summer veggie saute

I must say that I have been having some serious PB withdrawals since working in the dorms this summer. There is not an ounce of natural PB…OR bananas….OR homemade bread in sight which makes breakfast a rather sad affair 😦 So, when I’m home for breakfast on the weekends, I’m more than eager to go back to my breakfast favorites! I haven’t had PB&B toast in WEEKS so I knew I needed to get some in this morning before gluten-free week begins. Homemade honey wheat + a fresh jar of Smucker’s Natural crunchy PB + a perfectly yellow-green banana = breakfast bliss!

For lunch, I had a delicious peach along with some of the best fresh cherries EVER and I made some of my chickpea tuna salad. You might remember that, while in Oregon a few months back, I came across Cafe Yumm and their absolutely amazing Yumm Sauce. I couldn’t figure out a way to keep a jar of it cold in my bag all the way back to Kansas, but luckily Mama Pea was one step ahead of me and posted a recipe for a perfect knock-off! I FINALLY made it and I want to eat it on everything! Be on the lookout for it all this week, but I added a spoonful to the chickpea tuna salad at lunch to help hold it together and it was great!

Dinner started with Israeli couscous:

It tastes just like the tiny little couscous you’re probably used to seeing, except each little grain is much bigger! I saw some in the bulk bins yesterday and just had to try cooking it for myself. With regular couscous, you just boil water or stock, stir in the couscous, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for about 5 minutes. The Israeli couscous is cooked more like rice or pasta, but is still pretty darn quick + delicious.

To go along with the couscous, I made one of my favorite dishes from the dining halls. I get so excited every time I see ratatouille on the menu and I always get so nervous that a) there won’t be any left by the time I get to eat or b) I won’t be working when they decide to serve it! There is no need for this though because it is super easy to make at home where I can have all of it to myself 🙂

Summer Veggie Saute + Israeli Couscous

• 1/2 c. vegetable broth
• 1/4 c. dry Israeli couscous
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/4 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 small zucchini squash, cut into half-moons
• 1/2 small yellow summer squash, cut into half-moons
• 1/4 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1/2 tomato, cut into wedges
• dash of salt, black pepper, and dried oregano
• shredded mozzarella cheese (I used extra sharp white cheddar)

1. In a medium saucepan, bring vegetable broth (or water) to a boil. Add couscous, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until all of the liquid has been absorbed and couscous is tender (about 10 minutes).
2. In a non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and saute 3-5 minutes until onion is soft and translucent.
3. Add zucchini, squash, bell pepper, and seasonings to taste. Saute 3-5 minutes until squash is beginning to soften but is still slightly crisp.
4. Add tomato wedges (I cut the tomato wedges in half to make them a bit more bite-sized). Cook 3-5 minutes to allow tomatoes to soften and combine with other ingredients.
5. Top with a sprinkle of freshly grated cheese before serving.

This is SUCH a flavorful, healthy dish that is ready in no time at all! I prepped my veggies while the couscous was cooking and it was extremely fast to give them a quick saute before throwing it all together. I’m honestly not a huge fan of zucchini or squash, but the flavor of this is so great that I can eat them no problem! The oregano, garlic, and onion are a huge part of this, but I also really love extra sharp white cheddar because you only have to use a little to get a huge punch of flavor in whatever you put it on.

We are right in the middle of squash + tomato season, so I highly recommend you take advantage and make this meal soon! Branch out and try Israeli couscous as well! I think you’ll love it and I got this 1/4 cup serving out of the bulk bins for less than $1.00. If you can’t find Israeli couscous, of course brown rice or any other grain you might have would work just fine. I do think cooking it in the veggie broth adds great flavor though, so I highly recommend that no matter what grain you choose. OR you could go without the grain all together and serve this as a great veggie side dish or main course! 😀

so many recipes!

Do you know what one of my favorite days of each month is? The day this appears in my mailbox:

Can I just tell you how many recipes are in this thing?! A LOT. Which also leads to a lot of recipe ideas. And each month, I fold over about 100 page corners with every intention of making the selected recipes and then the magazine ends up here…

…with it’s bookmarked recipes left untried. As we traveled to the Big 12 track meet this past weekend and I browsed all of the recipes, I decided that there would be no excuses this time. School is out and these recipes will be tried! I sat down and added the necessary ingredients to my shopping list so I could get started. Tonight, I started in on recipe #1 (with a few slight changes).

I will admit, some of the recipes in this magazine are better for looking at when on a college student’s budget but couscous + veggies? I can do that. Since I don’t have a grill basket, I just roasted the veggies (red bell pepper, yellow squash, red onion, and minced garlic) in the oven at about 450 degrees for about 10 minutes while I made the couscous. To prepare the couscous, I started by sauteing garlic and onion in olive oil, then adding vegetable stock and oregano and bringing it to a boil before stirring in the couscous.

Oh yeah..I also did this:

The recipe said to roast 2 cloves of garlic with the veggies to use in the yogurt sauce but I didn’t need this head of garlic for anything else and I’ve REALLY been wanting to try roasting garlic. If you haven’t done this before, you are missing OUT!

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the top off of a head of garlic so the cloves are exposed.
3. Place garlic on a piece of foil.
4. Drizzle olive oil on top of garlic so it sinks down between the cloves.
5. Sprinkle with salt + pepper.
6. Bring foil up around sides and seal.
7. Place on baking sheet and roast 30-40 minutes, until soft.

That’s it. Your house will smell amazing and you will have deliciously spreadable bits of garlic. Spread it on homemade bread. Blend it into a dip or sauce. Eat it with a fork. It’s whatever…just try it.

The sauce was supposed to consist of plain yogurt blended with the roasted garlic and a bit of roasted pepper, but there wasn’t enough of it for our blender to do it’s thing, so it didn’t really reach sauce status. I took a little taste though and it was still pretty flavorful! It would be great on a sandwich or something like that for sure!

The veggies turned out nice and roasted with a little bit of charring…just as if they’d been grilled! I was actually quite surprised that I couldn’t tell much of a difference. Starting the couscous with sauteed garlic + onion and cooking it in the vegetable stock adds an incredible amount of flavor and I would definitely suggest it! It only adds an extra minute or two to an already short prep time.

I can’t wait to try some more of the summer time recipes in my latest Food Network Magazine! 🙂 Also on my no school agenda is to watch endless episodes of Psych using my Netflix free trial (best show EVER) and check out this documentary. I’ll be sure to post an update after I watch it!

mediterranean couscous salad

Kansas weather is CRAZY. Just a few short weeks ago, I was beginning to wonder if winter would ever fully end. It would start to warm up and give us all a little hope….and then it would snow…or be cloudy for weeks. Then, the sun came out and we had spring for a few days. Now it’s 97 degrees. Sounds like cold salad season to me.

As I was trying to decide how to incorporate the vegetable stock in my fridge that needs to be used into my dinner tonight, all I was thinking of were hot foods – like soup. Don’t get me wrong. I love soup and there is an especially delicious looking tortilla soup I’ve been wanting to try….but it is most definitely NOT soup weather. Luckily, vegetable stock can be used for non-soup applications as well. Like this cold salad that is perfect for confused spring days that want to pretend like it’s July.

Mediterranean Couscous Salad

• 1/2 T. olive oil
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/4 onion, diced
• 2 T. roasted red pepper, diced
• 1/2 t. dried oregano
• 1/2 c. vegetable stock
• 1/3 c. couscous
• 2 T. sun-dried tomato, diced
• 1 small tomato, seeded + diced
• 1/2 c. diced cucumber, seeded + diced**
  
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt + pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in medium saucepan, then add garlic and onion. Saute 3-5 minutes or until onion is soft and translucent.
2. Add roasted red pepper, oregano, and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, stir in couscous, and cover. Let sit covered 5 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
3. Stir in sun-dried tomato, tomato, cucumber, lemon juice, and salt + pepper.
4. Place in bowl or plastic container, cover, and refrigerate until chilled.

**To seed the cucumber: slice it in half vertically, then use a spoon to scrape down the middle and remove the seeds.

This was really quick and easy to put together and made a great, filling dinner. I love it when you can get your grains, protein, and veggies all in one bowl! Although I just ate it as one big main dish, you could also serve it as a side dish for 2-4 people or double the recipe for a bigger crowd. It would also travel well for lunch on the go!