Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach and Couscous

I love one-dish meals.  Protein, whole grain, and vegetables in one meal?  Sign me up.  Well-rounded meal on the table in 20 minutes?  Definitely.

This dish didn't sound overly exciting to me, but I figured I'd try it.  Let's face it--while I like veggies, sometimes there isn't much time to get dinner on the table, and side dishes fall by the wayside.  The opportunity to make a balanced meal in a short amount of time is definitely appealing--I mean, you get 8 grams of fiber in this dish--that's 33% of what you need in a day.  Bonus!

The recipe is an easy one:

Prep ingredients

Cook chicken

Cook spinach

**Note: I would skip this step in the future.  As previously mentioned, I prefer raw spinach to cooked spinach--but thought I'd follow the recipe for the first time.

Prepare sauce

While the sauce was simmering, I quickly cooked my couscous.

Start to Finish: 20 minutes
Pros:
*quick and easy--virtually no prep
*one dish meal--bonus!
*very flavorful
*inexpensive ingredients
*easy to find ingredients
*uses pantry staples--should be able to whip this meal up at the last minute, without a trip to the store
*reheats beautifully--I liked it better the next day, but that could have been because I knew it was good and wasn't nervous about eating it!

Cons:
*none really--it isn't the most exciting of dinners, but it's a great, easy meal for those nights when you just need to get something on the table!

Will I make this again?  Sure.  It wasn't a "wow" meal, but it gets the job done!


Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach and Couscous
Ellie Krieger, The Food You Crave

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
• 8 ounces baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup low-sodium canned chopped tomatoes with juice
• 2 cups whole wheat couscous, cooked

Directions

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through and juices run clear. Remove the chicken and set aside. To the same pan, add the spinach and cook just until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium and add the balsamic vinegar and chicken broth to the pan and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer and cook 3 to 5 minutes.

Place the couscous in a serving bowl. Top with the spinach, chicken and balsamic-tomato sauce.

Nutrition Facts
Nutritional Analysis per serving
Calories: 353
Total Fat: 6 g
Protein: 34 g
Carbohydrates: 42 g
Fiber: 8 g