Thai red curry chicken is an easy weeknight meal.

Jessica Webster | AnnArbor.com

I am terrible at planning. I will get that right out there.

I want to be the kind of person who has a spreadsheet posted in the kitchen with the meals, shopping lists and chores all blocked out for the week. I want to be the kind of person who always knows what's for dinner days in advance. And where her keys are. But that's not me.

Most weeknights will find me scrambling to pull something together for our family dinner. Or wandering around the grocery store, looking for something that goes with all that couscous I optimistically bought last week.This is why I'm a sucker for cookbooks advertising "30 Minute No-fail Dinners" and "Last Minute Meals."

My other requirement for a weeknight meal, besides it being quick and easy to prepare, is that it's healthy. For the most part I try to avoid processed foods and choose meats that are steroid and antibiotic-free. That way I can control just how much salt, sugar and pharmaceuticals we put in our bodies.

This meal hits all my requirements. I had this dinner prepped, cooked, and plated in 30 minutes flat. Other than figuring out how to use my weird new can opener, it required no specialized cooking skills.

I'm especially looking forward to making this over the summer, when I can pick the bell peppers and basil right out of my garden — assuming I can get to the peppers before the squirrels do.

You can make your own red curry paste, but I'm a big fan of Thai Kitchen's jars of red curry paste. The listed ingredients are: chili, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, salt, rhizome, onion, pepper, lime and peanut oil, and there's no MSG. Nearly all of the local grocery stores stock it in the Asian food section.

The Asian food section is also where you will usually find coconut milk. You can save calories and fat by using light coconut milk, but you will be sacrificing texture. The one exception that I have found is Trader Joe's light coconut milk, which somehow manages to avoid being as thin and runny as its competitors.

Thai Red Curry Chicken
adapted from Real Simple Dinner Tonight: Done! cookbook

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast cutlets (I use organic, hormone-free chicken)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 15-ounce can coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons red curry paste
• 1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

1. Cook the rice according to the package directions.
2. Meanwhile, season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Cook the chicken in batches until golden brown and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from skillet and cut into strips after it has cooled a bit.
4. Add the bell peppers and 1/4 cup water to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Add the coconut milk and curry paste and simmer for 4 minutes. Stir in the chicken.
6. Spoon the chicken curry over the rice and sprinkle with the basil. Serve with lime wedges... and a nice cold bottle of Singha beer.

Serves 4.

Jessica Webster leads the Food & Drink section for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at JessicaWebster@AnnArbor.com.