Another Easy Chicken Dinner

I served this chicken, which has a sweet-and-sour flair, over the couscous. It would work over rice, too.

Chicken with Sweet Raisins and Apricots

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons butter

3 large shallots, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

12 drive, pitted apricots, halved

1 cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons cider or white wine vinegar

2 cups chicken stock

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to the hot skillet and cook on each side for 5 to 6 minutes.

Remove chicken from skillet to plate and cover with foil. Return skillet to heat and add butter and shallots. Cook for 2 minutes. Dust with the flour and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add apricots, raisins, and cider vinegar. Whisk in 2 cups of chicken stock and turn heat up to high. Simmer mixture until thick. Add fresh thyme. Add chicken back to skillet, coat in the sauce, and heat chicken, about 1 minute. Serve over almond couscous or rice.

Almond Couscous

½ cup sliced almonds

1 ½ cups chicken stock

1 ½ cups plain couscous

3 tablespoons chopped fresh, flat-leaf parsley

Toast nuts in bottom of medium sauce pot over medium heat until golden. Transfer toasted nuts to a dish and reserve. Return pot to stovetop. Add 1 ½ cups stock and 1 tablespoon of oil. Cover pot and raise the heat. Bring broth to a boil. Remove from head. Add couscous and parley to the stock, then stir. Cover and let the couscous stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and toss with almonds.