Blackened Chicken with Cilantro Lime Couscous

This time of year, it's typical for one to find me with my face buried in a mountain of papers and books. My life becomes engulfed by the copious amounts of rough drafts, papers, and reading that sometimes I enjoy, sometimes I do not (I'm looking at you Ford Maddox Ford...) 

Either way, I eventually have to come up for air... which usually means a quick pop over to Pinterest. It was during one of these interludes that I found a recipe that made me very very hungry. 

I know I can only speak for myself, but I love me some cilantro. Really, I could eat this stuff just as it is. I love the smell, the taste, how it looks. Yeah, I have a slightly obsessive nature. 

Blackened Chicken with Cilantro Lime Couscous

4 servings

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, defrosted

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 tsp curry

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne (if you really like spicy food, you can up this to 1/4 tsp)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup lime juice

1 box couscous

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can chicken stock

1 avocado

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Combine all of the dry seasonings in a bowl; sprinkle over both sides of the chicken, rubbing the mixture into the chicken breasts. Heat olive oil over medium heat for a minute and add the chicken. Cook covered for 7 minutes on each side.

In a pan, heat the can of chicken stock until it's just begun to boil. Immediately remove from heat, stir in the couscous, cover and let sit for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork. Add chopped cilantro and lime juice. Stir to combine. 

In a blender/food processor, add the flesh of the avocado and the Greek yogurt. Blend until it's your desired thickness level. 

Slice chicken and serve on a bed of couscous with the cream sauce dolloped on top. Voila! 

Pretty easy right? Other things to love about this meal: it's low in sodium and the chicken is great lean protein. Do yourself a favor: have another serving.

Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken on Wilted Spinach

Chicken and I don't always get along. I'm incredibly finicky about eating meat; I guess I just expect them to be perfect cuts of meat. If there's any fat, grissle, or weirdness, I lose my appetite.
But then I married someone who ALWAYS prefers to have meat for dinner and had to start whipping up meat recipes. 

Since then, I've mastered the art of cooking a moist, flavorful piece of chicken breast and have now garnered the ability to improvise sans recipes. 

 

I learned (by experimentation) that adding salt and pepper to the defrosted chicken breasts seals in moisture while the chicken cooks. No matter what recipe I'm making, I always always start with this first step. 

Pouring olive oil over the pieces also increases moisture threshold. Also, when it's mixed in with the lemon juice, it formed a sort of glaze that you can use to cook the chicken.

 

I opened up my fridge and found an overabundance of garlic and lemon juice. I incorporated plenty of both!

Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken on Wilted Spinach recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, defrosted

Salt and pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

A spoonful of minced garlic

1/3 cup of lemon juice

Rub defrosted chicken with salt and pepper and place in dish. Pour the olive oil over the chicken. Add the spoonful of garlic; make sure that some garlic sits on each piece. Pour the lemon juice over the chicken. Place lid on dish, or cover, and let sit in fridge for at least 2 hours. 

Once marinated, place chicken in saute pan, pour remaining liquid in pan, and cook for about 10-15 minutes. 

Serve on a bed of spinach that has been dipped in olive oil. (It softens the spinach). 

Enjoy!