The husband wasn’t game but I had a friend come over and try it. She thought it was tasty and loved the cilantro. I think I may need to start cooking for others. ;)

The only thing I think I’ll do differently next time is a bit more feta. I’m not too sure I used enough. I’ll post exactly how I made it and if you give it a try you can always bump up the feta.

• Half of a sweet onion
• 1 medium yellow squash (You could always use a zucchini too!)
• 1/2 cup of whole wheat couscous uncooked (I use RiceSelect )
• 5 oz of Pomegranate Juice
• About 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
• 1/4 cup (34g) crumbled Feta

Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the onion and sauté until browning.

Once the onion is brown, add the yellow squash and cook for a few minutes.

Add the dry couscous and Pom juice. It should almost immediately come to a boil. Stir, remove from heat and cover. Here’s what it looks like just before covering.

While the couscous is cooking, prepare the cilantro and weigh out the feta.

After 5 minutes the couscous should have soaked up the pom juice. uncover, add the the cilantro and feta.

Toss.

You could eat it warm but I preferred it chilled. :)

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!

"Apparently all I had to do was shove a beer can up a chicken’s a$$ to get him excited about dinner!"

I may have been wrong. I’m not sure if it was the can of beer or the fact that I was serving him meat on a bone.

He was just as excited about tonight’s dinner and I even served couscous. You all know how much he hates couscous, right? lol

In all seriousness, he love it. Even asking me what spices I used. He NEVER asks me what spices I use. I don’t think he knows what spices are!

The toddler? Well, he ate with minimal complaint. A win in my book. :)

Here’s what I did. . .

Chicken Breasts

• 3 bone in chicken breasts
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp onion powder
• Kosher Salt
• Ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl mix the cumin, coriander and onion powders.

Remove the skin from all or some of the breasts. I always remove mine. Why? Well let’s take a look. . .

Nutritional information from SparkPeople.

That’s almost half the calories simply by removing the skin. Not to mention the fat! Yikes!

Place the breasts in a baking dish and season with the salt and pepper. Sprinkle on the spice mixture.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until internal temp is 165. Mine were perfect at 43 minutes. I pulled them out and let them sit for 5 minutes.

10 minutes before the chicken is done start the couscous. . .

Veggie Couscous

• 2-3 slices of a large sweet onion diced
• 2 carrots diced
• 2 stalks of celery diced
• 1 small zucchini diced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (4oz)
• 1/2 cup whole grain couscous, dry (110g)

Heat a medium pot over medium heat. Spray with non stick cooking spray and cook the onion for a few minutes while dicing the carrots. Add the carrots, then celery, then zucchini.

Sprinkle with the cumin and coriander (subtle tie in with the chicken). Add the broth and bring to a boil.

Add the couscous, turn off the heat and cover. Fluff after 5 minutes.

I also served with some frozen broccoli. It was a perfect meal for the 3 of us with just enough leftover for a lunch. :)

For my Weight Watchers friends, I’d count this (1 breast and 1/4 of the couscous) as 8 WWP. That’s just my estimate, I don’t have it in me to post nutritional info this evening. Sorry. :(

This was a super late, super quick meal I brought together after a super long day. I realize the idea is not that different then yesterdays One Pot Chicken with Mango and Couscous but I thought I’d share anyway and show you how versatile this type of dish is.

The formula is simple… especially for 1 serving… 3-4 ounces of your favorite protein. Brown it. Add some flavorful liquid (juice or broth about 1/4 cup) and any spices you like. Bring to a boil. Add the couscous (1/4 cup). Cover, remove from heat. wait 5 minutes and eat! Of course if you have fresh veggies add them too! I’m just all out. :(

Seriously… how simple is that? Here’s the flavor combo I put together tonight.

• 4 oz raw boneless chicken breast
• 1 medium orange juiced (or about 1/4 cup orange juice)
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 cup Whole Wheat Couscous (55g)

Brown the chicken in a small pot with a bit of non-stick cooking spray. Juice the orange and add it to the pot along with the soy sauce and ginger. Bring to a boil, add the couscous, cover and remove from the heat.

Wait 5 minutes then enjoy!

The husband wasn’t home for dinner tonight so I got a chance to experiment freely. I loved it. In a weird way I needed it. Cooking is such an outlet for me and I take such satisfaction in coming up with an idea, executing it and creating a meal from scratch.

That’s what I did tonight and I’m ecstatic with the results! Seriously tasty and extraordinarily easy. That’s a win-win in my book!

The kid, on the other hand, saw it as a win-lose. He loved the chicken but couscous isn’t his thing. He’s tried it now a few times and when the texture hits tongue I can see it on his face, he doesn’t like it. I got to give it to him though, he always gives it a try. I’m proud of him for that. So I made a deal and told him to just eat the chicken. Then he enjoyed the other half of the mango. :)

Here’s how I made this quick dish.

• about 1/3 of a sweet onion chopped
• 1/2 pound (8oz) boneless chicken breast (about 1 large breast)
• 10 or so grape tomatoes halved
• 1/2 of a ripe mango cubed (with juices)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Couscous (110 g)
• Kosher Salt, Pepper, Non-stick cooking spray, dried parsley

Heat a medium pot over medium heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the onion and cook until just softened. Add the chicken. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Stir a few times. Once it starts to "brown" add the tomato.

Cut that mango in cubes. It it’s particularly juicy catch that juice and add it to the pot. Stir and let the flavor merge for a bit.

Raise the heat to high, add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling add the couscous, cover and remove from the heat. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Then fluff with a fork and serve!

My mission was a success. I’m STILL satisfied and I ate this over 4 hours ago! I’m shocked!

• about 1 cup grape tomatoes
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• Kosher Salt & Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Dried Basil
• 3oz of water
• 1/8 cup whole wheat couscous (30g) (I buy RiceSelect Organic Whole Wheat Couscous online and keep it in stock)
• About a tbsp roasted pumpkin seed kernels (15g)
• Dried Parsley

Roast the tomatoes using the Simply Roasted Cherry Tomatoes recipe.

While the tomatoes are cooking, bring the water to a boil in a small pot. Sprinkle a pinch of onion powder, garlic powder and dried basil. Once the water is boiling, add the couscous, stir, cover and remove from heat. Leave alone until tomatoes are done.

Once tomatoes are roasted to your liking, toss them with the cooked couscous and pumpkin seed kernels. Top with a bit of dried parsley and enjoy!

Now I’m not going to claim I know anything about Moroccan food. I’m not even sure I could find Morocco on a map! All I know is the flavors of that recipe intrigued me. So I used what I had on hand and whipped this up in about 10 minutes. I’m not kidding, from pot to bowl in 10 and it was tasty! Different. But tasty all the same!

Toddler and husband wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole. However, little man was quite obsessed with my oranges.

So at least I got that in is belly while preparing the dish. Hey… every little bit counts. :)

• 8oz extra lean ground beef
• 1 small sweet onion chopped
• 3 gloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp dried cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cans (15oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 orange peeled and chopped (keep any juices)
• 2oz Whole Wheat Couscous
  (56g)
• 1 can Butter Beans (Large Lima Beans) drained and rinsed

In a medium-large pot brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic. Add the cumin, oregano and cinnamon. Coat everything and let the flavors merge.

Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes (with juices) into the pot. Bring to a boil while peeling and chopping the orange.

Add the orange pieces. Bring back to a boil.

Stir in the couscous. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the Butter Beans and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes until ready to serve.

So as always, take the idea and run with it! :) I’m totally please with how it came out.

• 2 cups (or a 15oz can would work) of our favorite chicken broth or stock (I used some turkey stock I had frozen from thanksgiving)
• 1 15oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 15oz can kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 2oz (55g) whole wheat couscous (I buy RiceSelect Organic Whole Wheat Couscous)

Toppings

• 1 avocado cut into slices (about 25g for each serving)
• 3/4 oz fancy shredded mexican cheese blend (about 5g for each serving)

Place all the ingredients in a pot except avocado and cheese. Bring to a bowl. Then cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minute until couscous is soft.

Scoop into 4 bowls (each about a cup) top with avocado slices and cheese.

Note: this is the first time I’ve eaten avocado like this and I have to admit it was AWESOME! Produce Pick coming soon on the awesome fruit I was avoiding for some reason. :)

Note x2: Here are two more pics. I couldn’t decide so I let the toddler. He picked the main was as the "best". :)

Note x3: Can you also tell I didn’t know what to call it?

I pretty much follow the technique I outlined in the old post but I now add kosher salt, fresh thyme, fresh sage and a handful of whole cloves during the boiling process. I also boil it forever until about 1/4 of it cooks down and then fill it with more water and boil it down again. Like I sad in the original post, the double boil technique really gives a flavorful broth and the fresh herbs and cloves really add an amazing dimension to the stock.

I made the broth last night and this morning I took a few cups and made a simple soup with what I had lying around. I love couscous in the soup (I bought a case of whole grain online-It’s the only place I can find it anymore.) It creates this fun texture and like the brown rice or bulgur, I don’t car if it gets overly "mushy".

This time I actually measured out the ingredients for my soup so I can post more then just a loose idea. Normally I take the broth add stuff and eat. :) Seriously.. it’s that easy.

• 6 cups turkey/chicken stock (already seasoned with salt and spices)
• 1/2 medium onion chopped
• 2 cups carrots chunk sliced
• 3-4 stalks of celery chopped
• 6 oz of cooked chicken/ turkey meat pulled from the bone
• 1/2 cups whole wheat couscous (110g)

Bring the stock with the onion, carrots, celery and turkey meat to a boil. Cook for about 15 minutes.

Add the couscous, cover a lower to a simmer. Simmer about 10 minutes.

Makes just over 8 cups. You could add more stock to make more servings but I purposely make it "thick" as the couscous doesn’t add as much "meat" as say rice or egg noodles.

So I avoided the ‘what’s for dinner’ question like the plague tonight. This just isn’t the husband’s kind of meal. Couscous, spinach, peppers, these things weren’t even in his vocabulary a few months ago! He finally saw the peppers and said, “oh, stuffed peppers”. Notice the lowercase “oh”. It’s isn’t an excited, OH! More like a disappointing “aw, crap!”

So I placed a pepper on his plate and watched him pick at it for a bit, taking a few bites. Nothing was said until I asked, “What do you think?”

and I get a run of the mill, “It’s good.”

“Good?” I said “Do you even know what it is?”

“No, what is it?”

“Couscous”

“What? What is that?

“Just small pasta”

“Oh, alright.”

He then proceeded to eat the WHOLE THING! Pepper and all! I am still in a state of shock. Apparently, if it has leftover turkey in it, the husband is game. ;~)

• 1 cup turkey or chicken broth (separated)
• 2/3 cup of Whole Wheat Couscous (124g)(available in the store)
• 1/2 of a red onion diced (about 110g)
• small zucchini diced (about 130g)
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground sage
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 6oz leftover cooked turkey meat shredded and diced
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves (60g)
• 4 medium peppers
• Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Bring 2/3 of the broth to a boil in a small pot. Remove from heat, add the couscous and set aside.

Cut the tops off the peppers, clean out the seeds and roast for 10 minutes.

Spray a large (and I mean large) skillet with non-stick cooking spray and cook the onion over medium heat for a few minute allowing them to get soft. Add the zucchini, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until zucchini just starts to tender.

Add the turkey and cooked couscous to the skillet. Sprinkle with sage and thyme. Stir allowing the meat to warm up. Add the remaining broth if skillet seems dry.

Add the spinach last, stirring it in until it just starts to wilt.

Remove the peppers from the oven, fill them with the couscous mixture and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.

I served, with a side of Curried Sweet Potato Fries, YUM!