Comfort food for when you don't want comfort food

It's been a shamefully lazy day. Although I had an absolutely wonderful time catching up with old friends this weekend, I think I caught some unpleasant bug and have been reduced to watching the Olympics all day on the couch while I think about all the cleaning and organizing and job-hunting I should be doing. I didn't get any kind of appetite until almost 3, when I had a tuna salad sandwich for a very late lunch. It's the kind of day where I would love to rationalize ordering pizza or Chinese, but being away from home means I've been eating out for three days, and I was at the point where I really want a healthy, homemade dinner. Even mac and cheese isn't that good for me... But here we are with a blog post, which means I had an absolutely delicious dinner and am now feeling loads better. Tonight's dinner came together in about an hour, and it was so easy.

Andrew and I both went to Washington and Lee, which is known for its many formal events: Fancy Dress Ball, Christmas weekend and about four sorority formals a year. We'd have parties before formals, where everyone would gather at an off-campus house to enjoy appetizers and drinks. I made coconut shrimp before New Member Formal in February, and it was a huge hit. This coconut chicken is basically the same thing, but with chicken instead of shrimp. Andrew loved it--and he doesn't normally like coconut anything! I also dressed up green beans, my favorite vegetable of all time, into a beautiful summertime salad.

My chicken-breading station

Coconut chicken and apricot chile sauce
I found this recipe ages ago via Pinterest (here's the original), and was so excited to finally make it! It's breaded chicken with a hint of sweetness from the coconut. I fried it, but think next time I will just bake it--it takes longer but is much less stressful. The blog where I found this recipe recommended serving it with sweet chile sauce. I just made the same sauce I first used for my coconut shrimp: mix together 1/2 cup apricot preserves, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and some crushed red pepper flakes. Easy! I did this first so the flavors had a chance to mix together.

Cut 2 lb chicken breasts into easy-to-manage strips. The thin-sliced cutlets were on sale, which meant my work was done. Lucky, lazy me! Dip each strip into three bowls, in order:
- 1/2 cup flour and a dash of salt
- 2 eggs and (if you have it) 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup bread crumbs (panko if you have it) and 1 cup coconut, blended in a food processor so the pieces are smaller

Heat some vegetable oil in a skillet and fry the chicken strips in batches. Drain them on paper towels before serving. Yum!

Green bean salad with goat cheese, tomatoes and almonds
My mom emailed this recipe to me this afternoon (here's the original), and it looked so beautiful and delicious. What a great summer side dish! The goat cheese melts a little around the green beans, and the almond flavor takes it up to the next level. I used fewer almonds and less garlic than the original recipe wanted. I also used grape tomatoes; the bigger cherry tomato probably wouldn't hide in the bottom of the bowl quite as much.

Preheat oven to 350°. Bake 1/4 cup sliced almonds in a single layer in a shallow pan for a few minutes until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. I used my toaster oven.

Cook 2 lb. green beans in boiling water 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Run cold water over them so they stop cooking. Cut 1 pint cherry tomatoes in half and mince 1 clove garlic. You can also add 2 sliced shallots, but I didn't.

Whisk together 3 tablespoons sherry or white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and a little salt and pepper. I used red wine vinegar, which is what I had on hand. Add 1/3 cup olive oil. Pour over the green beans, tomatoes and garlic. Serve with the toasted almonds and 2 oz. crumbled goat cheese.

Product placement: I made the dressing in my emulsifier, which is truly incredible if you're at all interested in making your own salad dressings. It whisks oil and vinegar together in no time at all. It's from Williams-Sonoma, and comes with handy instructions for measuring out your own vinaigrettes! My sister-in-law, Anne, gave it to me and it is just amazing (just like she is).