Only a few more days now...

I am stressing.  Seriously stressing about my race on Saturday.  I'm grumpy and irritable on top of that because I just am.  I love being a child care provider, but at times the unpredictability of it can bring out the negative in me.  But I am working hard to stay positive.  At least I had a good run last night and actually for real made dinner and dessert.  Not that I don't usually make dinner but this was a whole-hearted effort on my part to make something that the hubby isn't a fan of into a favorite - which for this meal was couscous.  Guess what?  I did it.  He loved this meal. 

It's a healthy meal too, and didn't take a lot of prep time on my part.  I did make it easier on myself by having roasted chicken cooked and frozen and ready to go once thawed.  I like to roast a chicken a few times a month to have chicken ready to go in the freezer with the added bonus of stock that I freeze separately so it can be used with or without the chicken.  So, after taking that out of the freezer, I assessed what other veggies I had that were complementary to each other and here's what I came up with...

Chicken & Veggie Couscous Bake

• 2 cups of cooked couscous - I used plain but flavored would be okay too


• 1 cup of cooked and shredded chicken


• 4 medium carrots, diced


• 1/2 medium onion, diced


• 1 c shredded zucchini


• 1 c white mushrooms


• 1/2 c shiitake mushrooms


• 1/4 c roasted cherry tomatoes, I had these on hand from some I made a bit ago, but any type of tomato should work, even fresh.


• 1 T minced garlic


• 1 t salt


• 1/2 t cumin


• 1/4 t hot-shot (red and black pepper blend)


• 1 T Kickin' Chicken seasoning blend


• 2 T butter, olive oil would work also

I sautéed the veggies and spices until everything was crisp but cooked, and then I added the chicken and cooked all of it through and let it thicken a bit.  I then layered the chicken veggie mixture with the cooked couscous in individual ramekins and cooked for about 20 minutes at 325.  Just enough to let the flavors settle into each other.

To serve, flip ramekin onto serving dish to retain molding effect.  Not necessary but it looks nice!

He said he thought it lacked heat, but this is coming from the man that a Chinese restaurant we frequented dubbed "dragon mouth" so take his suggestion to add heat lightly.  I thought it was perfect.  I love tasting the veggies and being able to identify each component without too much spice to kill the flavor.

So, then, I went just above and beyond.  I mean, shortbread is awesome just being shortbread but then to make it into Nutella shortbread?  What?  I will confess that I made them because of the hubby's current addiction to Nutella but I have had more than my share of those little gems.  They are just so good, it's like you can't walk by the counter without sneaking one out of the container!

Nutella Shortbread Squares

• 1 c butter, softened


• 1/2 c packed brown sugar


• 1/2 c Nutella


• 1 t vanilla


• 2 c flour


• 1/4 t salt

Start by creaming sugar, butter and Nutella.  Add in vanilla once everything's incorporated well.  Mix flour and salt into butter mixture and blend. At this point you could roll the dough out and cut shapes for a more consistent shape.  Instead of that, I pressed the mixture into a 9 X 13 pan and pricked the tops with a toothpick all over to prevent puffing.  I baked in a preheated 300 oven for about 25 minutes.  Once removed from the oven, I scored the cut lines gently and let it cool.  Once cooled, I cut into squares and enjoyed that first pop of heavenly chocolate hazelnut flavor in my mouth. If I make these again - wait, who am I kidding, when I make these again, I'd like to add some cocoa for depth and maybe some chopped hazelnuts on top for crunch.

Nutella is truly a wonderful thing!