Marthe, of the fantastic blog Culinary Delights, chose this week's Craving Ellie pick. Marthe's blog is a sentimental favorite for me because my dad's mother was Dutch and I grew up hearing "if you're not Dutch, you're not much." However, in addition to the whole "Dutch thing" her blog is fantastic and I love visiting it.Ellie says that this recipe is perfect for a quick weeknight meal and I will second that. I was amazed at how quickly this came together. Of course, I had to pound out the chicken with my pan again but that's really the only thing about the recipe that I didn't like. I used field spinach that I got at the farmers' market last weekend and I sauteed it with the garlic and olive oil but I also added a pinch of red pepper flakes too. I had whole wheat couscous from Trader Joes in my pantry already so that was good to go; however, I think that plain couscous is, well, a little too plain for my taste so I added some chopped roasted red and yellow bell peppers and a few feta cheese crumbles. I eyeballed the ingredients for the sauce because I'm lazy and I hate to do dishes. And, then I returned the chicken breasts to the sauce while it thickened because I was worried that it had cooled off too much at that point and I wanted it to be hot when I ate it.
The verdict: I thought that this was really good. I liked how the three components of the dish worked together and I was happy with my dinner that night. I was glad that I used a lot of pepper when I seasoned the chicken because otherwise it might have been a little bland for my taste.P.S. For those of you who commented on my barking dog post, thank you. Now I know I'm not mean or crazy. Also, he's still barking.
P.P.S. My brain is addled from the barking and I hit publish before I scheduled the post! So, mine is up on Wednesday, 1.5 hours too early. As Cher Horowitz would say: "oops . . . my bad." And then I tried to fix it but no dice. So, for all of you who got three mystery posts in your reader, my bad!
18 comments:
that is my kinda meal! it has it all!!! i cannot wait to make it :)
Yum, I'm always looking for new things to do with chicken. Adding this to the list now :)
Oh no--not mean or crazy. I cannot believe the dog is still barking. Alas, I won't go off on a rant against your neighbor again :) This chicken looks incredible! I love a quick weeknight dinner that's healthy as well. And I love the bell peppers that you added to the couscous!
Too bad about the dog! I hope he is okay, but that would mean he is just a dog that likes to bark which would be bad for you.
I love couscous and really need to use it more. I have tubs of it. The whole meal looks good.
Every component of this meal looks great on it's own. And it looks like they work better together!
I've been a little wary of this dish because I'm not a huge fan of balsamic vinegar and my boyfriend hates both couscous and spinach, but yours looks so yummy! I'm not making mine until tomorrow (I like to be last minute, I guess), but now I'm more excited about it!
And, sadly, the dog must just be a barker or maybe suffers from separation anxiety :( We just had some new neighbors move in below us, and their dog barks nonstop all day while they're away. I feel your pain! As a dog lover, it breaks my heart, but it really does drive me crazy. Like you, I'm trying to be patient, but it's not looking good...
It looks like you really did what needed to be done to give this one some much needed added flavor. I love the concept of this, and will make it again with a few modifications (actually, I might just copy yours). It looks great! Off to figure out what the barking dog is all about . . .
Hahaha, I love your remark about Dutch... we tend to say it ain't much if it ain't Dutch!
I'm glad you liked this recipe, I really liked this one too and will definetely be making it again. Thanks for cooking with me this week!
The pictures are great. Enjoy your post.
We liked this recipe however will make adjustments to add flavor to the chicken next time.
As for the barking dog... I'll have to check that out.
Looks delish!! I enjoyed this dish...although I'm not a fan of pounding chicken, I guess I'll get over it ;)
I have a barking dog next door...makes me crazy all day long! I used to have a noisy bird sitting in the porch behind my house and that almost sent me to the loony bin! Thankfully they moved...
We loved this one, too! I am also lazy, so I didn't measure, and I sliced the chicken breasts instead of pounding them. I like your additions to the cous cous--it was really plain.
When I moved to San Jose, I looked at the cutest house, which I would have bought, but there was an obnoxious barking dog next door. Nobody wants to have a neighbor with a barking dog.
Looks wonderful, glad to hear you liked it. I also amped up the couscous and added my chicken back to the pan to warm in the sauce. I think that helped with the flavor of the dish since some found it to be bland.
Nice job with this recipe. It looks great and we really enjoyed it. I just read your barking dog post, and I hope it's calmed down a bit. When my neighbors moved in 2 years ago with their 3 dogs, we couldn't walk near a window without setting off a 20 minute long barking barage from the trio. Now, they're used to us and the neigborhood. Thank goodness!! Hang in there.
Looks great. I didn't change anything about this recipe but I think the changes you made sound amazing!
Great post. This was definitely a quick and easy weeknight meal, but I really thought it was lacking in the flavor department.
Yours looks fantastic!
Pan works, tenderizer works better - invest the $20, you won't be disappointed!
What farmers market do you go to here?
Pounding chicken breasts is the worst! I often just skip that and have fatter chicken. I'm glad you were able to anticipatorily avoid blandness - good job! And sorry about the dog. Other people's barking dogs don't bother me, and I always worry mine will be a problem for others, but most of their barking is indoors - directed at things they see outside, so the person they drive crazy is me!
Thanks for your comment on my post; I too had to back v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y into the dried beans/legumes field, but now I am close to obsessed! I thought that white beans and black beans were good starting places, especially in highly spiced applications - Mexican or Cuban recipes with black beans, for example.
Nancy
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