Couscous with Chicken, Chevre, and Cranberries

I feel like dinner has been a struggle lately. Can anyone else identify with that? When I get home from work, I'm so hungry that all I want to do is shovel down a bowl of cereal for my evening meal. (And I'm talking Lucky Charms or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I'm not messing with the healthy stuff.) I can't imagine putting forth the effort to make hot dinner; it would be at least as hard as climbing Mt. Everest. Maybe harder.

When I can think of something to make that's fast--something that involves leftovers or cooks at warp speed--I'm sold. And if it can be eaten all together in a bowl (as if it was cereal), all the better.

P.S. Today's recipe made me chuckle to myself: Four words that start with "C" in one recipe. I'm so clever.

Couscous with Chicken, Chevre, and Cranberries
Serves: 4

1.5 cups low-sodium chicken broth (Water will get the job done, too.)
1 7.6-ounce package couscous*
2.5 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1.5 cups cooked, diced chicken
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2/3 cup dried cranberries
3 ounces crumbled chevre (a.k.a. goat cheese...but that didn't start with a "c")
Salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Stir in couscous, cover, and remove from heat. Allow couscous to sit, covered, for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Stir lemon juice, olive oil, chicken, almonds, and dried cranberries into couscous. Gently fold in crumbled goat cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*I usually have a 7.6-ounce box of couscous on hand. If you buy your couscous in bulk (which is probably the smarter and thriftier way to do things), 7.6 ounces is about 1 1/3 cups of uncooked couscous.

Ladybugs on a Log

It's a Wednesday snack attack!

Who wants boring old Ants on a Log when you can have Ladybugs on a Log? I know my answer.

Ladybugs on a Log
Serves: 2

8 celery sticks
2-3 tablespoons peanut butter
Handful of dried cranberries

Evenly divide peanut butter between celery sticks. Place 3-4 dried cranberries (ladybugs) on top of the peanut butter on each celery stick.

Smile because you're an adult, and you're still eating Ladybugs on a Log!

A Well-Stocked Pantry

As usual, I watched a bunch of shows on The Food Network this weekend. I can't help it; it's good TV. Plus I have no guilt about watching cooking shows because I think of them as educational. How do you think I learned to try stuff in the kitchen?

One theme that kept popping up show after show (after show...) was cooking from your pantry. I am a huge fan of pantry cooking for several reasons: 1.) It allows me to be lazy. It's January in Wisconsin, and it's COLD. Sometimes I just can't be bothered to leave the house. 2.) It forces me to be thrifty. If I use up the ingredients I have on hand before I head back to the store, less food goes to waste. 3.) It encourages creativity. Some of my all-time favorite meals have been inventions of desperation. You never know when you're going to come up with something great!

For today's post, I'm jumping on the pantry bandwagon. Below I've listed my pantry staples and a few recipes to go along with them.

Canned Beans:
Protein-packed and simple, canned beans are a regular dinner hero at our house. Try Quinoa with Corn and Black Beans, Black Bean and Cheese Chimichangas, or Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos.

Frozen Pizza: 
Do I really need to explain this one any further?

Cheese: 
The husband and I always buy a giant chunk of cheddar when we go to Costco. It keeps well in the fridge as long as I keep it tightly wrapped. I shred cheddar for Mom's Cheesy Potatoes and slice it for Ham and Cheese Toasties. Then there's goat cheese. Stir crumbles into Penne with Tomatoes and Goat Cheese or use it for a super easy appetizer, Pesto Goat Cheese Spread.

Dried Cranberries:
I have sung the praises of dried cranberries many times. I eat them by the handful as a sweet and tangy treat, stir them into Creamy Oatmeal for a chewy burst of flavor, and add them to salads for beautiful color and flavor. And have you ever combined dried cranberries and quinoa? You've gotta try Warm Quinoa Salad with Roasted Squash, Cranberries, and Pecans.

Frozen Peas:
In junior high school, my BFF and I used to snack on peas straight from the freezer. Not only is this pantry staple perfect for pre-teen grazing, they add color and nutrients to just about any meal. Stir them into pasta, tuna salad, soup, or Shepherd's Pie.

Tortillas: 
I always keep flour or corn tortillas in my freezer. They are the perfect start to so many meals: Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas, Baked Chicken Chimichangas, Lazy Beef Enchiladas, or Black Bean and Cheese Quesadillas.

Canned Tuna: 
This pantry staple isn't just for tuna salad sandwiches in your lunch sack. Add drained and flaked tuna to pasta like I do in Balsamic Tuna Salad. Or go old-school and try re-vamped Tuna Noodle Casserole.

Even Easier Herbed Quinoa

Here in Milwaukee, it's that rainy, chilly weather that we comes with autumn, and the cold mornings are forcing me to stay in bed far too long. Seriously. I hit the snooze button for an hour yesterday. And today, after an extra 30 minutes of beauty sleep, the poor husband started muttering, "Are you waking up yet?" every time my alarm wooshed.

And, yes, my alarm wooshes. It's a "nature" alarm clock with three calming sounds to wake to. Mind you, I purchased this alarm clock for about $10, so the sounds aren't as natural as you'd think. Although advertised as babbling brook, thunderstorm, and ocean, it's more like flushing toilet, burglar crashing around the kitchen, and shovel scraping against the pavement. I go with the "wooshing" ocean sound.

Anyway, back to the crummy weather. With the mercury dropping precipitously, it was high time to harvest the last of the herbs languishing in my back porch herb garden. I clipped a few sprigs of basil and mint, and inhaled the scent of summer. Then I shivered, and went back inside to finish dinner.

Tootle-oo, summer. Until next year.

Even Easier Herbed Quinoa*
Serves: 4

1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons chopped herbs (I recommend basil and mint.)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Stir together all ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or cold.

*This is a simplified version of Herbed Quinoa that I've posted on Hot Dinner Happy Home in the past. I had some leftover quinoa in the fridge, so I just doctored it up. Turn this into a more filling dish by adding goat cheese. Mmmm.

Mixed Greens with Goat Cheese and Dried Cranberries

The husband introduced me to a phone app called Words with Friends. It's dangerously addictive. One minute you're having a conversation with your spouse, and the next, you're trying to land a "j" on a triple letter score, muttering "mmmhhhmmm" to whatever he's saying.

Although you can't buy it on iTunes, I think cooking with friends is just as good. There are a gaggle of reasons why it's an excellent past-time, dinner-time, party-time...

1. It's fun. Another couple joining you for a double date, a few glasses of good wine, someone attempting to use an immersion blender for the first time. It's either a recipe for disaster or hilarity, and it always seems to be the latter. 
2. It's less work than cooking alone. Hate peeling carrots? Assign that job to a friend while you focus on chopping onions. Or you can be the supervisor and just watch everyone else cook while you sip a cocktail. Someone has to be the coordinator, right?
3. It takes the pressure off. Entertaining can be intimidating, especially if you're not terribly comfortable in the kitchen. Cooking with your dinner guests is the best way to remedy that. If your meal doesn't turn out according to plan, it's on everyone's shoulders. And you know my rule; if dinner doesn't work, you can all go to McDonald's. 

This salad is one of my favorite things to make when I cook with my friend, Kelly. It's her favorite. Also, it's easy. So we can focus on gabbing and drinking. (See #1 above.)

Mixed Greens with Goat Cheese and Dried Cranberries

A.k.a. Kelly's Favorite Salad

Serves: 4

8 cups mixed greens

2 apples, very thinly sliced (If you're not as obsessed with apples as I am, you could use just one.)

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup toasted, chopped pecans

High-quality balsamic vinegar

High-quality extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

In a large bowl (or on individual plates) combine greens, apples, goat cheese, cranberries, and pecans. Drizzle with vinegar and oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.