We were making dinner the other night when my son was looking for something quick because he was heading to the movies. Knowing that dinner wasn't going to be ready for another hour, I looked in the pantry and found some CousCous Grande and then headed to the refrigerator. There was a container of chicken left from Giada's Garlic and Citrus Chicken (which I'll blog about this weekend); I should probably do something with that before we throw it out.
I grabbed some carrots, celery, a shallot, garlic and presto...chicken soup.
But, I was thinking, whenever we make CousCous Grande, I make it with craisins. What if I put them in the soup? So, I chopped a quarter cup of craisins and put them into the soup. For all of you who are making faces, if you like cranberry sauce on your chicken or turkey, I bet you'll like craisins in your chicken soup. Look at the recipe for Danielle's Chicken Salad, we mixed chicken with craisins.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped,
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
2 cups of cooked chicken, chopped
2 cups of CousCous Grande (Marrakesh Express)
6 cups of chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon of thyme leaves
1/4 cup of craisins (chopped)
Preparation:
Heat a large sauce pan on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, add the garlic, carrots, celery and shallot. Cook about 5 minutes until the vegetables slightly softened. Add the chicken and couscous. Cook for 2-4 minutes until the couscous is slightly browned. Add 4 1/2 cups of the chicken broth, thyme and chopped craisins. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer until all the broth has been absorbed and the pasta is soft to the bite.
Remove from heat, place couscous mixture in a bowl and pour 1/3 cup of chicken broth on top. This can be served as a one dish pasta meal or soup. I took the mixture for lunch the following day, without the broth.
So, if you like what you see, try it, if not, send me your favorite chicken recipe and I'll feature yours!
Now, enjoy your chicken soup!
