Couscous Crusted Chicken

Talk about a happy accident!

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Once I got home from the grocery store, I was on a mission:  to make the couscous stuffed chicken featured in this month’s Cooking Light.  I had even pre-snipped the recipe out and hung it up at the stove:

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Hard core.

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I was pretty excited to try this recipe for a few reasons.  First, I have a giant tub of Rice Select Tri-Color couscous in my cabinet that has been begging to be used.  Second, I love any excuse to use my meat mallet. 

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Let’s  be honest… I like any excuse to type “meat mallet” Smile with tongue out 

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Even though the ingredients list is fairly long the dish came together pretty easy.  First, I pounded the chicken breast out to about 1/4 inch thickness and sliced in half.  For the couscous mixture, I brought 1/4 cup of fat free low sodium chicken broth to a boil then added 1/4 cup of the couscous.  Then you cover the couscous, remove it from the heat, and let it hang out for about 4 minutes.

Then add in the flava:

  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tbsp Athenos Feta Cheese
  • 1 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced spinach
  • 1 clove minced garlic

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The Cooking Light recipe called for olives (BLEGH!) and olive oil, which I omitted and instead subbed in sundried tomatoes and spinach.  Divide the couscous mixture between your chicken breast halves:

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And them roll them up jelly roll style….  Easy right?

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Ummm not so much.  I had a couscous blow out and half of the filling fell out!  So, I went with my guts and seared the chicken on all sides, then plopped into a baking dish and kind of mashed the extra couscous mix on top of the chicken.

Then I popped it into a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

And VOILA!

Couscous crusted chicken!

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The couscous got a little crispy in the oven, and it reminded me a lot of breaded chicken!

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Of course I had a salad on the side.

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Overall, the couscous crusted chicken idea is AMAZING.  Now I just need to come up with some sort of sauce to go along side… Hmmmmm……

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Stats on 1/2 of the Couscous Crusted Chicken Recipe:  203 calories, 16g carbs, 4g fat, 26g protein, 1g fiber

Couscous Crusted Chicken Ingredients List (Serves 2)

  • 8 ounces chicken breast
  • 1/4 cup couscous – I use Rice Select Tri Color Couscous
  • 1/4 fat free low sodium chicken broth
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tbsp Athenos Feta Cheese
  • 1 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced spinach
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 1 clove minced garlic

 

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5 Comments

  1. I know what I want for dinner on Sunday. My one cheat night I’ll save for this. I’m going to see if my son, who is a Wadsworth student but in the vocational Chef Prep program at Copley, can make this. He LOVES to cook and he so enjoys your Fervent Foodie posts also. THANK YOU for the time and dedication you put in to putting together these posts. They are YUMMY!

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