Spiced Couscous with Chicken and Broccoli

I don't know about you, but the holidays seem like they get busier every year. With all the shopping, birthdays, a funeral, family gathering out of town, and job hunting, I haven't really been able to make as many new meals and it has been almost a month since my last post!  I finally had some time yesterday to try this dish out and I think it might be my new favorite! I thought the cinnamon might be overpowering, but I was wrong. It's buttery, spicy, and comforting...definitely a keeper.

Ingredients
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
3-4 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 bunch of broccoli, rinsed and chopped into smaller pieces
3 cloves of garlic, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup uncooked couscouse (plain)
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds
small handful of raisins (about 1/4 cup or more if you like)
3-4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
sour cream and sirracha for topping

Directions
Heat olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium heat until garlic starts to brown. Add the broccoli and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, a little salt and pepper to taste and cook for about 3-5 minutes or until tender. Set aside.

Bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon, the ginger, 1 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Add the carrots and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until tender. Drain the carrots and reserve the liquid.

Put the couscous and chicken in a medium bow and pour in 1 cup of the reserved carrot liquid. Cover with a plastic warp and let sit for 5 minutes. Then fluff couscous with a fork.

While you are waiting for the couscous to cook, melt the butter (in same skillet as broccoli) and add the raisins, green onions, almonds, and remaining 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes then add the broccoli back in for just about a minute to heat it back up. Stir in the cilantro and remove from heat.

Divide the couscous/chicken into seperate bowls. Top with the carrots and add more cooking liquid if desired. Sprinkle with the almond and raisin mixture and more cilantro. Garnish with sour cream and sirracha.


Recipe Source: barely adapted from Food Network-I combined their Spiced Couscous and Chicken recipe with their Sauteed Broccoli recipe

A Belated Thanksgiving Recap

It may be a little late (ok an entire week) but I wanted to post about the great Thanksgiving I had. It was my first Thanksgiving not spent at my parents which was a little weird for me, but it was still wonderful. I had a great time at my in-laws and got to contribute a few dishes of my own. All of the food was really really good. My in-laws even had home grown sweet potatoes that they used in the sweet potato casseroles which were so good!! We did get to go to my parents on Friday and spend the weekend with my family and my Grandma who was visiting and had a great time there too. I am thankful for many things in my life and am lucky to have such a wonderful husband, family, and friends!

Ok, so here is what I made (Note: These are not original recipes. I followed the sources and just tweaked the directions slightly):

Homemade crescent rolls-I admit that the canned kind do taste good and are easy, but they are filled with hydrogenated oils and preservatives, so I decided to try my own

Ingredients
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
3 Tbsp warm water

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 stick melted butter plus extra for brushing on before baking

5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

 

Directions

1.Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a large bowl and let stand about 10 mintues or until it starts to foam

2.Mix in the rest of the ingredients until it forms into a dough (I used my paddle and then switched to my dough hook).

3.Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let stand on the counter overnight. 

4.Take a small piece of dough and roll it into a rectangle about5 inches wide and about 8 inches long. Then cut it from corner to the opposite corner to form 2 triangles. Repeat until you have used up the dough. I got about 20 rolls (I suggest making a little smaller though and you can get more)

5.Brush the triangles with butter. Starting with the wide end of the triangle, roll loosely up. The tip of the triangle should end up in the middle on the top of the crescent. Put on the cookie sheets and brush with butter.

If you want the facy shape, just bend them slightly, forming a crescent moon shape.

6.Let stand for 3-5 hours on the sheets on the counter.

 

7.Bake at 375 degrees for around 8-12 min

 

*I obviously made mine too big, but they were still yummy! I might not let them rise as long next time and may even add a little more butter.

 

Recipe source:Coffee with Mrs. Dani

Greenbean casserole with homemade french fried onions- I found a recipe on my Whole Foods app that looked good so I gave it a try

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne (optional)
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (I used an all natural whole wheat panko)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb grean beans, ends snapped and cut into about 2 inch pieces
1 (14.5 oz )can cream of mushroom soup (The original recipe said non-condensed which I couldn't find so I used condensed and added a little water. Find a natural or organic kind if you can)

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 425 and spray a large baking sheet (for the onions) and a casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2.Combine the flours, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a large bowl. Add the onions and toss to coat. Add in the buttermilk and toss again.
3. In another large bowl, mix the breadcrumbs and oil. Add the onions and toss to coat.
4. Transfer the onions to the baking sheet and spread into a single layer.
5. Bake about 30 mins, tossing halfway through (be careful not to burn them!)
6. When onions are done,reduce the temp of the oven to 350.
7. While onions are baking, bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
8. Add fresh green beans and cook for about 3 mins. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
9.Add the mushroom soup, a little water if needed, half of the onion rings, salt and pepper and toss. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish. Top with the rest of the onion rings and bake about 30 mins or until hot and bubbly.

Recipe source: Whole Foods

Pumpkin pie crunch-I have made this in the past and made a previous blog post about it, but this year I decided to make my own cake mix to sprinkle on top instead of using a box mix filled with hydrogenated oils and chemicals (unfortunately all of my pictures of this turned out blurry! I didn't have my husbands camera with me that I normally use)

Ingredients
1 can pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar (I used organic)
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup melted butter
Cake mix (recipe below)- I made my own this year but you can use 1 box of Duncan Hines moist deluxe yellow mix if you don't want to make your own

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup non-fat dry milk
1 stick of cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions
1.Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl or food processor ( I used my immersian blender since I don't have a large food processor and it worked fine...just make sure you use a large enough bowl)
2. Add in the butter and vanilla and process until it is crumbly and resembles cornmeal
3. Freeze up to 2 months or use immediately

*This made more than I needed for the pumpkin pie crunch so I put the extra in the freezer and will make a cake with it.


Directions
1.Pre-heat oven to 350
2.Grease a 9x13 pan
3.Combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a large bowl and transfer to the prepared pan
4. Sprinkle with cake mix
5. Sprinkle on the pecans
6. Drizzle with melted butter
7. Bake for 50-55 mins or until golden brown

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream and refridgerate leftovers

Pour into greased 9x13 dish. Sprinkle with homemade (or storebought) cake mix. Sprinkle with 1 cup of chopped pecans. Drizzle with 1 cup of melted butter. Bake at 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown. Served with whipped topping. Refridgerate leftovers.
 Recipe source: Judy Roche of Hendersonville, TN

Cake mix recipe sources: Mel's Kitchen Cafe and Chickens in the Road

Grilled Veggies with Couscous, Feta & Orange-Balsamic Vinaigrette

 

This was one of the side dishes I made for our Labor Day weekend cookout. I knew I wanted some kind of grilled veggies with our meal and finally found this recipe on my Whole Foods app that I decided to try. I had a box of Isaraeli Pearl couscous in my pantry that worked perfectly and the orange-balsamic vinaigrette dressed this dish up just enough without being too overpowering ( I may actually add more next time to give it just a bit more flavor). You could easily substitute quinoa or white or brown rice and use whatever veggies you have on hand.  This recipe served 5 people and we had some leftovers.

 

Ingredients

6-7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2  tablespoons lemon juice
1 tsp teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large red onion, thickly sliced
1 large yellow squash, chopped (can also slice into rounds if desired)
1 large zucchini, chopped (can also slice into rounds if desired)
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded chopped
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/2 cup + 2 or 3 Tbsp orange juice
2 1/2  teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups uncooked couscous
1/3 cup feta cheese crumbles
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions
1.Combine 4 Tbsp of the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add onions, squash, zucchini and peppers and toss gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours.

2.Preheat grill. Arrange marinated vegetables in a single layer on the grill and cook, flipping once, until tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a platter and keep warm.

3.Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of the remaining oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add orange juice and reduce liquid by half, 6 to 8 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, then remove from the heat and set vinaigrette aside.

4.Cook couscous according to package directions (should take about 15 mins or less to cook)

5.Arrange couscous in the middle of a large platter. Top with grilled vegetables and drizzle with warm vinaigrette. Garnish with feta cheese and parsley and serve.



Recipe source: adapted from Whole Foods