turned out amazing. I got rave reviews from Rob and my mom, so I'd say it's a keeper! Here it is:

Sticky Coconut Chicken

5-6 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can Coconut Milk (unsweetened)

1 (heaping) Tbsp. fresh grated ginger

1 Tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 Tsp. salt

Combine coconut milk, ginger, red pepper flakes and salt in a large bowl (or gallon-sized ziploc) and add chicken pieces into the mixture. I pierced the breasts with a knife so the marinade could really soak in. Let marinate for at least an hour...I did mine for about 3.

Heat your grill to medium/medium-high heat and grill the chicken until cooked through.

Sticky Glaze

3/4 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. soy sauce (GF for me)

1 Tsp. red pepper flakes

1 Tsp. fresh grated ginger

While the chicken is cooking, combine the glaze ingredients in a sauce pan on the stove. Bring the glaze to a boil and let it boil for several minutes until reduced and thickened. Brush on both sides of the chicken at the end of grilling. Let it grill for a minute or two after applying the glaze so it will get slightly crisp on the outside.

I served my chicken over brown rice cooked in half water and half coconut milk and sauteed veggies. The rice turned out really yummy this way...I would definitely recommend doing it like that! Drizzle some of the leftover glaze over the chicken and rice...the glaze really makes this dish!

I know "coconut" chicken sounds really strange, but it isn't in your face with coconut flavor or anything. It's slightly sweet which pairs really nicely with the spice of the red pepper flakes and ginger. Also, letting the chicken marinade for a few hours makes for really moist chicken when grilling. Hope you'll give it a try!

P.S. - The giveaway is coming SOON, so keep checking back for that!! :)

Weekend Fun!

This last weekend we took a little road-trip with some good friends, and we had an absolute blast!! Saturday morning we headed east for Ft. Worth. When we got there we fueled up at Chipotle (YUM) and went to the Ft. Worth Zoo. It is an awesome zoo! If you are in the area, it is definitely worth spending a few hours at!

Rob & I at the zoo...

Jerrod & Julie...

This orangutan was playing hide & seek...it was pretty funny!

Gorillas...momma was preggers!

Try to ignore the fact that these chimpanzees are picking at each other's hineys...the point of this picture is the baby! Can you see him? He was SO tiny and SO cute!

Crocodile hunters!

HUGE turtles!

Gilla-monsters = creepy

After the zoo, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. Jerrod & Julie had tickets to the Ranger's game, so we dropped them off at the stadium and we went to P.F. Changs (AKA gluten-free HEAVEN!). We had to wait forever on a table, but it was so worth it. We pretty much stuffed ourselves silly with egg drop soup, lettuce wraps, Mongolian beef, lemon chicken, and even GF dessert! It was amazing.

After the game was over, we all headed out for a "night-cap." We went to a place called Pluckers, and it was fun! We sat outside and sipped our colorful drinks :)

We didn't stay out too late though because we had to rest up for some fun in the sun on Sunday. We went to Hurricane Harbor! We were like a bunch of kids because we were so excited and speed walking from slide to slide!

Hurricane Harbor was so much fun! We left tired, thirsty & hungry, (of course) so we headed to Uncle Julio's for one last delish meal. OH-EM-GEE, I don't know if I was just starving from being in the sun all day or what, but it was amazing. I had the fish tacos (again with the corn tortillas) and they were so good!

We had such a great weekend with our friends! I am so thankful to have friends like Jerrod & Julie :) We can't wait to do it again!

TGIF & my first giveaway!

I don't know about you, but I am so excited it's the weekend! We've got some fun things planned with friends, and I'm excited to forget about Physics for a couple days :)

I just wanted to give you guys a heads up that I'm going to be doing a giveaway soon, and up for grabs is a $40 gift card to ANY of the fabulous CSN Stores! There are many items under $40, or you could use it towards a bigger item like an awesome coffee maker! The possibilities are endless, and I hope you'll join in the fun :)

Have a fun & happy weekend!

What I'm loving...

Not a lot going on around here other than school and work, so I thought I'd share some things I'm loving this summer!

White Watches...I just love 'em! I got this one the other day...so cute.

D.C. Cupcakes on TLC...have y'all watched this show? It's about 2 sisters who ditched their corporate jobs to open up a cupcakes-only bakery, and now they're famous for it! It's pretty entertaining, and their cupcakes are beautiful...I wonder if they make any gluten free flavors?

Sonic Happy Hour...this is nothing new. I try to not drink cokes during the week, but it's become a Saturday/Sunday afternoon ritual for Rob and me. I get Vanilla Coke with extra ice because I feel like more ice = less coke. It's all about being healthy. HA ;)

Summer Sandals...there are SO many cute varieties out there right now! I got these at Target the other day, and I think they're darn cute :) So fun.
Yesterday I finally caught up with the rest of the world and got an iPhone! I'm so excited about it! My parents got it for me as an early birthday gift! I'm already addicted to the thing.

And last but certainly not least, Rob has been away at coaching school for the last few days, so that means football season is upon us! While I'm not exactly looking forward to saying goodbye to my husband for 95ish hours a week, I am so ready for those Friday Night Lights and spending lots of time with my fellow coaches' wives! Go COUGS!

{All images via Google}

Summer Nights...

I love summer nights in Texas, but thanks to summer school (boo Physics!!) I haven't really gotten to enjoy them. I had probably the hardest test I've taken in my college career yesterday, so I was ready to take my mind off of that and have some fun with friends! There's a place here in town that has free concerts every Thursday night, so we went to listen to Reckless Kelly & do some two-steppin'. It was so much fun!

One of my besties...Anna! We also went to the pool yesterday afternoon, and somehow my arms got sunburned but my face is super white? Looks awesome.

Rob & his twinkie...Will. Have I ever mentioned that Rob was a twin?

Love my boo.

Will & Anna were "temporary dates"...you know to combat creepers! Ha :)

Julie came too!

Jerrod & Julie

Patrick & Rob matched...(kinda)

Definitely a fun night before the busy-ness of football season begins!

We have a new C-Wife!

That's right! We've got a new C-wife at Cooper...officially, anyway ;) Saturday night, we went to Aaron & Keathley's wedding and it was absolutely beautiful! I wish I had more pictures of the amazing venue, decorations and flowers....but I don't. No surprise there, right?

Here's the happy couple during their first dance...LOVED your dress, Keathley!

Coaches huddle...there's no telling what might be happening in there!

I also should have taken pictures before we had been outside in the humidity! Oh well...me & my bestie, Lexi!

Who's gonna catch the bouquet?!

LEXI!!! Woooohooo ;) (check out the gorgeous centerpieces!)

Part of the amazing Cougar coaching staff!

I think the night was definitely a success! The perfect wedding for an AWESOME couple! Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Roan!! :)

Recipes!

I'm always on the look-out for delicious, new recipes, so I thought I'd share a couple with you! Recently I've been OBSESSED with corn tortillas...I have no idea why, but I love them! I'm always trying to figure out how I can eat more of them. One night, I decided that shrimp tacos sounded amazing (which is weird because I had never eaten them...must have been the corn tortilla addiction talking) so I whipped some up, and they turned out really yummy!

First, I grilled the shrimp (you'll want about 6 per taco if they're medium sized) in a grill pan on the stove and seasoned them with just salt pepper and lime. Be careful not to overcook them, or they will become kinda tough. While the shrimp cooked I mixed up half of a diced avocado, a handful of halved grape tomatoes, salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and lime juice. Once the shrimp finish cooking, warm the corn tortillas in the pan and and top with the shrimp, tomato-avocado salad and cheese. I also made quesadillas with these same ingredients, and they were delish too!

Then last night, I made Balsamic Rosemary Pork Tenderloin from TastyKitchen, and it was SOOO good! The only thing I really did differently from the recipe was cook it on a lower temperature (400 for 35-40 minutes) and I used ground ginger rather than fresh. Oh, I also boiled the reduction for about 10 minutes instead of 3 because I'm terrified of food-born illnesses-ha! Seriously, I'm a freak when it comes to sanitation. We had our pork tenderloin with steamed broccoli and roasted sweet potatoes...definitely a healthy meal.

If you're looking for something to add into your dinner rotations, either of these would be great options. I'm all about satisfying, healthy, and inexpensive meals! Have any other ideas for me?? I'd love to see your favs! :)

2 Years

On Monday (July 5th) Rob & I celebrated 2 years of marriage! It's hard to believe that we've already been married two years, and it's even harder to believe that we've been together for over SEVEN! Wow! Time sure does fly when you're having fun! :) In honor of 2 years of wedded bliss, I decided to post some of my favorite pictures of us over the last few years! I need to get the old pictures off my parents' computer of the "early years" because those are funny, and I'd like to put them on the ol' blog for memories sake. Anyway, enough of that and on to the pictures.

Honeymoon in Riviera Maya...

Honeymoon horseback riding...in sombrero helmets! Ha!

Halloween '09

New Year's Eve...in '07 I believe...

In Innsbruck, Austria in '08...

Albuquerque, NM last summer...

Halloween '08

The Grand Canyon...beautiful!

An Engagement picture...

In Vegas! We were too scared to gamble more than about $20...haha

Wedding Day...obviously :)

And the gorgeous roses I received on Monday!

I am SO thankful for my amazing husband! He is such a passionate person, and he works so hard to provide for us. He is everything and more that I dreamed my husband would be. I could go on forever about all the things I love about him, but I won't....I already wrote them in his card, anyway ;) Ha!

Happy Anniversary, babe! I'm looking forward to spending many more wonderful years with you!!