Recipe: Lemon Chicken and Couscous Lunches

I’ve been obsessed with lemons lately. They impart a light, but crisp and fresh flavor to any dish. I think the key is to use the juice and the zest. Oh, and to never use the bottled stuff. Ew.

Here is another entry in the pre-made lunches category. We make all of our lunches on Sunday and healthily eat all week. This is a huge time and cost saver. This recipe will yield 5 lunch portions.

Lemon Chicken and Couscous Lunches
2.5 lbs. chicken
1 16oz. package of frozen spinach (huge money saver here, you get so much more bang for your buck with frozen spinach)
3 cups israeli couscous (I cooked with a 3:3 ratio so you’ll need 3 cups of water too, or any kind of stock you like)
4-5 lemons, juiced and zested (this will yield about 2 cups of juice and 4 tbsp. of zest)
1 cup chopped scallions
1 tbsp. EVOO
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. red pepper flake
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. black pepper

First things first: Wash, zest, and juice your lemons. I used a fork to juice those extra stubborn lemons.

Next: the chicken. Cube your chicken and place in a baking dish. Combine 1 cup of lemon juice with 2 tsp. of cornstarch. Mix to combine thoroughly. The cornstarch will give you a nice sauce for your chicken to cook in. Mine came out super moist, tender, and packed with flavor. Sprinkle about 2-3 tbsp. of your scallions and 1-2 tbsp. of your lemon zest over the chicken. Then pour your cornstarch juice over it all and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

While your chicken is cooking: chop your scallions, cook your couscous (1:1 ratio of couscous to cooking liquids here, I used 3 cups of each), and heat your frozen spinach up in a large pan.

When your couscous and spinach are done, combine in a big pot or pan. Add in your red pepper flake, 1-2 tbsp. scallions, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine and taste for seasoning. Once you have that done, add in about 1 cup of the lemon juice and 2 tbsp. of the zest (depending on your preferences). Mix thoroughly. Taste again for seasoning and adjust if you need to.

Spoon the lemony spinach couscous into 5 tupperware containers. Portion out the chicken and place on top. And voila, five lunches for your work week!

You could mix the chicken in with your couscous before portioning but I feared making a mess so I did it this way.

PS – Don’t throw away those busted up lemons! I threw all of mine into a pitcher and covered with water. Lemon water, yummy!