Greek Night: Greek Marinated Chicken Skewers & Couscous with Artichokes, Sun-dried tomatoes, and Feta

I have only just recently started eating Greek food. My parents never made it and we never went out to eat at any Greek restaurants. I have found that I really like it. This was one of my first attempts at making it at my house. I think it was a big success. I hope to try many other dishes but this seemed fairly easy for my first attempt. The best thing about this dish is that you can marinate the chicken the day before so that when you come home from work, all you have to do is cook it up. The chicken skewers are very versatile. You could make some greek tzatziki sauce and throw together some greek chicken stuffed pitas. You might not want pitas and the couscous together because that is a lot of carbs. A nice Greek cucumber salad might be better suited for the chicken pitas. Feel free to get creative.

Greek Marinated Chicken Skewers
Serves 4 - 6
Adapted from: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2008/07/chicken-souvlaki-recipe.html

Ingredients:
4-6 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Kabob skewers

Directions:
-Cut each chicken breast into 6 smaller pieces/chunks
-Place all of the cut up chicken into a large ziploc bag or a larger bowl and season with pepper and salt
-In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, and thyme and stir together until blended.
-Pour the marinade over the chicken and refrigerate for approx 8 hours. You can marinate it up to 24 hours.
-Once the chicken has marinated, take 6 chunks and put on a kabob skewer.
-Repeat the process for all 6 skewers.
-You can grill the skewers for 12-15 minutes, making sure to rotate every few minutes to prevent burning and ensure even cooking OR you can broil the chicken skewers in the oven for about 10 minutes or until they are cooked completely.
-Serve with your favorite side dish or some slices of whole wheat pita

Couscous with Artichokes, Sun-dried tomatoes, and Feta Cheese
Serves 6 large portions
Adapted from: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/couscous-with-artichokes-feta-sun-dried-tomatoes-10000001036219/

*The adapted recipe calls for chicken in it but I didn't put that in there because I had the chicken skewers to go with this.

Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups water - divided
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 can reduced sodium vegetable broth
1 3/4 cups uncooked plain couscous or whole wheat couscous (we used whole wheat couscous)
1/2 cup crumbled reduced fat feta cheese
3/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
2  6-ounce jars artichoke hearts, undrained
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
-Combine 2 cups of water and sun-dried tomatoes in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until the water is boiling. Cover the dish and let sit for about 10 minutes.
-After 10 minutes, drain the water and chop the sun-dried tomatoes into small chunks. Set aside.
-Place 1/3 cup water and veggie broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
-Once the water/broth is boiling, add your couscous. Cover the pan and simmer on low for 8 minutes or until the couscous is tender and cooked.
-Remove the couscous from heat and add in the sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, parsley, black pepper, and sun-dried tomatoes.
-Make sure to stir the dish up to make sure the ingredients all blend together.
-Serve

Enjoy! :)