Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew

Guess what???? I finally cooked something new again! Nathan was very happy to have a real dinner. It even turned out pretty good too. It requires a fair number of ingredients, but I found I really only needed a few extra things outside of my normal purchases. It took me about 45 minutes for me to make start to finish... maybe an hour, I'm not sure. But my chicken was frozen when I started...

Mine looks nothing like the original recipe's picture. Oh well. 

Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew

Ingredients

- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes (3 if they are really large)

- 1 teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot (I used 1/4 tsp ground ginger)

- 2 garlic cloves, minced (I used 1/2 tsp garlic powder)

- 1 teaspoon olive oil

- 1 cup chopped onion (1/2 a large onion)

- 1 cup chopped sweet red pepper (I actually omitted this because I don't like peppers.)

- 1 teaspoon ground coriander

- 1 teaspoon ground cumin

- 1 teaspoon curry powder

- Dash ground cinnamon

- 3 cups cubed peeled sweet potatoes* (I used two - though it probably wasn't 3 full cups)

- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

- 1 1/2 cups water

- 1/4 cup orange juice

- 1 cup uncooked couscous

- 2 tablespoons cornstarch

- 3/4 cup light coconut milk

- 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Thaw the chicken ahead of time. Or thaw it in the microwave while you chop stuff.

2. Chop the onion, pepper, sweet potatoes, and chicken.

3. In a large skillet, saute the chicken, ginger and garlic in oil until chicken juices run clear. 

4. Add the onion, pepper and seasonings; saute 4-5 minutes longer. 

5. Add sweet potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until tender.

6. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring water and orange juice to a boil. (If you don't have orange juice, use 2 c water and 2 Tbs orange juice concentrate.)

7. Stir in couscous. Cover and remove from the heat; let stand for 5-10 minutes or until water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.

8. Combine cornstarch and coconut milk until smooth. Stir into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. 

9. Stir in minced cilantro. 

10. Serve with couscous. Yield: 4-5 servings.

*Did you know not all sweet potatoes are orange? I was very surprised to find mine were white. And also slightly disappointed because they weren't as pretty in the dish. They still tasted good though.

Recipe slightly modified from here. I doubled it because if I'm going to go to all the work of making dinner, I want it to make more than two servings. Plus it meant we could feed Amy one last time before she moves far, far away.

And now for some pictures:

After step 4.

All done! It would be a lot more colorful if a) I had purchased orange sweet potatoes, and b) I didn't leave out the red pepper.

My first attempt at couscous. My mind kept trying to think it was rice. It's not.