Blog Every Day in July: Day 10, Sun-dried Tomato, Feta, and Chicken Couscous Salad

Today I made one of my favorite couscous recipes for lunch.

I brought it to work in a lil tupperware. So cute!

I put this recipe together once during last fall semester, when I had bought some feta and sun-dried tomatoes without planning something to make with them.  I just really like feta cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.  I threw them together with some couscous, and then decided to add the chicken in because I was tired of eating plain chicken breast, and voila!  A delicious couscous salad.

Here is a neat and tidy collage of all the main ingredients in this salad.  There is nothing neat and tidy about my kitchen setup when I cook.  Ooops.  I used the couscous that said Whole Grain on the box because it makes me feel healthy.  The sun dried tomatoes were the only jar that I could find in my entire grocery store, which was RIDICULOUS, and the feta cheese I bought was already in crumbles because cutting a big block of feta is TOO MUCH DRAMA.  I used two chicken tenders in stead of one chicken breast, because it's what was in my freezer.

The first thing I did was cook the chicken.  I just used a nonstick pan with some cooking spray, because I didn't want it to be too greasy.  I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper while it was cooking, but then after it was mostly cooked through I threw in a splash of balsamic vinegar (for a mediterranean flavor) and let the chicken finish cooking while that reduced.  The balsamic vinegar doesn't impact the taste of this salad too heavily, so if you skipped it you probably wouldn't miss it.

It's all fluffed up with fork.  Mmmmm.

While the chicken cooled, I made the couscous according to the directions on the box.  Riveting stuff, I know.  I made two servings worth of couscous, so I would have enough for lunch today and tomorrow, but you could just make this for one day and halve all the rest of the ingredients.

Tomatoes, feta, chicken, oh my!

While the couscous was cooking, I went ahead and chopped up all the other ingredients of the salad.  I also chopped up the feta a bit more just to get some consistent pieces.  After that I threw it all in a bowl (which was not big enough)...

and I sprinkled in some dried basil!  I would have loved to use some fresh basil (which we did not have), or maybe throw in some oregano, but all I could reach in the spice cabinet was the basil.  I ain't no Barefoot Contessa, but this stuff will do just fine.  Mix it all together....

And there you have it!  A nice couscous salad.    I've never eaten this particular dish cold, so I had to try it.

Hmmm...not enough evidence tasted to form a conclusion...

Yup.  It's good cold.

I think if I was better prepared, I would throw in some fresh herbs or make a simple dressing.  But this is delicious as is!  When eaten warm, the feta starts to soften ever so slightly and the heat offsets the tanginess of the tomatoes.  When eaten cold, all the flavors have time to get together and become best friends.  SO GOOD.  Enjoy!

Recipe is after the jump.

Sun-Dried Tomato, Feta, and Chicken Couscous Salad

Ingredients:

-2 servings of couscous, prepared

-1 small chicken breast

-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

-3 pieces of sun-dried tomatoes

-1/2 cup of chopped or crumbled feta cheese

-Seasonings to taste.  Suggestions: salt, pepper, fresh or dried basil and oregano.

Directions:

1.) Cook the chicken breast on medium high heat, and just before the chicken cooks all the way through add the balsamic vinegar.  Finish cooking the chicken as the vinegar reduces.  Set aside to cool.

2.) Dice the sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces.

3.) Chop the feta crumbles into uniform sized pieces if necessary.

4.) Dice the chicken into small pieces.

5.) Put all of the ingredients in a bowl together, and toss until combined.  Add seasonings to taste.

Enjoy!