Moroccan Chicken with Couscous

Notes:
Have you ever had the Moroccan Chicken salad from Woolworth? Its a very tasty dish full of flavor...one of Avons favorites. I did some internet research about the flavors that make it "Moroccan" and tried to imitate the dish and to my surprise it was similar to the Woolworth dish. Its a good lunch dish with a salad or even a main meal with roasted veggies. Try it.... you will be surprised at how tasty you can make chicken. Serves 4 light meals or 2 large.

Marinate Ingredients:
1/2 tsp Turmeric (if you don't have the follwoing 3 spices use 1 1/2 tbs curry powder)
1tsp Cumin
1tsp Coriander
Pinch Cinnamon
Pinch Chilly (add more if you want is HOT)
2 tb Olive oil (or just normal oil)2 tbs Tomato Paste
1/2 a lemon or Orange
2 tsp Honey
1 onion
2 tsp crushed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

2 large chicken breasts chopped in large cubes.

Optional:
4 dried apricots chopped
1 red pepper
Fresh corriander to garnish

Couscous
Follow insturctions on package (cook with chicken broth or remaining marrinate)

Directions:

1. Mix the marinate. Add more of the lemon juice and tomato paste if you are trying to stretch the marinate.
2. Add the chicken breast and let it marinate for about 30minutes (or just coat it). The marinating time just allows the chicken to absorbed the flavor but the spices are so rich you can almost skip this step.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan. Remove chicken from the marinate and fry in pan till cooked. Remember it doesn't take long to cook....so don't dry out the chicken.
4. In your couscous pot fry the remaining marinate and the chopped dried apricots (optional). Then proceed with the cous cous instructions. This step makes the cous cous have colour and taste.
5. Once the cous cous is cooked mix it with the cooked chicken and serve. Add the fresh corriander leaves to garnish (optional)
   

Points:

* This dish can be served chilled as a salad or as a main dish.
* To switch it up you can add chopped red pepper or even baby marrow. Just cook it with the chicken once the chicken has browned.
* If you don't have the first 3 ingredients just use 1 1/2 tbs curry powder (those spices are what are in curry powder)
* Cous cous is also a healthy option and something different when you get tired of cooking rice and potatoes.
* This marinate can be used as a baked dish with chicken pieces. Just make sure you stretch the marinate (double the recipe) and use it all in the baked dish. Also ensure that all the chicken pieces are covered with marinate.

Chicken, bacon Casserole

Notes:
This is an affordable and tasty meal that can feed a lot of people. Increasing the amount or mushrooms and reducing the amount of meat is a good tip for making the meal healthier yet still flavorful. I wanted something saucy and Alfredo like. I made it for our Christmas party yesterday and because of the feedback I thought I would post it. The original recipe is from Exclusively Foods but I never stick to a recipe ....so this is the Kanya version.

Ingredients:
300g Pasta (can use any, I used spaghetti coz that was all i had)
Salt, to taste
15ml (3 teaspoons) oil
1 1/2 onion, peeled and very finely chopped
60g shortcut bacon, finely chopped
350g chicken tenderloins, breast or thigh fillets, trimmed of any fat or tendons and cut into small bite-sized pieces (I used 2 large chicken breasts)
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
250g roughly chopped button mushrooms
7 small Baby marrow
60g (1/4 cup) butter
38g (1/4 cup) plain flour
375ml (1 1/2 cups) chicken stock
335ml (1 1/3 cups) milk
40g (1/2 cup, lightly packed) grated tasty cheddar cheese
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Pinch nutmeg (optional)
80g (1/2 cup) chopped tomatoes
1tsp dried oregano

Topping
60g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) grated mozzarella cheese
60g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) grated tasty cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water according to package directions or until just tender. You can boil it in chicken stock aswell...adds flavor to the pasta. Drain pasta and set aside. Rinse saucepan and set aside until required for sauce.
2. Heat one teaspoon of the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned (about seven minutes). Add the baby marrow and fry for 2 minutes. Transfer onion and bacon mixture to a small bowl.
3. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining two teaspoons of oil to the pan and add chicken. Fry, stirring occasionally, until chicken is lightly browned and cooked through (about six minutes).
4. Add garlic and mushroom to the pan, stir to combine, and then remove pan from the heat and set aside.
5. Preheat oven to 230 degrees Celsius (210 degrees Celsius fan-forced).
   
6. In the saucepan used to boil the pasta, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the flour and stir constantly. Once the mixture bubbles, continue cooking and stirring for about 40 seconds.
7. Then add the chicken stock and milk. Increase heat to medium-high. Don't worry about any lumps in the mixture, they should disappear while stirring (if not, they can be strained out once you have finished cooking the sauce). Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. At this point, if you tilt the saucepan and use the spoon to push some of the sauce aside, you should be able to see the sauce bubbling on the base of the saucepan. Remove from heat and add 40g tasty cheese, pinch of nutmeg (optional) salt and pepper to the saucepan.
8. Stir to combine. Add bacon and onion mixture, chicken mixture, and pasta to the sauce.
   
9. Pour mixture into a 2.25 litre (9 cup) capacity ovenproof dish.
10. Place the chopped tomatoes on top of the dish. Sprinkle salt and oregano then remaining cheese.
11. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes, until hot in the centre and golden brown.
12. Allow to stand for five minutes before serving. Casserole
    

Notes:

• You can use just plain cheddar cheese.
• The tomatoes add color to the dish
  
• I added baby marrow as a sneaky way of getting the guys to eat their vegetables, because I didn't have a actual veggie dish prepared.
  
• It is a meal that has all your necessary food groups. If anything I would add a salad to complement it. But hey if you ain't got time just go with the meal as it is.
  

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Chocolate Bannana Muffins

Notes:
I was looking for something quick and easy to prepare for dessert yesterday and came along this Double chocolate Banana Muffins. But I did a Kanya remix to the recipe and it turned out pretty tasty here is the remix version. (less sugar and more flavor). Its a good way to use up over ripe bananas (I was getting tired of banana bread).

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (canola oil)
  
• 1 egg
• 4 tbs yogurt (any flavor)
• Milk to moisten (i used about 1/2 a cup)
  
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a small bowl, combine bananas, oil, yogurt and egg; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Add milk till you get a more moistened mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done. Yield: about 1 dozen.

Feedback:

• To change the muffin into a dessert style just cut the muffins in half and add vanilla ice-cream.
  
• Every time my bananas are ripe I just freeze them with the peels off and use them up for recipes like this.
  
• Apparently these can be frozen and reheat nicely. I haven't tried it yet. But think it would be really good for those days when you have random guests over and also for quick bite when heading out the door.