Dinner tonight, sundried tomato couscous with feta

Tonight's dinner is a delectable couscous dish. It has sundried tomatoes, feta, couscous,  and for some heat red hot pepper flakes.
Making this dish made me realize there are a lot of people scared of couscous.  They are afraid to use it and don't know how to cook with it. Many individuals think it is a grain, it is not it is a mini pasta.
This dish is so simple and easy to make. It for my family is a comfort food.
Ingredients:
Sundried tomatoes from a jar.
3 cloves of garlic
1/8 tsp of red hot pepper flakes
2/3 cup of couscous
1 cup of chicken stock
2 tablespoons of olive oil. I used the oil from the tomatoes.
Salt
lemon jui ce 1-2 tsp
Pinot grigio 1/4 cup

I like to prep first. So I used half a jar of sundried tomatoes.  And cut them up. Then I minced the 3 garlic cloves. And set it aside.
I got out a small pot and added the chicken stock and oil. Added a pinch of salt and brought to a boil. When it is boiling stir in couscous and cover. Remove it from heat. It has to stand for 7 mins.
Then in a small sauce pot. Add some of the oil from the tomatoes.  On med high heat cook the tomatoes and pepper flakes. Until heated through and then add the garlic. Stir in 1-2 tablespoons of lemon and then add the wine.Reduce heat amd bring to a simmer. You want it to be reduced. Now if you had them you could add Kalamata olives.
Take the couscous and stir it really quick. After that add the tomato sauce and stir in the feta cheese. Serve.
This makes dinner or lunch for two. This dish is good cold too.

Broke the dinner doldrums

20 minute Chicken Marsala.Yummy!

Have you ever stood in front of the fridge; door wide open and staring at the abyss within. From the fridge  you wander to the pantry and begin the stare down with the pasta and beans.
You haven't picked anything out and have thus entered the dinner doldrums.
I have been in the dinner doldrums for quite some times and fellow bloggers said check out Pinterest. Which I do, but rarely do I use the recipes.
Tonight I broke the cycle and made chicken Marsala. Holy Hera, it was amazing! Did I get it from Pinterest?
My mother and I got a Martha Stewart DVD from our local library and watched her make quick cook chicken Marsala. I remembered the recipe and then made it for my hubby and me.
Recipe:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup of flour
Salt
Pepper
1 garlic clove
2 cups of Marsala wine. I used Smithfield. It can be found where the desert wines are. 

 3 table spoons of lemon juice.
4 table spoons of butter unsalted or salted.
2-4 chicken breasts boneless
Parsley for garnish
Olive oil 2 table spoons.
1 package of white mushrooms.

Step 1.
Butterfly the chicken in thick breasts. In a shallow dish mix flour, salt, and pepper. Then dredge the chicken in flour. Add oil to a hot pan and cook chicken for 3 mins on each side or chicken is golden brown. While the chicken cooks I chopped mushrooms and minced the garlic. Place the chicken aside or if needs to cook more put into oven.

Step 2.
Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to the pan you cooked the chicken in. Then add the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes. The liquid should be reduced. Remove from heat and add the Marsala wine. Then put back on the heat and stir, getting those brown bits mixed in. It should be like deglazing the pan. When it is simmering again, add the last 2 tablespoons of butter, garlic, and the lemon juice. Bring back up to a simmer. It should cook for 2-3 minutes. I did longer and the sauce thickened a bit more. It is a runny sauce. 

Step 3.

Take chicken and place on a serving platter, pour the Marsala over the chicken and top with parsley.  I served it with Idaho instant potatoes. Gasp! I know it was not fresh, but it was as good as it could get. I did not have the time. So, I doctored the classic buttery potatoes with parsley and extra butter. Sandra Lee would be proud of that. Serve HOT!

Making this dish made me come out of that dinner dump and back into the world of what could be. Who said you have to go to a swanky restaurant to get a good dinner like this? For 4 servings the total cost of this dinner was $20. At a restaurant it is what, $12-25 per person? Wow,big difference. This meal took 20 minutes to make and well worth it. So easy to do, I love it. Tomorrow? Well, dinner will be stuffed peppers! Yes, I will post that.