Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Easy Summer Couscous

Happy Wednesday, Friends!  I've been meaning to post this recipe since Spring Break and am so excited to share it with you.  It's another Pinterest screen shot and it's something that I've whipped up several times since because it's so easy!

Step 1: Gather your ingredients, I used...
- Cucumber
- Purple Onion
- Orange pepper (because SWEET!)
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Fresh Mozzarella (Trader Joes mozzarella is AMAZING!)
- Israeli Couscous
- Red Wine vinegar
- Olive Oil



Step 2: Cook the couscous
I buy my Israeli couscous at Trader Joes and made it according to the package directions, except mine only simmered for about 3-4 minutes instead of 12 before the liquid was absorbed.  Not sure what's up with that, but it's done that every time I've made it.  Just watch the couscous and make sure that when the liquid is absorbed you take it off the stove.


If you're intimidated by cooking couscous because you've never done it before and think it's intimidating, it's really super simple.  I threw some olive oil in my pan and browned the couscous a little bit.


I added in 1 3/4 cups boiling water, heated it until boiling and then reduced the heat and let it simmer.  This is where it took WAY less time than what the package indicated.


Step 3: Chop up your veggies and cheese

While the couscous was simmering I chopped up the rest of my ingredients.  I didn't chop them all up, but maybe 1/3 of each of the cucumber and pepper, 1/4 of the onion, a handful of tomatoes and a little bit of the cheese.


Step 4: Throw it all together

I portioned out a little less than a bowl full, added in my chopped ingredients and then poured on a few splashes of red wine vinegar and a little bit of olive oil.  I mixed it all together until coated...


 ... and then added some salt and pepper. 


This made one BIG bowl full.  I ate it was a side with a grilled chicken breast on one night and then had enough for leftovers (with another chicken breast) the next night.  It was bright and fresh and I liked making it in smaller quantities so it didn't sit in my fridge forever.  My double serving used about 1/2 of the couscous, so a few days later I chopped up a few more veggies and cheese and used the couscous I had already prepared to make another big bowl.


I think this would be delicious with feta instead of mozzarella (minus the peppers) and you can really suit it 100% to your tastes.  It was great alongside grilled chicken and Dave enjoyed some on my second go around with chopped steak.


It's light and bright and an easy way to sneak in some veggies (alongside some cheese - hahaha).  I think this will be great prepared and refrigerated in containers this summer to grab on my way to the pool with the kids.  Hopefully I can munch on this instead of Doritos while poolside :)

28 comments :

  1. my go to lunch at the moment is giant couscous (looks the same as this so probably just another name) and diced feta in a green salad with some prawns, I think i might need to start adding more veg because this looks lovely!

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    1. OOOHHH!!! That sounds delish! But anything with feta sounds great :)

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  2. Where did you get the super cute salt and pepper jar??

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  3. I have to try this ! Thanks for sharing

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  4. Yum! And maybe your couscous didn't take as long because you used a larger pan to cook it in? (More surface area? Or maybe the photo is just deceiving, lol and that's a saucepan.)

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    1. Or did you not cover the pan? It says reduce heat and cover. It makes sense it would boil off more quickly if there's no lid.

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    2. Both of those are equally likely :) I'm pretty sure I covered it after I took the picture, but who knows. Thanks, girls!!!

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  5. Yum! I have a slight addiction to Israeli Couscous so I'll be making this.
    Did you see the April Fool's joke going around Facebook that TJ's was closing and wouldn't be selling the cookie butter recipe to Whole Foods? People were having heart attacks left and right over it, haha. Pretty clever!

    www.hautemommyblog.com

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    1. YES!!! I had a few panicking fb friends. hahaha Thank goodness it was just a joke!

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  6. Believe it or not- never had couscous. And weirdly enough, I don't eat peppers or onions. I'm strange.

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    1. So weird!!! :) hahaha You could easily make it with just cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers.

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  7. This looks delicious!! I've actually never had couscous before but it looks super good with all those yummy veggies. Thanks for sharing!!!

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  8. Somehow I never got around to trying out couscous!!! I have to try it!! I use similar ingredients when I make a quinoa salad so this must be delicious!!

    Melanie | Blog: Toots + Dill

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  9. I read your post this morning, went to TJs this afternoon and I'm making it now. Thanks for sharing!!

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  10. This is also good with quinoa! I do tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamatas, and feta...plus the quinoa and greek dressing of course. Will have to try it with the couscous!

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  11. This looks amazing! Would you do a post on your fav items at Trader Joe's?

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  12. You've always got the best recipes - this looks so delicious! Such a perfect summer dish!

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  13. Just made this last night, it was delicious! Thank you for sharing!!

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  14. Since you've posted this, I have made it 3 times. It's a new staple in our house. So easy, yummy and healthy! thank you!!

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