Chicken Couscous Salad

I made this light couscous salad about a month ago, and I’m only just now getting the recipe up here.  Sorry about that.  With the end of the school year and my slow process of moving, adding recipes got put on the back burner.

It gets hot FAST in Mississippi, and some days the mere thought of cooking seems unbearable.  Especially when you’re AC is broken, which is exactly what happened the day I decided to make this couscous salad.  The less time I had to spend with the stove on the better, and I figured since I already had leftover chicken I could deal with the 5 minutes of stove time it takes to make couscous.

This is a fantastic summer meal, it makes for a great light dinner or easy lunch. I’d even take it as a dish to a potluck.  Make it vegetarian by omitting the chicken and maybe adding a few more vegetables (maybe artichokes? yummm), I think it would still be just as delicious.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 C chicken broth

1 C couscous (or 1 box of the prepackaged kind like Far East)

3/4 C olive oil

1/4 C lemon juice

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

1 cucumber, chopped

1/2 C sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1/2 C kalamata olives, halved

1/2 C  feta cheese

Directions:

1. Prepare couscous according to package directions.  OR: Place olive oil and couscous in a medium pot, cook and stir until couscous is lightly colored.  Add broth, keep the burner on high until the water starts to bubble.  Turn the burner off and put a lid on the pot.  Allow couscous to set until all liquid has been absorbed (7-10 minute).

2. Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining the olive oil, lemon juice, and vinegar in a bowl and whisk until combined (to speed things up, you can always blend it in a food processor or blender). Stir in rosemary and season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Combine the chicken, cucumber, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives in a large bowl. Stir in the couscous and feta.  Toss the salad with half the dressing. Taste, and add more dressing as desired.

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

I’ve really been in the mood for Mexican food lately.  Thank goodness I don’t have a car anymore, because I probably would have satisfied this craving with T-Bell at some point this week.  Sans car, however, I fulfilled this craving by inviting my friend Pat over and making enchiladas!  Yum!

Pat, Katie, and I was incredibly excited by how these turned out.  I expected them to be good, but they were great!  Chicken and black beans are always a great combo, and the spices are perfect.  Increase the chili powder or cayenne pepper if you want to amp up the spiciness.

Personally, I don’t know what I’d do with the other half can of beans here if I saved them.  Maybe you have something you’d use them for in the future…but I used them to make Rice with Black Beans and Corn as a side for my enchiladas.

Ingredients (serves 6):

1  tbsp olive oil

2 chicken breasts, cubed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 c onions, diced

1 tbsp cumin, divided

1tbsp chili powder, divided

dash cayenne pepper

1/2 c corn

1/2 (14.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (8 oz) can diced green chilis

8 (12 in) flour tortillas

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a large baking dish.

2. In a large skillet, saute chicken in oil for 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic and onions, sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp cumin, 1/2 tbsp chili powder, and cayenne pepper; continue to saute until chicken is browned.  Add black beans and corn; heat through and then reduce heat to low.

3. Meanwhile, combine tomato sauce, green chilis, and remaining cumin and chili powder in a small bowl.  Add about 1/2 cup of sauce to the chicken mixture and stir to combine.

4.  Fill tortillas with the chicken mixture and roll them up.  Place rolled tortillas in the baking dish; pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas and top with cheese.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

My lovely ex-roommate Jess came down and visited me this weekend.  We drove an hour to the lake and got our Hunger Games on having an awesome adventure.  Blazing our own trail around the lake, scaling (or attempting to scale) ridges, jumping over and wading through creeks, walking across a flooded road.  It was awesome.

Needless to say though, by the time we got home we were pretty hungry.  I’ve been meaning to try my hand at Cajun pasta for a while now, so we decided to make that.  Oh man, did this turn out delicious.  Seriously reminded me of Cajun chicken pastas I’ve ordered at restaurants.  Yum.  Jess really isn’t much of a spice person (she lied to her Cajun ex-boyfriend about liking his gumbo), but even she thought this pasta was delicious.  Adjust the spicy-ness for your own personal tastes, but this has a pretty decent kick to it as is.

Ingredients (serves 4):

8oz spaghetti (or linguine, or whatever long pasta you have)

2 chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1 green pepper, sliced into strips

1/2 red pepper, sliced into strips

1/2 onion, sliced

4 fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups half and half, divided

1 tbsp corn starch

1/4 tsp dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, place chicken, paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and pepper in a bowl and toss to coat.

3. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute chicken in olive oil until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 5-7 minutes. Add green and red bell peppers, onion, and mushrooms; cook for 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat, and stir in 1 c half and half. Season the sauce with basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper.

4. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1/2 c half and half.  Slowly stir mixture into sauce and heat through.

5. In a large bowl, toss pasta with sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Lemony Artichoke and Sundried Tomato Pasta

Somehow I got roped into coaching the girls track team at my school.  I say somehow, because I have never run track in my life and know absolutely nothing about it.  In fact, before this year, I’d never even voluntarily run in my life.  But here I am, Coach Pearce.  Well, at least it gives me street cred with the kids.

We had a meet this last Friday, and the captain of the boy’s team (the one who conned me into doing this…) and I had to meet up so we could register the kids for their events.  We were going to go out, but then I realized that that was silly, the restaurant probably didn’t even have wi-fi, so we would have had to come back here anyway.  Instead, I (rather last minute) decided to have him come over to my place, and I made this pasta.  Most of the ingredients are things I always have on hand in my kitchen, so it was really easy to throw this recipe together after a quick walk up to the store for some artichoke hearts.  I made this with chicken, because I’ve found it’s usually safer to make dishes with meat when boys are involved, but I think it would be delicious as a vegetarian dish without the chicken as well.

Ingredients (serve 4):

6 oz spaghetti (or other long pasta)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/3 c flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 chicken breasts, chunked

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 c chicken broth

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried basil

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

6 oz sun-dried tomatoes

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 c water

Direction:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Combine the flour and salt on a plate, then gently press the chicken breast chunks into the flour mixture to coat. Arrange the chicken in the skillet and cook until browned.  Add the lemon juice, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaf, and basil.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Stir in the artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes and continue simmering for about 10 minutes.

3. Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the chicken, and continue cooking until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Chicken with Balsamic Vinegar and Garlic

I’m a big fan of balsamic vinegar.  I usually have a bottle tucked away in my cabinet and, frankly, I prefer it (with a little olive oil) on my salads rather than most dressings.  I’ve made this chicken a number of times, and it’s always a big hit.  After I made it for Adam, I think he put it in his own arsenal of recipes, an impressive achievement that puts it in the ranks of my favorite corn and crab cakes.  Since Katie’s a big mushroom fan, she really enjoyed this chicken when I made it tonight as well.

I like to serve this chicken with roasted potatoes (the sauce with the potatoes is a great combination) and a vegetable, like garlic carrots.

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

2 tbsp olive oil

2 chicken breasts, diced

salt and pepper to taste

3/4 lb mushrooms, sliced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

1/4 c white wine

1/2 c chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp thyme

1 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and saute chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper, for about 5 minutes.

2. Add garlic and mushrooms.  Cook for another 5 minutes, then add vinegar, wine, broth, bay leaf, and thyme.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Uncover and continue simmering for 10 minutes.  Swirl in butter and discard bay leaf before serving.

Latin Chicken

Goodness, I really do love my slow cooker.  Prepped everything for this meal the night before: threw it in the slow cooker, popped it in fridge, and then I went to bed.  In the morning, I just took it out, plugged it in (and actually turned it on this time!), and my dinner was on its way to being done!  I was a bit scared everything would overcook while we were at school (9 hours is a long time), but when we came home the house smelled AMAZING and everything was cooked perfectly.  Honestly, I think that’s the best thing about a slow cooker.  Not that it does all the work for you, because frankly I don’t mind doing the work, but the amazing smell you get to come home to.  If you’ve been making dinner in your slow cooker all day, the smell just hits you like a ton of bricks when you walk in and WOW does it always smell fantastic.

I always just have chicken breasts in the fridge, so I used those for this dish, but thighs or legs would work really well for this recipe as well.  Serve over rice, OR try serving as a filling for soft or hard tacos, yum.

Ingredients (serves 8):

2 lbs chicken (breasts cut into chunks, thighs, or legs)

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14.5 oz) can corn, drained

1 onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 c chicken brock

2 c salsa

1/2 c cilantro, loosely packed

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp allspice

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a slow cooker.  Cook on low for at least 4 hours.

Garlic Parmesan Baked Chicken

Perfect for an Italian-inspired dinner party or just a weeknight dinner at home (mine was a slight combination of the two, Ali came over to hang out tonight!), this baked chicken turns out juicy and delicious.  The breading makes you feel like you’re eating something delicious and fattening, but using olive oil to coat and baking this chicken in the oven makes it pretty healthy overall!  Serve with a side of pasta and tomato sauce.

Sorry there’s not a picture, we gobbled it up so fast there wasn’t time to take a picture!

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2/3 c bread crumbs

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

pepper to taste

4 chicken breasts

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a baking dish.

2. Combine olive oil and garlic on a plate.  On a separate plate, combine breadcrumbs, cheese, basil, oregano, and pepper.

3. Dip chicken breasts in olive oil mixture, transfer to the other plate and coat with breadcrumb mixture.  Arrange chicken on baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.