Yum Yum Couscous and Chicken

This is the meal that we had last night, I had a chicken that needed to be cooked, so I just roasted that off in the oven but when I went to my vegetable rack thinking I would have enough fresh vegetables for the roast dinner, it was nearly bare (its been a hard week) so I had to think of something different that is not only healthy and nutritious but that is ‘nice’ so that my children and husband will enjoy it.
Having a hunt around the pantry umming and ahhring as the chicken cooked this is the final result.
This meal took a fair time for me to cook as I was cooking the chicken from fresh however it would be a good quick recipe for left over chicken.

Yum Yum Couscous and Chicken

Roast Chicken (I used about 1½ breasts for the 4 of us but it depends on how much meat you like.)
200g Couscous
600ml Vegetable stock
1 Leek
1 small yellow courgette
1 Carrot
½ red pepper
½ yellow pepper
1 tin bean sprouts
3 dried apricots
Small handful sultanas
1 tsp Smoked paprika
½ tsp Ground cumin
1 tsp Ground cinnamon

I chopped up the leek, peppers, carrot, courgette and apricots and put them in a pan. I added the sultana’s, paprika, cumin and cinnamon.
I mixed in about 200ml of vegetable stock and simmered for about 10mins until the carrots were just starting to soften.
I covered 200g of couscous with 400ml of boiling stock and leave for approx 5 mins until all the stock is absorbed and then fluff up with a fork
I chopped up the chicken into bite size pieces.
Once the couscous was ready I drained the vegetable mix but reserved the sauce, I mixed the vegetables and couscous together and put a good helping in a bowl and sprinkled the chopped up chicken on the top. I then drizzled a small amount of the sauce over the chicken
The verdict: The Husband = lovely we can have that again!
My Boy = ‘Nice!’
My Girl = Yum Yum Couscous (this was said whilst the tummy was rubbed and the lips were licked!!!)

Pantry Essentials

I have a list as long as my arm of the ingredients that I like to keep a stock of in my pantry and obviously the more you have the greater the choice when it comes to rustling up something after a long day at work, however I am aware of how lucky I am in not only having a pantry but having one the size I do.

So thinking of space allowances I have tried to think of the absolute essentials to a very basic pantry of very limited space.

Salt, pepper, mixed dried herbs, curry powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, bay leaves, tomato puree, cornflour, tinned tomatoes, tinned beans, pasta, rice, tinned pineapple, sultanas, mixed spice flour, sugar, cocoa powder,eggs

It is essential to have some vegetables in your pantry the ones I couldn't be without are, onions, carrots, swede, mushrooms, peppers (bell), celery, potatoes.

In the fridge you should have butter, cheese and milk.

With these things you can rustle up a variety of main course meals from a range of cultures and a host of sweet puddings, cakes, biscuits.

Obviously these are just the very basics, it would be better to have fresh herbs, individual spices that you can mix yourself and a greater range of vegetables etc but with limited space or a tight budget these few things are a great start.

Caroline