Tag Archives: couscous

Making Couscous a Little More Interesting…

3 Feb

I quite like couscous for a number of reasons, but I especially love how versatile it can be and how quick it is to make. I got into a discussion with a coworker the other day about this and started coming up with different ways to cook it aside from the standard water with some salt. Here are a few options we talked about…

Cooking liquid:

  • Orange Juice
  • Apple Juice
  • Vegetable/Chicken broth

Extra goodies:

  • Chopped almonds
  • Raisins
  • Dried cranberries
  • Currants
  • Chopped apricots
  • Fresh herbs – cilantro, parsley, thyme, mint
  • Veggies – frozen/fresh peas or corn (use a little more cooking liquid and add these in with the couscous)
  • Spices – cumin, paprika, chili powder, curry powder
  • Feta cheese

Really, you can try just about anything with couscous. Like quinoa and rice, you can adapt it to fit whatever flavor profile you’d like. What do you, fine readers, do with your couscous?

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One Pot Meal: Couscous with Sausage & Green Beans

31 Jan

You’ve just come home, you’ve had a long day at work, you’re starving and you don’t feel like putting in a ton of effort for dinner. What do you need? A one pot meal. Ready in 20 minutes, this dish has your grain, meat and veg all in one and it’s even healthy! It would be great with any kind of sausage: sweet, spicy, mild…whatever ya like!

Serves 2.

Ingredients

1 tb extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red chile, diced
2 sausages, cut into rounds/bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 c canned tomatoes (keep the liquid)
2-3 c chicken stock
6 oz green beans
1 1/4 c couscous
1 c  cilantro, chopped
2 lemon wedges

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pan at medium heat and add onion, garlic and sausage. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 2 – 3 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, 2 1/2 c stock and beans. Cover, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add the couscous and cook for 10 minutes. (Add more stock if necessary.)
4. Garnish with cilantro and lemon wedges.

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