Skillet Greek Chicken

     J left Saturday for his pre-deployment field training exercise, andI've got to say that I miss him.  Granted, the house is cleaner, and I don't have to cook as often or clean as much, but I'm realizing just how quiet it gets here, even with Monkey running around.  He has a big personality, so when he's gone it's noticeable.  At night I find myself staying way too late, watching reruns of Boy Meets World on YouTube or doing homework (or both).  During the day, though, I find I have more time to spend with Monkey.  She's growing up too quickly, and it's amazing how much her imagination has grown.  Today we were playing with play-dough, and she started telling me a story where there was a dragon guarding a princess, so the princess' pet dinosaur came to the rescue.  Once freed, the princess fought the dragon, chopping off one of his feet.  In return the dragon burned off one of her hands, and then the princess became a pirate and had a treasure chest full of necklaces.  As she was telling me the story, she  would make certain things with the play-dough like the dragon or a pirate ship or an eyepatch for the princess-turned-pirate.  It was quite entertaining.  I love how far her imagination can take her.  I hope she never loses that.

     Another thing I hope never changes about her is her willingness to try to new foods.  I started her early on by introducing her to things like sushi and unagi (eel), and thankfully that hasn't stopped.  She and I experienced couscous for the first time the other night, and Monkey polished off three helpings of the stuff.  I was pretty impressed.  So here's the recipe that won my four year old over:

Skillet Greek Chicken 
from Cooking with Paula Deen's Sept/Oct 2012 issue

2 lbs chicken thighs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 TBS olive oil
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
1 (4.8 oz) jar kalamata olives
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
10 oz couscous (I used two boxes of Near East Wild Mushrooms)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Sprinkle chicken with salt pepper.  In large ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Place thighs, skin side down, in pan and cook for 8 minutes.  Remove thighs from pan, and drain oil.  Add tomatoes, olives, onion, garlic, and oregano to pan, stirring to combine.  Return chicken to pan, skin side up.  Place pan in oven, and bake for 45 minutes, or until thighs are done.  Meanwhile, cook couscous according to package directions.  Sprinkle chicken with feta cheese.  Garnish with fresh oregano, if desired.  Serve over couscous.

Enjoy!