Moroccan Chicken with Quinoa

This dish is inspired by the flavors of Morroco with a couple unexpected twists. 

This recipe is GF,DF,RSF,YF. 

** For those of you that are Vegan or Vegetarian you could replace the chicken with a vegan protein of your choice or even nice thick slices of eggplant, zucchini or whole cored tomatoes.**

Serves 4

Ingredients: 

4 boneless Organic Chicken Breasts 

8 oz Matinated artichoke hearts quartered. Save the juice ( I used Trader Joes brand). 

1/8 Cup Pickled Banana Peppers Sliced

6oz each : 

Garlic stuffed Kalamata olives ( if you can't find these just get pitted Kalamatas and add 2 cloves of whole garlic to your recipe) 

Castelvetrano Olives, Pitted ( plus 1/4 Cup too add just before serving) 

Large Black Olives, Pitted 

Pinch of Kosher Salt 

Fresh Ground Pepper 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. 

Place the chicken in a 9x11 nonstick baking dish. Season with Salt and Pepper. Empty the jar of artichokes with juice around the sides of the chicken. Next layer the olives on top of the artichokes. Sprinkle the top with the banana peppers. Using a spoon baste everything with the juice from the artichokes. 

Place dish in oven for about 45mins or until chicken is fully cooked. Making sure to baste every 10 minutes. Broil for the last 3-5 mins or until the chicken has a nice brown color. Remove from the oven and add the 1/4 Cup Castelverano Olives. This will add a nice " bite" and fresh color to the final dish. 

Place prepared chicken dish on top of the prepared Quinoa ( recipe follows). Pour some of the cooking liquid from the pan on top of the finished dish to act as a sauce. 

Quinoa:

Ingredients: 

1 Cup Organic Tri-colored Quinoa cooked as directed on the package ( I used Trader Joes brand) 

1 roasted Red Pepper Diced 

2 cups of fresh Organic Spinach leaves 

Directions: 

Cook Quinoa according to package directions

Remove from heat and add in the roasted red pepper and spinach leaves. 

Stir. Serve with Morrocan Chicken as described above.