Roasted Tomato and Basil Israeli Couscous

I made this recipe a loooong time ago (hense the Christmas bowl - but it works for Valentine's day too, right?) and I'm sorry I'm just getting around to sharing it with you!  We made this for the Monkey Scientist's niece, who came over for a sleepover during her winter break from school.  It is so simple to make and was easy to make with just the ingredients we had in the house.



I am not a big tomato person, but when you roast them I'm in love.  Even in the winter, when tomatoes are far from their best, they're great when you roast them.  Mixing them with a little basil and Israel couscous - possibly my favorite grain - I was in heaven.  We usually have grape or cherry tomatoes in the house so this one is an easy one.  It's a little sweet, savory, and great for a weeknight meal.



Roasted Tomato and Basil Israeli Couscous

Ingredients
1/2 c cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4 tsp olive oil, divided
salt and pepper
1 cup Israeli couscous, cooked to package instructions (still warm)
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

Instructions
1. On a cookie sheet lined with foil, toss the tomatoes in 2 tsp olive oil, salt and pepper.  Broil for about 5-10 minutes, or until the tomatoes look wilted and just barely start to brown.
2.  Toss the tomatoes, israeli couscous, basil, salt and pepper, and remaining olive oil in a bowl.  Serve immediately.

Spicy Honey Brushed Chicken Thighs

To make the understatement of 2013, this post is overdue.  To be honest, after the holidays I needed a little hiatus from blogging. I needed to just get in the kitchen and cook without worrying about taking photos or finding the time to write up a post.  But I knew the blogging bug would come back eventually, so I didn't want to scare you into thinking yelleBELLYboo was gone forever.



So, I probably shouldn't be admitting this, but I was so lame on Friday night.  We came home from work, had a few snacks, and were lying horizontally on our bed looking at cookbooks to find a recipe for dinner.  The next thing I knew, it was 9:30 and I couldn't get myself to fully wake up.  To be fair, we had an incredibly busy week!



Side note - highlight of the week was seeing Book of Mormon.  We went to a great dinner at Bistro Voltaire first (they have an excellent $29 prix fixe pre-theater menu) where we had fabulous french onion soup, creme brulee, and lots of other French favorites.  Then we went to the show - my Chanukah/Christmas present - and laughed the entire time.  It was one of my favorite dates we have ever been on.



Anyways, my week was like that.  Every night was something.  Including a Thursday night gym trip after work that somehow turned into over 2 hours at the gym and not getting home until 9.  By Friday I was exhausted.  So when I couldn't revive out of my coma, I sent the Monkey Scientist to the store and he came back with all of the ingredients to make this recipe.



It reminds me a LOT of one of my favorite recipes - Spicy Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Avocado Salsa from Cooking Canuck - and I think it was every bit as good.  We (of course) made it spicier than it originally called for.  Good news - I think my taste buds are growing back because I actually tasted the kick in this one.  The boys? Not so much.  This was a late night dinner, but it was fantastic, quick to put together, and easy as pie.  So easy my brother could make it - and with an ingredient list short enough that we had everything in the house except the chicken.  Served with a salad it was just what I needed!



Spicy Honey Brushed Chicken Thighs
slightly adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ancho chili powder (regular chili powder would work fine)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Cooking spray
6 tbsp honey
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp sriracha

Instructions
1. Combine the garlic powder, ancho chili power, salt, cumin, paprika, pepper and red pepper in a large bowl.
2. Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and toss to evenly coat with all of the spices.
3. Line a cookie sheet with heavy duty foil and spray with cooking spray.  Lay the chicken thighs flat on the cookie sheet.  Broil (on high) for 5 minutes on each side.
4. While the chicken is broiling, combine the honey, vinegar, and sriracha in a small bowl. 
5. Once the chicken has cooked on both sides, remove from the oven and brush one side with the honey mixture.  Broil for an additional 1 minute.  Remove from the oven and flip, then brush the other side with the honey mixture then broil 1 minute or until the chicken is cooked through.  Serve immediately.