It hasn’t been too crazy this week. A couple of presentations but no real travel. Things are plugging along at our old house. The thing we are not looking forward to is cleaning out the rest of our stuff. The garage will be a nightmare. Deciding what to keep and what to sell as well as what to donate. It’s overwhelming. Even though we would be making all of the decisions, it would be great if we had help. We know that’s a pipe dream.

Dovetailing with that, I’m keeping things simple this week. I’m not in the mood to do anything complicated. Some recipes are worth it. Last week’s recipe was an example of that. This week’s recipe is for Mango Chicken Thighs with Basil-Coconut Sauce from Taste of Home. I chose this recipe because it can be completed on the stovetop with little fuss. It also has a lot of flavor. Using chicken thighs helps with that. Fat is flavor. The only problem with the recipe is the amount of saturated fat and sodium. The challenge will be keeping the flavor without the salt.

Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I deleted the added salt to reduce the sodium.
• I replaced the full fat coconut milk with light coconut milk to reduce the saturated fat and calories.
• I lowered the miso paste from 1/4 cup to one tablespoon to reduce the sodium.
• I increased the servings from 4 to 10 to reduce the calories.
• I added red bell pepper to increase the vitamins A and C.
• I added some green beans to bulk out the recipe.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Mango Chicken Thighs with Basil-Coconut Sauce

Serves 10

• 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 1 pound)
• 4 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot
• 1 can 15 ounces light coconut milk
• 1 medium mango, peeled and chopped
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, divided
• 1 tablespoon miso paste
• 2 teaspoons Sriracha chili sauce
• 2 cups dry brown jasmine rice
• 2 medium limes, quartered
• 24 ounces frozen green beans

1. Add the rice and 4 cups of water to a pot. Heat to boiling then reduce the heat. Cover and cook for 45 minutes. Set aside.
2. Sprinkle chicken with pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Brown chicken on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add in the red bell pepper and sauté until soft. Add garlic and ginger; cook 1 minute longer.
3. Add the chicken back into the pan. Stir in coconut milk, mango, green onions, ¼ cup basil, miso paste and chili sauce. Cook and stir until sauce is slightly reduced and a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 170°, about 20 minutes. Add in green beans and heat through. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup basil. Serve with rice and limes.