Wednesday, February 16, 2011

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~

9 comments:

  1. Both the cous cous and the smoothie are fantastic!

    Just to let you know, I answered you on the vegan blog as well... capsicums are bell peppers :-)

    ciao
    Alessandra

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  2. Good for you on your green smoothie, Michelle! I hope your hubby feels better soon.
    xo
    Aimee

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  3. yummmm!!!! I have gooot to try this! <3

    xoXOxo
    Jenn @ Peas & Crayons

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  4. OH, I've got to make that smoothie *and* the couscous dish. They both look so good!

    Everyone around me has been sick and I'm just waiting for it. So far I've been lucky, but I'll be really surprised if I get through without catching something. Hopefully the cold leaves you as fast as it came on!

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  5. Haha, I love the switcho-chango from quinoa and lentils to cous-cous and chick peas! The dressing sounds good.

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  6. i made mock chicken soup for my husband when he was sick too!! everyone is getting that cold, just kick back, and try and take it easy!!

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  7. Hope you are feeling better soon, Michelle! I was thinking that I hadn't gotten a cold lately, too, and I felt some sniffles coming on last week but thankfully they faded after a day.

    Chickpeas and dijon are some of my favorite ingredients. Your salad looks so good!

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  8. Chickpeas are just the best. The smoothie looks great too - try to get some in Tony, I'm sure it'd make him feel better.

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  9. The Dijon and Smoothie should help beat that nasty cold.

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