Curried Chicken with Couscous

Mmmm...I decided it was time to spice things up...with Asian cooking!! And I was in the mood for some coconut milk-based curry. This recipe is one I found in Pampered Chef's 29 Minutes to Cooking (volume 1). And it turned out D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!!! Although, in hindsight....I used way too large of an onion. But at least it was one of the sweet varieties, so I was able to eat them (I don't enjoy onions usually). I also adored the golden raisins. I've never cooked with raisins, and you don't run into that many dishes that use them. These add a sweet flavor to the spiced curry-ness!!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
~Chicken & Curry~
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
4 medium carrots
1 medium onion
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
~Couscous~
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/3 cups uncooked plain couscous
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp snipped fresh cilantro (plus extra from garnish - optional)

Chicken
Step 1: Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces. Lightly spray skillet with vegetable oil (or some non-stick oil spray). Heat skillet over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until hot.
Step 2: As skillet heats, combine salt and black pepper in Prep Bowl (PC). Season chicken with half of the black pepper mixture.
Step 3: Cook the chicken 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn chicken over and cook another 2-3 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove from skillet; set aside.
Step 4: (as chicken cooks) Peel carrots [which I forgot to do...I was overzealous in my haste to cut the carrots]; cut in half lengthwise, then thinly slice on a bias.
Step 5: Cut onion in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/2 inch wedges. [I actually cut the onion prior to cooking the chicken, as part of the prep work...As I should have done with the carrots as they took me longer to cut than it took the chicken to cook]
Step 6: Add oil to skillet. Saute carrots and onion 5 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring occassionally.
Step 7: Stir curry powder, raisins, coconut milk, and remaining black pepper mix into skillet. [If you think it looks like you need more sauce, fill the coconut milk can with a little water and add to the skillet]
Step 8: Add chicken; simmer 3-5 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken.

Couscous
Step 1: Pour broth into Rice Cooker Plus (PC); cover and microwave on High 3 minutes or until boiling. [I don't have that, so I used my Classic Batter Bowl (PC); it worked fine]
Step 2: Stir couscous and butter into broth. Cover; let stand 5 minutes.
Step 3: As couscous stands, snip cilantro using Kitchen Shears (PC). Fluff couscous with a fork; stir in cilantro.

Claimed time: 29 minutes
Total time: 48 minutes
(including prep)

Not bad!! Yes, if you wanted, you could make a vegetable dish, or add something green to the curry to make it an all-in-one meal. This was good enough for me! And I have plenty of leftovers to take to work this week!

Ingredients

Step 1

Step 5

 

Step 6

Steps 7 & 8

Couscous