Rock the Casbah!

Do you remember that song? Or am I just old?

The cool part about having satellite radio in your car is you get 80s on 8. Rock the Casbah by The Clash came on and....well, I just had to crank it up and rock it in the car. It's just one of those corny songs with a good beat that you can totally get into. My daughter is quite the 80s fan and was getting into with me at the time.

Meandering along...after hearing that song, the word "casbah" stuck out in my mind that I had seen it before. Then it came to me that it was in a recipe. I went to go look it up and wah-lah! Casbah Chicken and Couscous.

It's one of those budget friendly things that's around $2 per serving. For my vegie friends, you could easily omit the chicken and add beans or other protein if you needed to.

But I love that it has fresh mango and toasted almonds. Yum.

Seriously, this maybe takes 20-25 minutes. It's totally easy. It's not too weird so it's pretty family safe.

Casbah Chicken and Couscous

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 T Moroccan Rub - if you don't have this, look for a Middle Eastern seasoning in your grocery store. Otherwise, I'd suggest some ground cinnamon, ground cumin, ground ginger, lemon zest, garlic powder and chili pepper mixed together for a similar result.
1 t salt
1/3 C blanched slivered almonds (optional)
1 T vegetable oil
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
1/3 C water
1 medium red onion - if you really need it
1 large mango
1 plg (10oz) uncooked plain couscous
1/2 C lightly packed fresh cilantro

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Combine chicken, 1 t of the rub and 1/2 t of salt in a glass bowl. Using a scraper, toss to coat.

If using, place almonds in a large 12-inch skillet. Cook over med. heat for 4-6 minutes or until golden brown. Remove nuts and set aside. Add oil to skillet; heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add chicken to skillet in a single layer. Cook and stir 5-6 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove from skillet and keep warm.

In another bowl, combine broth, water, remaining rub and salt. If using, slice onion lengthwise into thin wedges; add to skillet. Cook 4-5 minutes or until tender and beginning to carmelize, stirring occasionally. Add broth mixture; bring to a simmer. Stir to loosen brown bits from bottom of skillet.

Slice mango into thin wedges. Stir mango, couscous and chicken into broth mixture. Remove from heat; cover and let stand until liquid is absorbed. Snip cilantro. Toss cilantro and almonds into couscous and serve immediately.

Enjoy!