Chicken Tajine!

Chicken Tajine!

Made another meal for dinner tonight, with success. Though I was a bit worried cause it was a couscous dish, instead of a rice dish, I didn't know, I didn't saw it on the package. I never made couscous before, eek! Couscous is a coarsely ground semolina pasta that is a dietary staple in North African countries. It is also widely used in Middle Eastern countries and has become popular in American dishes. It is made of semolina, flour, salt, and water. Similar to rice in shape, color, and texture, it is used in many dishes as rice would be. A grain of couscous is similar in size to a grain of sugar. Thank you Wisegeek.com.

Me and cooking is a slow process, lol. Specially if I have to cook and look from a package where the  description is written on. Sometimes I drop things or I spill a few food items, plus I have to read the description over and over and step by step. But the result is mostly a succes, I learn from it aswell, cause sometimes I have to do things what I normally never do. For example today I had to marinate the sliced chicken breast, that went well and it made the chicken taste so much better. Aswell I need a zucchini, I had them before with Saf's family, alot actually. I never bought one here in Holland, so now I did. Excitement!

Lately I have been buying these cooking packages alot, only in the weekends though, Sunday's are the best for slow cooking. With the cooking packages I mean these ones.... 

The Knorr cooking packages, there are spices and other items of food in it, aswell is says on the package what you have to add more to get the complete dish done.

So I started... 

Inside the package were a marinate mix, a sauce powder mix, and ofcource the couscous with raisins. I had to add one chicken breast, one zucchini, one onion, and a winter carrot, this carrot is bigger then a normal carrot. But I couldn't find any winter carrot in any store, prolly cause it's a winter meal, I don't know and oh well. 

Step 1) Cut the chicken into cubes. Mix in a large bowl the little bag of 'marinade' with two tablespoons oil and add the chicken to it. Stir well and  let it marinate for ten minutes. Chop the onion and zucchini into pieces.

Step 2)  Heat a frying pan or wok without oil and fry the marinated chicken cubes until they are golden brown. Then add the choppedonion and zucchini and cook another four  or five minutes.
 

Step 3)  Add f the bag bag of sauce in the pan  and then 175 ml of water. Stir it all well until it slowly cooks. Then place the lid on the pan and cook over low heat for ten minutes to simmer. 

Step 4) Place in a pan 300 ml water and boil it. After the boiling remove the pan from the heat and add the contents of the bag "couscous with raisins' and stir well. Put the lid on the pan and let the couscous stand for five minutes, until all the water is absorbed.
After that serve the sauce over the couscous. Bon appetite! 

Results of one hour of cooking...

Starting with a zucchini, here it goes, LOL! 

While cooking it can happen that you get a bit bored...

Cooking the marinate chicken, the onion and the zucchini, I didn't had olive oil so I used two spoons of melted baking butter. Olive oil would have been better. 

Added the sauce with 175 ml water, sigh, how much is 175 ml water? I thought, even though I had a measure cup, I still didn't know. I had to guess, and I guessed good. 

The couscous, what a relief, I had already rice standing ready if I would mess up the couscous. But I did well. I had to add 300 ml water, and again I guessed good, lol. 

Tadaa, surprising myself that I succeed, and it smelled and tasted so good. There you have it Chicken Tajine!  

This Sunday was slowly, I was slowly aswell and felt tired. I needed three naps to overcome this day, I felt much better afterwards. The last week and the last two days off I was a bit to busy I guess, blame the good weather. It's the first day of Pentecost today, tomorrow will be the second. Usually on such days the first day there's not much to do, people rest or spend time with there families. On the second day there is much more to do, people go out to festivals or markets or parks. 

I'm sure the highway will be packed with cars tomorrow, all heading to the beach or lakes. Such a good weather lately, it looks like Summer, lol. Nearly 30 degrees the last 5 days. I don't know yet what I'm gonna do tomorrow, visiting my Dad or go out with a few ol' Humanitas residents. I don't mind either, I sure had a few good days.