Curry Coconut Chicken Chowder w/ Garlic Pesto Monterey Jack Grilled Cheese

Not every dinner has to be fancy and require tons of work, but it can still be delicious! After having an extremely non productive day yesterday I finally got off my duff and accomplished something. Dinner! I’m always looking for easy dinners to make through the school year since it seems like we are on the run constantly after school with activities and homework. Last night we had Curry Chicken Chowder with Garlic pesto grilled cheese. It was easy amazing, therefore, I have to share!

Curry Coconut Chicken Chowder Recipe:

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 package chicken shortcuts (I used perdue original. I have also made this from 1lb of chicken breast that I prep ahead of time, but kept it simple last night with the shortcuts)

1 large celery stalk sliced

2 scallions sliced

2 cloves of minced garlic

1 large red bell pepper diced

1 tsp curry powder

1 14oz can of coconut milk (I have used light, but used regular last night, light is a calorie saver)

3/4 cup of water

1/4 cup of reduced fat creamy peanut butter (regular creamy can be used)

2 tsp hot sauce

1 tsp salt

ground pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat, add celery and red pepper and saute for 5 mins. Add scallions and garlic and cook for another minute. Add Chicken and the remaining ingredients. Bring this to a boil over high heat then reduce heat to low and cover and simmer for 15 mins, stirring often. Serve!

Garlic Pesto Monterey Jack Grilled Cheese Recipe:

1 loaf of whole grain bakery bread (I used publix Italian five grain oats, wheat, barley, flax and sunflower)

3 tbsp Olive Oil

3/4 block of Garlic Pest Monterey Jack Cheese from the specialty cheese section, sliced

1 small red onion, sliced

2 tbsp whipped butter

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp ground black pepper

In a small saute pan, melt the whipped butter (regular butter can be used, again, we used whipped for a healthier option). Add the onions and saute until carmelized. Add Italian seasoning and black pepper to taste, set aside.

Brush until covered well, one side of each slice of bread with Olive Oil. Place on grilling pan. This will be your grilling side. Add a layer of the sliced cheese, add carmelized onions, top with another layer of cheese then place another slice of the bread on top that you have prepped. Grill on the stovetop at a medium to medium low heat until browned. Don’t heat them too quickly or the cheese will not properly melt, the lower heat lets the cheese melt and the bread toast nice without burning:-)