"Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals - A 30-Minute Meal Cookbook" - Leek-y Chicken and Couscous

Date I made this recipe:  Sunday, October 22, 2017

Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals – A 30-Minute Meal Cookbook by Rachael Ray

Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers

ISBN: 1-4000-8255-2; © 2006

Purchased at: Paperback Exchange, Minneapolis

Recipe: Leek-y Chicken and Couscous – p. 22-23

Reader, I don’t know when I’ve been so decisive on selecting a cookbook and recipe, but this was a new a new record for me.  In fact, I wasn’t even trying when I pulled it off the shelf.  This is not normally how it goes for me, but maybe I should try this more often?

To set the stage, I had a couple of other dishes on deck to make this weekend, but when I ran them by Andy, he was rather “meh” about them and so I tabled them for another day.  I was also torn between making something that said “fall” but then our weather warmed up and something warm and heavy didn’t seem appropriate.

That said on Saturday, I attended a pot luck and one of the attendees brought pulled pork (which to me says “fall”) and dang, did that taste good!  So, hmm, maybe a crock pot meal?

At this point, I still had a fairly decent window to make something in the crock pot without going too late into the evening, and so I did a quick scan of my collection, and up on one of my very top shelves, I spied Slow Cooker cookbook.  Alas folks, nothing in there floated my boat, so I re-shelved it and was rethinking my options when I found myself eye to eye with several Rachael Ray cookbooks and decided to look through Express Lane Meals.  To be clear, Rachael Ray is famous for her 30-minute meals, so there went the crockpot idea!  This turned out to be a good thing though, since Andy and I had a few stops to make before we could get to a grocery store and by that time, the afternoon was flying by.

I’ve mentioned before that Rachael’s chipper personality can be grating but her recipes are spot on and Andy and I have enjoyed almost everything we’ve made; this dish was no exception.  In fact, to quote Rachael, this was “delish!”

At this point, I had totally lost interest with heartier and/or slow-cooked fare and decided I needed something “light.”  Not “salad” light, but along those same lines.  Fall may be the season of hearty and comforting food, but I am slow to embrace fall; bring on endless summer!

As you’ll see below, the book’s “Table of Contents” was brief which was fine except I had to take the time to go through each page to find recipes of interest; I prefer a more streamlined approach.  Our chapters were:

• ·       “Meals for the Exhausted” (76 pages of recipes and instructions)
• ·       “Meals for the Not Too Tired” (104 pages of recipes and instructions)
• ·       “Bring it On! (But, Be Gentle.)” (44 pages of recipes and instructions)

 You see?  How were these categories helpful?

Further, I just had to chuckle over the first two categories, “Meals for the Exhausted,” and “Meals for the Not Too Tired.” Let’s break this down, starting with the interpretation of what was written, particularly the “for the” designation as in:  these meals are being made FOR people who are exhausted or not [yet] too tired.  Well, where does that leave the cook?  What if I’m the one who is exhausted or not [yet] too tired? What result?

Assuming then, (dangerous, I know), that Rachael intended these recipes to be made BY me or others who are exhausted or will be shortly, let’s look at how many pages there are for us to review.  If you’re already exhausted, then you must look through 76 pages of recipes and instructions.  If you are merely working your way up to being exhausted, then you need to review 104 pages.  I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that reading that many pages will change your status from “not too tired” to “exhausted” in a Rachael-Ray minute!

Okay then, since the possibilities of me ending up on my couch instead of in the kitchen cooking were high, I decided to make it easy on myself and look for recipes that were easy and light and concluded that this meant chicken, seafood, or pasta sans heavy sauces.  This meant that I could pretty much tear through the cookbook, saving my strength for the cooking to follow.

Happily, it didn’t take me long to find what I was looking for because right there, on page 22, was the recipe I selected:  Leek-y Chicken and Couscous.  This recipe was very easy, and I did appreciate that it was not too taxing for me to make seeing as how I was already “exhausted” and everything!

Here were some other contenders:

• ·       Cacio e Pepe (Cheese and Pepper Pasta) and Spinach with White Beans – p. 30
• ·       Toasted Garlic and Sweet Pea Pasta (I love peas!) – p. 52-52
• ·       Cowboy Spaghetti (with fire-roasted tomatoes and Cheddar cheese) – p. 60-61
• ·       Smoky Black Bean and Rice “Stoup” – p. 64-65 (Rachael likes to call something that is a soup/stew a “stoup.”  I can’t say that word does much for me but it’s her word so she gets to use it.)
• ·       Everything Lo Mein – p. 114-115

There were a few others of interest and there were some other heartier recipes that I might have made on another day, but I liked the sound (and the taste) of chicken and leeks. 

Once I selected the dish of the day, it was time to go shopping and since I needed to go to Kowalski’s (local, family-owned grocery store) to get a few things, I thought I’d pick up the chicken there, and so I got two packages of chicken tenders and went home to start cooking.

Folks, as I walked into the house, I smelled something rather awful and could not figure it out until I took the [still sealed] packaged chicken out of my grocery bag.  Ew, that did not smell good!  Then I opened it and ew x 2, that really did not smell good. I called Andy over for a second opinion and he thought one didn’t smell too bad, but the other smelled “interesting.”  Well, I am totally my mother’s daughter, and I don’t “do” chicken that smells “interesting” or is “not too bad” so I called Kowalski’s and asked to speak to the meat department.

Folks, if you live in the Twin Cities and are close to a Kowalski’s you need to visit them because here’s what happened next.  I spoke to Brian in the meat department on Grand Ave and said, “Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think this chicken smells right.”  He said, “Well, rather than take a chance that it’s gone bad, if you want, you can bring it back to us and we’ll exchange it for a product that does work for you, no charge, and we’ll give you a gift certificate for your trouble.

Ponder that a second:  Not only did they give me new product for free, no questions asked, but they rewarded me for letting them know and bringing it in.  I LOVE this grocery store even more than I already did! I dispatched Andy to go to the grocery store to do the deed, and he too, came back glowing.  I even posted this on my Facebook page because getting any type of services these days is a miracle, but getting this type of service was outstanding.

Okay then, now on to the recipe and how we fared.  This was a very easy recipe to make and one that seemed healthy and that was what I was looking for.  First, you make the couscous, then you make the chicken and leeks and ta-da, you are done!  That Rachael – when she says “30 minutes” she means “30” minutes!  Enjoy!

Leek-y Chicken and Couscous – 4 servings

1 ½ cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup golden raisins, a couple of handfuls, chopped

1 ½ cups plain couscous

2 tablespoons EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), twice around the pan

1 ½ pounds chicken tenders, cut into large bit-size pieces

Salt and black pepper

2 medium leeks or 1 large leek

1 cup dry white wine (eyeball it), about ¼ bottle

A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Heat the chicken stock and 1 tablespoons of the butter in a medium pot with a tight-fitting lid.  When the liquid boils, add the raisins and couscous.  Take the pan off the heat.  Stir the couscous and place the lid on the pot.  Let it stand.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the EVOO.  Add the chicken in a single layer and season it with salt and pepper.  While the chicken browns on all sides, trim the rough tops and the root ends off the leeks.

Cut the leeks in half lengthwise, then cut them into 1-inch half moons.  Place the leeks in a colander and run them under cold water.  Separate the layers to release the dirt and grit.  Rinse well, then drain well.

Add the leeks to the chicken and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the wine and let it cook down by half, 3 to 4 minutes. The leeks should still have some color but should be tender and the chicken should be cooked through.  Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and swirl into the sauce.

Fluff the couscous with a fork and stir in the parsley.  Place a bed of couscous on each dinner plate and top it with the chicken and leeks.