Chicken stuffed with couscous

I am not sure if other people relate to me but I find many chicken recipes boring.  I know it is a leaner meat and healthy to eat but I tend not to cook with it that often. Maybe one day I will master my favorite Thai and Indian dishes (like chicken tikka masala...so good, I want some just thinking about it) but until then chicken is not always my first choice.

I also find it tricky to cook.  When frying or baking chicken the meat tends to dry out and just doesn't stay juicy enough for me. When we were younger, Alyssa and I would often heat up individual portions of stuffed chicken from the freezer: either chicken kiev or chicken cordon bleu. So as I was thinking about some new and exciting way to cook chicken, I decided to try to make stuffed chicken with couscous. I found a recipe online that called for baking the chicken. To prevent the chicken from drying out during this step, I decided to add some liquid to the baking dish. I added some wine that I had already opened, lemon juice, and olive oil, not measuring just by feel. Also, I think that covering the tray with aluminum foil would help to keep the meat soft.

Stuffed Chicken
makes 2 portions

Couscous
1 cup couscous
1 3/4 cups of vegetable broth
1 small white onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup of frozen corn kernels
1/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese
Fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Heat the oil in a small pot and add the couscous. Brown the couscous for about 3 minutes.

2. Add the vegetable broth and cover the pot. Cook over low heat until the couscous is fluffy, for about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat olive oil and add onion, garlic, and corn. Cook for about 5 minutes until the onion gets soft.

4. When everything is cooked, combine the couscous with vegetables, feta cheese, and parsley.

5. Separate 1/2 cup of couscous for stuffing the chicken, reserve the rest for serving on the side.

Chicken
2 chicken breasts
Salt, Pepper, and Paprika to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
White wine

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Cut a slit in the chicken length-wise without puncturing the other side.

3. Stuff the chicken with about 1/4 cup of couscous mixture.

4. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil. Brown the chicken on both sides.

5. Sprinkle each side with salt, pepper, and paprika.

6. Move the chicken to a baking pan and add some wine, lemon juice, and olive oil to the pan.

7. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until fully cooked.

Serve with couscous.

Enjoy

~R