Jacquiline
We had an epic snow day week in Portland recently.
From a city that sees mostly rain (we’re basically Seattle’s hippy cousin) 12 inches of snow was a big deal! Businesses close, kids don’t go to school and parents with school aged kiddos go a bit crazy. So I’m told…But not us, because when you have a toddler what else is there to do except make snowmen everyday and drink hot chocolate in Monsters Inc. mugs?! It was truly a magical week for my daughter until Mr. Snowman melted. And well…let’s just say that was a rather difficult conversation to have with a 3 year old. Thankfully she got over the fact that Mr. Snowman melted and is looking forward to it snowing again. Just like my daughter, I was pretty giddy about this whole snow week thing too because…
SNOW= CRAZY GOOD NATURAL LIGHTING. (Praise hands, praise hands!) You see friends, I am a very newbie photographer so natural light and I are pretty much bff’s until I master this whole indoor lighting thing. It’s a work in progress for both shooting methods so thank you to everyone who has been so gracious and encouraging as I slowly figure this out. I am so very far from perfect, and that’s okay. Practice makes perfect, right?! So with such crazy good lighting I just had to make and photograph this oh so yummy Red Pepper Couscous with Balsamic Chicken that
I know you will LOVE!
You will not believe how easy this Red Pepper Couscous with Balsamic Chicken is! I would even be so bold as to says it’s, “weeknight friendly”. Which is a coveted statement saying, “quick”! And mama likes quick!
Here’s the quick rundown! The red pepper sauce you will find is pretty much heaven in a blender. It really took so much restraint to not just pour the sauce from the blender right into my drinking glass. Okay, I would never really do that, but seriously friends, THIS SAUCE IS GOOOOOD! And the couscous, well the couscous performs this magical absorption trick with the red pepper sauce which makes the base of this dish oh so flavorful and savory. The use of chicken cutlets (pre-halved chicken breasts) really speeds up the dish. Cause umm…I really don’t have time to wait around for whole chicken breasts to cook though. And once you’ve got your magical red pepper sauce and speedy quick chicken cooked you get to mix some sweet little cherry tomatoes with some hot olive oil for a couple minutes, and voila!! A delicious and fancy looking meal in under an hour!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 large red bell pepper cut in strips
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can fire roasted tomatoes
- 3 tablesoons goat cheese
- 4 chicken cutlets
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- In a small pot bring the couscous and water to a boil. Cover, and turn off the heat.
- Slice the bell pepper into strips and place in a large fry pan with the garlic and olive oil. Cook on medium/high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add in the fire roasted tomatoes, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook an additional 5 minutes.
- Carefully transfer to a blender or food processor and add in the goat cheese. Blend until smooth. Leave in the blender for now.
- In the same pan you cooked the peppers in, add in the butter for the chicken and your chicken cutlets. Cook the chicken on medium/high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
- Turn the heat down to low and stir in the balsamic vinegar coating the chicken.
- Fluff your couscous with a fork and turn the heat back on to low. Add the red pepper sauce in the blender to the couscous and stir until well combined.
- In a small sauce pan heat the olive oil up for the tomatoes on medium/high heat. Add in the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Serve with the hot red pepper couscous, chicken and sauteed tomatoes. Top with fresh basil if desired. Enjoy!