January 26: Chicken Stir Fry with Couscous

Here's a recipe I made for dinner the other night. It wasn't anything too fancy. But it was real food, it was healthy, and we really liked it. I started with this recipe, but then ended up changing it so much that it felt like a completely different recipe by the end.

I made this in a hurry with ingredients on hand, so I'm sure that you could change the way you cook things or the ingredients and make it better. But this is the way I made it, and we thought it turned out pretty good. The original recipe called for squash, which I didn't have, so I left it out. I'm sure you could add squash or other veggies to make it better (that is, if you like vegetables! I will be honest and confess that I didn't even eat the peppers in this. I just ate the chicken and couscous. I like the flavor of peppers when cooked with other foods, but I do not like to bite into them. Picky, I know. I'm working on it).

This was my first time to try couscous. And I really liked it! Definitely a good and healthier alternative to white rice.
Chicken Stir Fry with Couscous

3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 medium red pepper
1 medium green pepper
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
A few leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped
Thyme, to taste
1 1/3 cup chicken broth
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 T. butter

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add peppers, onion, garlic, basil and thyme. Cook for about 5-7 minutes. Add strips of chicken to the veggies and continue to stirfry until the chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

In a separate pan, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the couscous, cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir and fluff with a fork. Add the butter and sprinkle a little more basil and thyme into the couscous, mixing it all together until the butter melts.

To serve, pile couscous on the plate first and then top with chicken and veggies.

I also served these baked apples with this meal. The recipe says to peel and slice the apples, but I was in a hurry. So I left them unpeeled and just chopped them up. Still delicious! I used sucanat in place of the brown sugar. This was my first time to cook with sucanat, which is unrefined cane sugar. I have tried to eliminate white and brown sugar from my regular baking (I like to bake a lot!). I am eager to use sucanat more and see how it compares, as it is a more natural and healthier sugar option.