Couscous, Peppers, Chicken, and Gravy? OH MY! (Lauren)

Look! I'm writing posts about food! Soooo, anyone who likes food (which should be everyone) should read this post. It might note be everyone's cup of tea but, it's an easy recipe to modify and make into a delicious dish of your own!

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures, I wasn't planning on sharing this recipe because I wasn't planning on it turning out to be anything exciting or particularly good (I'm glad I was wrong!). If I make it again (or a variation of it) I'll be sure to better record my process.

The ingredients I used were:

• 3 green bell peppers
• 6 chicken breasts (I just wanted to get rid of them all)
• 1 box (~200g) whole grain couscous (cooked in water and butter)
• Balsamic vinegar
• Canola oil
• Various spices (garlic salt, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, parsley flakes, rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme).
• Whole wheat flour
• Sour cream

Firstly, I prepared the chicken and it's "marinade". I cut the chicken into 3/4 to 1/2" chunks and put them into a large bowl. I put balsamic vinegar and oil (enough to cover half to three quarters of the sliced chicken) into the bowl and added as many of the spices as I felt fit. If you are afraid of how the marinade will taste, make the marinade first and taste it before pouring it over the chicken. I mixed the chicken and 'marinade' until all pieces were covered; then I moved on.
Next, I prepared the bell peppers (on a different, clean cutting board), slicing them in half lengthways and throwing the tops, seeds and foamy inside bits into our compost bin. I also prepared the water for my couscous, not yet turning on the heat because couscous cooks quickly. **I turned on the oven to preheat it for my halves as soon as they were done being cut. I turned the oven on at about 300 degrees (you can cook them however you'd like. Grilling is delicious!) and I put the peppers in as soon as it was ready. Put them directly on the oven rack with a pan underneath to catch any drips and cooked until soft. I did flip them once.**
I mixed the chicken again just to make sure it was coated (by now the cut pieces were the color of mushrooms or cooked pork due to the balsamic vinegar soaking into them) and prepared a pan for it. I ended up pouring the chicken AND the marinade into the skillet-like pan (a pot might work better due to the amount of liquid I had) and I cooked it until the largest pieces of chicken were cooked all the way through (I cut them open and tried them, they were delicious).
I removed the chicken from the pan but left the marinade, now was a time for an experiment. **I should note here that I turned on the stove to heat my couscous water and cooked it according to the directions on the box** Rather than throwing out the marinade and wasting it, I wanted to try something new. I knew the basics of making a gravy so, I decided to try it. I added how much flour I thought was appropriate (1-2 tablespoons) and began to whisk the mixture. Once the mixture was at the right consistency, I added some more pepper and some sour cream to cut the acidity of the balsamic vinegar. I continued whisking until mixed and cooked to the way I wanted it, tasting periodically.
It was about this time that all of the pieces were finishing up. I removed the peppers from the oven, turned off all of the heat on the stove, and started assembling plates. You can assemble them however you'd like but I put a bell pepper down, filled it with couscous, added chicken on top then drizzled some gravy to top it off.

It was a delicious meal and I'm glad that my experiment pulled through. I would assume you can do this with most 'marinades' it doesn't have to be balsamic vinegar and oil. So, get creative! Have fun with it! cooking should be something that makes you happy. I encourage you to modify this meal, or try it as I did.

So, go into your kitchen and get cooking!
-Lauren