Chicken with Mediterranean Couscous

This dish took less than 30 minutes to make. It was colorful and full of flavor. I love marinating chicken in Italian salad dressing overnight because it's so easy and provides lots of flavor the next day.
 

 

I package of couscous (I used a box of garlic and olive oil flavor)

½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

¼ cup sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and diced

¼ cup artichoke hearts in oil, drained and diced
½ cup Mozzarella cheese pearls
2 Tbsp minced fresh Italian flat leaf parsley

Italian Chicken:

2 chicken breasts
Italian salad dressing
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
 
In a large bag or bowl, add chicken and cover with salad dressing. Marinate overnight.

Cook couscous according to directions on packaging. Stir in remaining ingredients. Set aside and cook chicken.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium frying pan, heat a drizzle of EVOO over high heat. Once it starts to smoke and ripple, add chicken and brown on both sides for 1-2 minutes. Move chicken to oven and cook for 15 minutes, or until cooked all the way through so no longer pink in the middle and juices run clear.

To plate, make a bed of couscous and top with chicken sliced and fanned on top.

Summer Vegetable Couscous Salad

I love using this pasta for BBQs or potlucks. Most people don’t know what it is and once they try it, they love it! It’s as easy as cooking any other pasta and adds an interesting twist.

¾ cup dried Israeli couscous 

1 ear of corn

1 large bell pepper, diced (I used red and yellow to add color)

2 green onion sprigs, diced

Crumbled feta cheese

Juice from one lemon

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Sea salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Cook couscous following directions on packaging. Remove from heat and let cool; set aside.

Roast corn with husk on over medium heat on the grill. Cook until husk is charred, turning occasionally. When the corn is done, let cool before removing husk and cutting corn off the cob.

In a large bowl, add cooled couscous, corn, peppers, green onion, cheese, lemon juice, a few drizzles of EVOO and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with grilled fish or chicken.

Note: If you add the EVOO to the pasta while it’s still warm, the pasta will absorb the oil making it dry. Adding the EVOO to cooled pasta allows it to act as a dressing.

Israeli Couscous Salad

I love Israeli couscous and all the different salad variations you can create with it. Sometimes when I’m sick of eating salads with just lettuce for lunch at work, I made a large bowl of couscous salad and eat it for 2-3 days straight!

1 cup dry Israeli couscous
1 ¼ chicken broth (cooking pasta in broth gives more flavor)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
½ large red bell pepper, diced
½ large green bell pepper, diced
½ small red onion, minced
About 10 asparagus stalks cut into ½” pieces
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
Zest from one lemon
Juice from one lemon
Freshly cracked black pepper
Crumbled feta cheese

In a large pot, bring broth to a boil. Add couscous and 1 tsp of EVOO, cover and simmer for about 8 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

In a large bowl, combine cooled couscous, veggies, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, pepper and feta cheese. Drizzle with EVOO and mix altogether.

Note:

Let couscous cool before drizzling EVOO and lemon juice so it acts like more of a dressing. If it’s warm, the pasta absorbs the EVOO right away and the pasta will be dry.

Variations:

·         Try using sliced green onions instead of minced red onion.
·         Add slivered radishes
·         Use cubed Cheddar cheese instead of feta

Mediterranean Meatballs over Couscous

1 lb ground beef, pork or turkey (I used beef in this dish)
1 egg
¼ cup breadcrumbs
1 small red bell pepper, diced
½ yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp Moroccan Gourmet Garden Fresh Blends (found by the fresh herbs)
1 box of couscous (my favorite brand is Near East)
A large handful of fresh baby spinach
EVOO

In a large bowl, combine meat, egg, breadcrumbs, pepper, onion and Moroccan spice; mix well. Using wet hands to prevent meat from sticking, shape mixture into meatballs the size of golf balls. In a frying pan over med-high heat, drizzle EVOO and cook meatballs. Brown all sides and make sure they are cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, make the couscous according to directions on the box. After 5 minutes when couscous has absorbed the liquid and is ready to be fluffed, stir in the baby spinach; cover and set aside.

Serve in a shallow bowl by making a bed of couscous and topping with meatballs. Drizzle with any remaining pepper and onion bits that might be left in the pan.

Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken with Couscous

Bursting with flavor in every bite. The hubby usually isn't a fan of couscous unless I mix in different ingredients, like artichoke hearts, cheese, etc...get creative!

2 chicken breasts

¼ cup Kalamata olives, pitted

2 Tbsp sundried tomatoes
EVOO
Lemon Pepper seasoning
Salt

Couscous:
1 box of olive oil and pine nuts couscous (or plain)
½ red bell pepper, diced
2 green onion sprigs, sliced
Jarred artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
Feta cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With a deboning knife, insert a hole into the thick end of the chicken breast and using your knife and finger carefully create a pocket. Be careful to not poke a hole through the other side. Set aside.

In a food processor, combine olives, tomatoes with a drizzle of EVOO. Stuff the chicken with this mixture. Season both sides chicken with lemon pepper and salt. In a frying pan over med-high heat, drizzle a little EVOO and brown both sides of chicken. Remove chicken from pan and to a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes until chicken is cooked throughout.

While chicken is baking, add a couple drizzles of EVOO to a pot over med-high heat. Add peppers and sauté for a couple minutes. Add water for couscous to the pot (following directions on the box), bring to a boil, add couscous with seasonings, remove from heat, cover and set to the side for about 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork then stir in green onions, artichoke hearts and feta cheese.

Serve chicken with couscous and drizzle with cooked chicken juice from baking sheet.

Israeli Couscous Salad

This is a great dish for potlucks and BBQs. It’s light and full of flavor. I found that people who don’t typically like couscous still love this dish. The couscous is more like little pasta balls than the traditional grainy couscous.

Couscous salad
2 cups Israeli couscous (buy from the Kosher or International section of the grocery store)
About 6 mini red & yellow bell peppers, diced
1/3 of a Chinese cucumber, diced
2-3 stalks of green onion stalks (3 whole bundles), diced
¼ cup of Kalamata olives, diced
1 package of crumbled feta cheese (I used one seasoned with garlic and lemon)
Zest of one lemon

Vinaigrette
¼ cup of EVOO
1 Tbsp of Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp of Grey Poupon mustard
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
Juice from ½ a lemon
Handful of minced Italian flat leaf parsley and cilantro
Pepper to taste

Make couscous accordingly to directions on box. Once done, let cool.

Mix ingredients for vinaigrette together and whisk well.

Add chopped veggies, olives, feta cheese and lemon zest to couscous. Mix all together. Add vinaigrette and mix throughout salad. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.