Couscous Chickpea Salad

Hello and happy hump day. I'm just trying to get over that hump today...how about you? My husband has another cold, so I cooked him some chicken-n-dumplings last night for dinner in hopes that would help him to feel better. Guess what...I woke up with this morning with a stuffy nose. I feel it coming on strong.....ugh. I was just thinking about how lucky I had been this winter in NOT getting sick. I guess I'm not so lucky anymore....boooo :-(

Anyway, I made myself this couscous chickpea salad last night with some Tofurky Italian Sausage. I had a lentil quinoa salad recipe out that I had planned on making, but decided to change almost everything up and came up with this salad, which was yummy.

1/2 cup uncooked couscous
1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked chickpeas
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lime, zested
juice from 1/2 a lime
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste (I left the salt out)

In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to a boil and remove from heat. Add the couscous and cover with a lid. Let sit for about 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork.
In a non stick skillet heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Saute for 5-10 minutes.
In a bowl add chickpeas, cooked couscous, sauteed garlic, onions, and peppers, and mix well.
In a small bowl whisk together 1/2 cup olive oil, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, zest of lime, and lime juice to make the dressing.
Pour the dressing over couscous mixture and mix well. Add salt and pepper if you desire.

Here's my bright green smoothie I had this morning for my breakfast. My smoothie this morning consisted of 1 cup of green tea, 2 kale leaves, a dash of cinnamon and ginger, 1 frozen banana, and a small handful of frozen pineapple. Oh yeah....it was delish! :o)


~Peace~Love~Happiness~