Mediterranean Chicken

Tonight I decided to make a recipe from "Fitness" magazine. I don't always like their recipes, as they tend to use lots of low-fat (read: fake) foods or soy, but this one seemed rather reasonable. It was quite delicious, and I look forward to having leftovers tomorrow for lunch! (Mike and Meesh - you will get to enjoy this tomorrow on our "swap" while we have your turkey meatloaf - thanks!)

Mediterranean Chicken

4-6 servings (depending on the size of the thighs and how many you want)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

1 tablespoon olive oil (use cold pressed EVOO)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

8-10 skinless organic chicken thighs, bone in (I could only find skin on, but it keeps in the moisture as you cook it, and you can peel it off before you eat it)

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup organic chicken broth

2 garlic cloves, sliced into thin rounds

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives (I used one jar)

1 lemon, sliced into thin rounds

1 cup whole wheat couscous (I used brown rice)

1/2 pound fresh asparagus

1 tsp lemon zest

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large ovenproof (NOT non-stick) skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

Add chicken to pan, meaty side down. Cook for 5 minutes. Turn and cook for 2 minutes more.

2. Pour out any excess fat. Return pan to burner; stir in broth and wine, scraping up any brown bits. Scatter garlic, thyme and olives on chicken. Lay one lemon round on each piece of chicken.

3. Place skillet in oven. Roast chicken for 17-20 minutes, or until juices run clear.

4. Prepare couscous according to package directions and steam asparagus until crisp-tender. (I roasted mine in the oven with some carrots. I just sprinkled then with salt, pepper, and olive oil and put them on the bottom rack of the oven as the skillet was on the top rack.) Serve chicken over couscous (or rice); place asparagus on the side and sprinkle with lemon zest.

This is Greg's plate...note the 2 chicken thighs.

This recipe is easy to make and pretty inexpensive! It tastes great, too :)

*M*