Creamy Chicken with Sweet Potatoes & Apples

Ah Sweet September, back to school, cool mornings and warm afternoons.  We have easily slipped back into the every day routime of school, although the after school chores still need a little work.  I think by the end of the day someone is fairly twitching from being off line for several hours.  Poor thing.
Emily was eager to get back to cooking, and when this recipe landed in my inbox this week I thought it looked quite tasty.  Emily agreed and dinner was planned.  While most of the ingredients are usually in our pantry I did need to stop at the store for cashews and sweet potatoes.  They are generally as much a staple as regular potatoes, but we were out.
Emily peeled and cubed one sweet potato, with a little help, they are rather tough to cut, and set it in a pot to boil..
While the potatoes were cooking Emily then chopped an onion, wearing her swimming goggles, since she had heard that would keep the onion from making her cry.  It works she says.  Not very effective though if you need to wear glasses to make sure you chop the onion and not your fingers.
The onion was then set aside while she cut boneless chicken thighs into bite sized pieces.  At one point I looked over and she had abandoned the knife and was tearing it apart with her hands.  Most unpleasant.  I dug out the curry powder and a portion of the grated ginger I had frozen a while ago, and then, despite protests she wanted to do this by herself, I started the rice.
Emily heated a little Zesty Lime Italian dressing in a pan and browned the chicken pieces.  Once they were browned she put them in a small bowl and added a little more dressing to the pan along with the onions, ginger, curry powder and the sweet potatoes, which we had drained and set aside once they were tender.  She cooked these ingredients together until all the vegetables were tender.
Meanwhile I played sous chef and whisked some flour into the remaining dressing.  This was then added to the potato mixture along with coconut milk, a chopped apple and the chicken.  It simmered until the rice was done.
All in all it was a very nice dish, although I thought it needed a little salt.  It was fairly quick and easy and made for a lovely plate of leftovers for lunch today.

Creamy Chicken with Sweet Potatoes & Apples

1 sweet potato (1/2 lb / 225g) peeled & cut into cubes           2 teaspoons curry powder

1/3 cup Italian Zesty Lime dressing *                                     1 tablespoon flour

1 pound (450g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut            1 cup coconut milk

into bite sized pieces                                                                1 apple, chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped                                                  1/4 cup cashews, chopped

1 tablespoon grated ginger

Cook potatoes in boiling water 5 minutes, drain & set aside.  (I think you could cook the sweet potato in the micowave & then dice it once it cooled enough to handle too)

Heat 1 tablespoon of dressing in a large skillet on medium high heat.  Add the chicken and cook until browned.  Remove from skillet, cover to keep warm.

Add 2 tablespoons of the remaining dressing, onions, ginger, curry powder and potatoes to skillet.  Cook & stir 5 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

Whisk the flour into the remaining dressing (3 tablespoons) in a bowl until blended. Gradually whisk in the coconut milk.  Add to the portato mixture, along with the apples & chicken.  Stir.  Simmer over medium heat 3-5 minutes; until chicken is done & sauce is thickened.  Sprinkle with chopped cashews.  Serve over rice.

*This is Kraft salad dressing.  You could add a splash of lime juice to any Italian dressing, or use olive oil & lime juice instead.