Chicken Couscous

This weekend I was lucky enough to have my parents in town for a quick visit and to see our new house! It is always so nice to spend time with them, especially now that we live so much further away. This was a short but busy trip and I will take any time we get! One of the things our family loves is not only food but to cook food so it was really nice to be able to do this.

I must confess that I ripped this recipe out of the magazine while I was getting my hair done. I know I am that person, but it just looked so good I had to. It was a good thing I did because this dish was delicious. I misread the directions and added an entire can of chick peas but that was not bad since we enjoy them. Only few tweaks I would make are to cook the vegetables a little bit less so they have more of a crunch. And measure the amount of liquid left in the dutch oven before adding the couscous. This will help determine the amount of couscous to add. We followed the directions and there must have been too much liquid left because it didn't fluff up as much as it normally does, but still was tasty.

Chicken Couscous

Servings: 4

Source: Fitness Magazine

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 36 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

¼ cup sliced almonds

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch scallions, white & light green thinly sliced

1 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced

2 carrots, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon tumeric

1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1 large tomato, chopped

½ cup canned chickpeas, drained

½ lemon, zest peeled into 1/2 inch thick strips, juice to taste

1/3 cup raisins

3/4 cup whole wheat couscous

¼ cup chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Warm the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the almonds; toast until golden, 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a bowl.

2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add to the dutch oven and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to a plate. Add the scallions, zucchini and carrots; cook for 5 minutes. Mix in the cinnamon, cumin, coriander and turmeric; saute 1 minute.

3. Add the chicken stock, tomato, chick peas, lemon zest and raisins; bring to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pot, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken and vegetables to a serving bowl. Season with lemon juice. Cover to keep warm.

4. I suggest measuring the left over liquid first, it should be 1 cup. Add the couscous to the liquid in the pot, cover and turn off heat. Let rest for 5 minutes; take off the lid and fluff the couscous with a fork. Serve chicken and vegetables over the couscous, garnished with almonds and parsley.

Nutritional Information per serving:

473 calories; 29g protein; 62g carbohydrates; 15g fat (2g saturated); 11g Fiber