Moroccan Stewed Chicken

Yesterday is already a blur! I barely remember the day going by let alone my food. I definitely remembering that I forgot to take pictures of breakfast, a Sunbest raisin & currant biscuit, my late morning snack, a cup of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest, and lunch, boring chicken sandwich, pretzels and an orange (AGAIN!). However, I do remember snacking on a couple pieces of chocolate throughout the day, courtesy of a colleague that traveled to Germany over our holiday break. Yum!

Dinner was recipe #3: Moroccan Stewed Chicken courtesy of Women's Health.
Picture of the colorful meal in progress:


The recipe for the stew also contained a recipe for a side, which is the rice you see in the below picture.


Lauren's review: The flavor and kick of the broth was tasty. It would have made a great vegetarian stew. The chickpeas were delicious. Did not enjoy the chicken thighs.
Matt's review: Not a fan of chicken thighs, cilantro or too much spice. Not a keeper.
Final decision: Trash.

Matt and I enjoyed a bottle of Gnarly Head wine while we watched a couple episodes of Dexter last night. At least until I got too much anxiety watching (the show sometimes gives me the creeps) and I decided it was bed time. You'll notice that the price of our wine went down over the week! Back to reality I guess?!

This morning I started with breakfast in the office. Banana oats with a couple of raisins and the smallest bit of honey. It was perfect! *Kudos to me for remembering to take photos of breakfast and lunch today!*


Matt and I ran out of bread and deli meat yesterday so I had to run to the cafeteria for lunch. I grabbed a soda water, a slice of cheese pizza and a HUGE salad containing:
spinach
kidney beans
chickpeas
olives
feta cheese
tuna
red pepper
tomato
carrots
sunflower seeds
balsamic vinegar


It was a lot of food but it was good and filling. Today will be my first day back in the gym since we have returned from the Bahamas. I've been trying to give my body a chance to recover from my cough and cold. I'm 95% better and it's as good as I can let it get. My rib still hurts from coughing so I think I'm only going to try to do a lower body strength training session. It's amazing how much my gym time means to me. I've realized, over the last couple of weeks, that the gym keeps me sane by reducing my stress.

Enjoy the rest of the day!

Moroccan Stewed Chicken

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 large zucchini, cut into cubes
1 can (16 oz.) garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
1/2 T olive oil
1 c chicken stock or water
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground cinnamon

Place oil in a large saute pan or wide pot over medium-high heat.
Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook in pan until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add zucchini and continue cooking, stirring often.
When zucchini pieces have browned lightly, add garbanzo beans, tomatoes, chicken stock, cayenne, cumin, and cinnamon. Turn heat to low and simmer until chicken is tender and cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper; garnish with chopped cilantro.

ON THE SIDE: Cook 1/2c couscous per package instructions and mix with 2 T golden raisins, 2 T toasted pine nuts and 1/4 c chopped cilantro.

*I used brown rice instead of couscous and almond slivers instead of pine nuts. It was good but too much cilantro. Over powered all other flavors. Also needed a little salt and pepper.