My kitchen smells...

...and it isn't because the boys got home from a run and took off their sneakers, or because everyone is avoiding having to take out the food composting bin to empty it. No, my kitchen smells in a good way, thanks to a rather delicious chicken and squash concoction. Today, we are Moroccan-inspired again, and I'm devouring the leftovers from last night's dinner. At this rate, I may have to buy one of those tagine thingies, although I'm not sure they make them big enough to contain the amount of food it takes to feed my brood. I may at least have a cup of peppermint tea to wash my lunch down.

This recipe came originally from a Cooking Light magazine from 2009 - I knew I was keeping piles of them for a reason, and not just because I'm going for the cluttered, borderline-hoarder look in my home, rather than the minimalist "I shop at the Container Store and everything is in its place" look. I tweaked it in my usual fashion by increasing quantities, and also adding more vegetables, so that it is truly a one-pot meal. All you need is a bed of something to soak up the saucy deliciousness - I chose quinoa, as you can see from the picture below, but cous cous or rice would work just as well.

Chicken and Butternut Squash Tagine
Serves 6-8

olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into chunks
4 cups chicken broth/stock
1lb peeled cubed butternut squash
2/3 cup halved green olives
16 pitted dried plums/prunes, chopped
1 1/2 cups green beans, chopped into 1" lengths
fresh parsley to garnish

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden.
2. Stir in cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, salt, garlic and chicken and continue to cook for a further minute, stirring constantly.
3. Add stock/broth, squash, olives and dried plums, stir and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 8 minutes. Add green beans, return the boil, cover and simmer for a further 8 minutes until squash and beans are tender.
5. Serve over quinoa/cous cous, garnished with chopped fresh parsley.