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Mediterranean Chicken Dinner



Have you ever realized you're missing an ingredient after you started making dinner?

I usually take stock of ingredients before I start, but tonight I swore I had BBQ sauce, and I planned to make BBQ Chicken Caesar Wraps.  Well, chicken's on the grill, and I have no BBQ sauce.  Oops...   So, I finished grilling the chicken and the asparagus I had on, and then I went inside to brainstorm.  I found some quinoa, but since it takes about 20-25 minutes, I needed something faster - the husband was on the way home, and the kids were hungry! 

Ah-ha!  Couscous!  It's quick (under 10 minutes), so I threw some water on, and got that going.  I dug in the fridge and found a little bit of feta cheese and some sun-dried tomatoes hiding in the back of the fridge.  I chopped up a handful of the sun-dried tomatoes, and threw those into the couscous with a big clove of garlic I squished in the garlic press.  Then I sliced up the grilled chicken and asparagus and tossed that in.  I ground in some black pepper, and squeezed in a half of a lemon I had sitting on the counter.  I splashed in a tiny bit of red wine vinegar, sprinkled in the feta, and voila!  Time to taste it...

The kids dug it, we liked it, and so I think I'll make it again!  Next time, I'll marinate the chicken, before I grill it, and I think I'll make quinoa instead, but there was nothing wrong with the couscous.  You could add more veggies, too - mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, red onion, etc.  Here's my recipe, but keep in mind, I'm approximating, since I literally just tossed this together:

Mediterranean Chicken Dinner
Serves 4

I would marinate the chicken in this for a few hours before grilling - mix together and marinate in the fridge:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast 1/4 c. EVOO
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1-1/2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 c. uncooked Israeli couscous, prepared as directed
1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 lb. asparagus
EVOO for grilling asparagus
1/2 c. feta cheese, crumbled (I used Athenos Reduced Fat)

Prepare the couscous as directed (I skipped the butter).  Add the sun-dried tomatoes.  Grill chicken and asparagus.  Let chicken rest a few minutes, then slice up the chicken and asparagus.  Stir to combine, then once it's heated through, sprinkle in feta cheese, and serve. 

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