Moroccan Chicken with Fruit and Olive Topping

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup prechopped onion
• 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
• 3/4 cup dried mixed fruit ( I used dried figs and apricots. Other reviews used prunes and apricots with apple).
  
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup chopped pitted green olives
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and thyme evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; cover and keep warm.

Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan. Add onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes until tender. Add garlic to pan; sauté 30 seconds. Add fruit and remaining ingredients to pan; cook 5 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates.

Serve with couscous.

Greek Lamb Chops

One word. Sensational.

I've never cooked or purchased lamb of any kind in my life! I'm not even sure I liked eating lamb until this recipe. It's tough choosing healthy foods that Paul will eat. He likes cheese and meat and salt. I have a tough time making him eat his vegetables. So this week I planned out all our recipes to be either Greek or Moroccan.

This lamb chop recipe is SO EASY and so quick I can't believe it. It's so easy it should be a sin. I couldn't believe how beautiful it turned out and at the dinner table all you could hear was Paul and I making noises of ecstasy as we bit into these flavorful morsels. Pair it with couscous!
I wrote the recipe exactly as I prepared it. Totally worthy of a special occasion!

Enjoy!


Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon dried oregano
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 3 tablespoons bottled minced garlic (bottled garlic isn't as strong as fresh)
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 5-6 lamb loin chops. I kept the fat on (SO GOOD!) My package said "Australian" and I don't know why.

NOTE: 5-6 chops will feed two people. If you prepare more chops, double the recipe of the first 5 ingredients. You can't have too much!


Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 5 ingredients; rub over both sides of chops. (I dipped my whole chop in the bowl and drenched it!) Place chops on broiler pan (I used a foil-covered cookie sheet). broil 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. (Mine were still rare so I broiled them 8 minutes total on each side.)

RACHEL'S NOTE: Whenever I broil I move the wire oven rack about 5-6 inches from the top heat. It didn't occur to me NOT to do this with the chops. But it worked out. The outside was done well before the inside and the juices that ran off started to burn (I set off the smoke alarm) so halfway through I changed to a fresh pan with clean foil. This may have been the reason the chops were SO juicy like I had browned them before hand...? I don't know, but they were AMAZING.
SIDE DISH: Make some plain couscous (5 minutes is all it takes!) and chop up half a cucumber and chop a tomato and add it to the couscous and add feta cheese! Pour 2-3 Tablespoons of Greek salad dressing over them. OOOO!