Greek Couscous

We were sent home from a Memorial service last weekend with an excessive amount of pita bread, hummus, and other ridiculously delicious dipping sauces from a local restaurant. So what else could we do but attempt to eat it all??

I'm a huge fan of Greek salad, and I'm loving the quickness of couscous these days. Add it all together, and we made quite the healthy feast out of it.

Greek Chicken Couscous
Two boneless skinless chicken breasts
S&P
Oregano
Thyme
1 cup couscous (I've been using the whole grain kind)
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
zest from one lemon
juice from half a lemon
about 1 tbsp fresh chopped basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp vinegar (I used cider)
3 minced garlic cloves
S&P
1 cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise and chopped
1 package yellow or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
small handful kalamatas (10?) chopped
Crumbled feta (reduced fat works)

Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt, pepper, oregano and thyme. Spray a pan with cooking spray and cook over medium high heat until done, 5-10 minutes a side depending on size. Let cool and chop into bite sized pieces.

Bring chicken broth to a boil, then stir in couscous, cover, and remove from heat. After about 5 minutes, remove lid, stir, and transfer to a large bowl to cool.

Mix dressing in a small bowl-olive oil, lemon zest and juice, basil, thyme, vinegar, garlic, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.

Combine cooled chicken and couscous, and stir in dressing. When combined, add in cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper and olives and top with cheese—1/4 cup or so.

Are you still full?

So, did everyone have a fantastic turkey day? Hopefully, you're like me, and got to spend it with friends and family, gorging yourself on a completely inappropriate amount of food and sugar over the course of four days. And are now dying for something different, like Vietnamese food and chocolate popsicles. Or...you're not pregnant, and are just fine reheating comfort food for another week. Either way, cheers.

We hosted again this year, but my father-in-law was incredible and did the bulk of the cooking at his house before hauling it over. Which meant all I was responsible for was cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and I threw in a quinoa salad for something different. (Plus I based it off a recipe from a kosher recipe collection, so I figured it was a shout-out to the hubby's mom and step-dad, who we don't get to see until Hanukkah this year.)

I did a little twist on the mashed potatoes, which was using roughly peeled yukon gold potatoes (6 lbs), and once cooked til soft in salted water, I drained them, added 1 cup 1% milk, salt, pepper, and a container of chive flavored cream cheese. And they were fantastic—I didn't miss the butter at all.

But I really loved the quinoa dish. Ill definitely be making it again, and I won't be waiting for a special occasion—it has a great mix of sweet and citrus and grain with some great textures all thrown in together. It was also good the next day over some mixed greens and leftover turkey breast.

Oh, and by the way...remember the episode of Friends where Joey borrows Phoebe's maternity pants to wear for Thanksgiving? Brilliance. These waistband-less dreams are a fat kid's best friend. And I promise I won't bust them out again next year. But I'm definitely going to be wishing I did.

Cranberry Pistachio Quinoa Salad
1 3/4 c uncooked quinoa
olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
2 cups water
1/3 cup white wine
1/2 tsp salt
Juice from one lemon
1/4 tsp fresh pepper
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
1/4 cup chopped italian parsley
1/4 cup chopped mint

Rinse and drain quinoa. In large sauce pan, heat a bit of olive oil over medium high heat, and add shalllots. Cook about 3 minutes, then stir in water, wine and salt. Bring to a boil.

Add quinoa, and simmer 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool.

In small bowl, combine 1 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice and pepper. When quinoa is cool, add olive oil mixture and toss well. Gently stir in cranberries, pistachios, parsley and mint. Chill until ready to eat. Good room temperature or cold.