Chicken with Goat Cheese and Spanish Couscous

I would be lying if I told you that Chicken is my favorite meat. It's definitely not. In fact, it can get pretty boring. But, they had some nice-looking organic chicken breasts on sale at Kroger and I figured I could come up with something tasty to make with them. So, I looked through Ina Garten's (she's pretty amazing) "Barefoot Contessa at Home" cookbook and she had a great recipe for Chicken stuffed with goat cheese that I decided to make. I made a few minor adjustments, but here it is:

Chicken with Goat Cheese and Basil

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 heaping Tbsp. of goat cheese

6 fresh basil leaves

Extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Finely chop three of the basil leaves and mix it with the goat cheese in a small bowl with a fork. Then add some salt and pepper. Put a Tbsp. of the goat cheese mixture into each of the three basil leaves. Put the chicken breasts on a cutting board so that the tenderloin is facing up. Take the basil leaves with goat cheese inside and stuff each little basil "package" underneath the tenderloin on each breast. Next, rub each breast with extra virgin olive oil. If you have "Silpat" (a nonstick surface for cooking on), you can use that, but if not, put parchment paper down on a sheet pan. Then place the chicken breasts on the sheet pan and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Put them in the oven and allow to bake for 35 minutes, basting them with olive oil (or spray with olive oil cooking spray) frequently.

After the 35 minutes, check that the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breasts is at 165 degrees F. Once it is, turn off the oven and turn the broiler on high. Watch the chicken closely as it will brown very quickly! Once the breasts are golden brown, take them out and allow them to cool.

While the chicken is cooking, you can make the couscous (it's so nice, they named it twice!):

Spanish Couscous

1 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup chopped onion or shallots

3 cups chicken stock or broth

1.5 cups couscous

1 ear, grilled corn, off the cob

10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup frozen, chopped spinach

1.5 tsp. chili powder

Melt the butter in a large pot and add the olive oil once it's melted. Add the onions/shallots and saute them over medium-low heat for about three minutes - until they become translucent. Next, add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, stir in the couscous, add the frozen spinach, cover the pan, and set aside for about 10 minutes. The couscous will soak up all that yummy liquid and the steam will cook the spinach.

In a smaller pan, saute the corn and tomatoes with a little olive oil and some chili powder. After the couscous has soaked up the liquid, add the corn and tomatoes and stir until mixed well.

Now that your chicken and couscous are perfection, plate, eat, and enjoy!

Here's what the inside looks like with the melty goat cheese and flavorful basil leaf:

Hope you like it! Happy eating and buon appetito!

~ Mari