Guaranteed Kid Pleaser!

Every family has an all-time favorite meal and at our house it is most definitely my "Coconut Crusted Salmon" recipe. But the salmon aren't running right now so tonight I decided to try the same recipe on chicken breasts.  All the kids loved it so I'm convinced I can put this topping on just about anything and they will eat it with joy. I wish you could see them fighting over who gets to scrape the last of the buttery coconut off the bottom of the casserole dish!

Coconut Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 t. paprika

1 t. sea salt

4 T melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Butter the bottom of a pyrex casserole dish and add chicken breasts. Mix melted butter with salt, paprika and shredded coconut in a small bowl. (I usually add more butter and coconut because we like extra topping!) Bake for about 30 minutes until crust is lightly browned.  If your topping starts to brown before the chicken is done, just turn down the heat a little and keep an eye on it! 

Pureed Sweet Potatoes

1-2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" pieces

4 T oil

4 shallots, diced

1/4 t. pepper

2 T roughly chopped fresh rosemary (if you use dried, be sure to chop into small pieces!)

1/2 cup of chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans

Place sweet potatoes in a large pot. Add enough cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Add 1t. salt, reduce heat, and simmer until tender 14-16 min. Reserve 1/4 c. of cooking water, drain. Mash in the pot or transfer to food processor.

In a skillet, heat  4 T of oil over med-high heat. Add shallots, rosemary and pepper. Cook, stirring until shallots are tender (3-4 min.) then add nuts and stir another 1-2 min. Serve over the sweet potatoes. Sounds like a lot of work but it's super easy and oh, so worth the taste!