Quick & Delicious

I love couscous! That may be a silly thing to say, but it's just so yummy, I can't help it. ;) I have recently discovered Israeli/Pearl couscous, and it has quickly become my favorite. While it is super delish eaten hot with meat and veggies, I love to turn it into a cold salad, because it's soooo yummy and healthy!

Alright so here is my "recipe" for a quick and delicious Couscous salad:

~ 1 box of Israeli couscous, cooked, and cooled down
~ 2-3 grilled chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces, cooled
~ fresh crisp veggies, diced (I love cucumbers, red or yellow peppers, and white or red onion)
~ your favorite creamy salad dressing (Trader Joe's Greek Feta Dressing is the shiz, and will pretty much season the salad perfectly. Ranch dressing works well too, but I found I needed to add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and white vinegar for the flavor to really pop.)
~ crumbly cheese, like feta, blue, or parmesan (optional)

• Combine the couscous, chicken, and veggies in a large bowl and mix together.
• Add the dressing a little bit at a time, stirring everything together, until it's as moist as you would like it to be.
• Taste test - add any salt, pepper, garlic, etc. if needed.
  
• Add/top with cheese, if using.
• Refrigerate for at least an hour, so the flavors can really soak in. I'm not quite that patient, but I definitely notice better flavors when I have the left-overs the next day.

You can serve it with some bread, or on top of some leafy greens, if you like, but I just like it served in a mug with a spoon. :)
Bon Appetit!

Recipe Update

So I tried this recipe again tonight, and went for a "primavera" style with grilled chicken on top. It turned out amazing! :)

After reading the pasta boxes, I decided to go with a linguine noodle - it's not as thick as the fettuccine, but not as thin as the angel hair, and is a good fit for cream sauces. I made the sauce just like the last time, but this time, when I returned the sauce to the skillet I added corn, peas, and carrots (which I sliced into strips and blanched in the water with the pasta, for the last 5 mins) before adding the parmesan cheese.

Add a couple of slices of french baguette and you are set for a great meal! My mom loved it too. ;)

A Recipe...

or as I am now calling it - A Revelation!

Do you like guacamole? You know, the yummy green stuff at Mexican restaurants made from avocado?! Ok good. Now, how you ever made it yourself?! Oh you have... well then I guess I'm the only doofus that hadn't until this month! Seriously, what took me so long?! Best. Snack. Ever!

So, on the off chance there are other people out there like me who have not make their own guac (yeah it's cool enough to get it's own nickname), I present you with my simple, versatile, and extremely delicious recipe!

Simple & Delicious Guac

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
2 extremely ripe avocados*
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lime
dash of salt
dash of black or white pepper
1 tblsp. olive oil**
splash of white vinegar**

Appliances:
Food processor

Step 1: Put the onion in the food processor and pulse the life out of it. You want the onion to basically be pulversized, so all the juices come out, and so you don't get a giant bite of onion (unless you like that, then you can mince up some extra onion to stir in at the end).

Step 2: Peel and remove pit from avocado. Place the avocado in the food processor; add the garlic. Pulse until smooth.

Step 3: Place avocado mixture into bowl (preferably one that has a tight fitting lid). Squeeze the juice of the lime, salt, and pepper into guac and stir. If using, add oil and vinegar as well. Cover with lid (if possible let out as much air as you can), and refrigerate for 10-15 mins, or until cold.

Step 4: Serve with chips and enjoy!

*My avocado was in the fridge for like two weeks, because I kept forgetting to use it. Best accident ever actually, so you're going to want to buy your avocados in advance. It seems to be difficult to find soft ones at the store, so don't expect to go out today and have guac tonight. Apparently you can quicken the ripening process by placing the avocados in a paper bag with an apple or banana (or both). I have not tried this, but many people on Google tell me it is so (and the internets never lie, right?!).

**If you don't expect any leftovers, omit these ingredients, as they are for preservation purposes only. The oil and vinegar slow down the browning of the avocados.

Now, that was just my recipe using what I had around the house. This recipe is pretty versatile, IMO, so here are some suggestions of things to add:

-Cilantro: I actually have cilantro now, and plan to add some to the next guac I make.
-Jalapeno (or any other peppers): Want an extra kick? Throw in some peppers!
-Tomato: This is a fairly common addition to some guacamole. I don't really like them, so I didn't add them.
-Black Beans
-Corn

Really, you can add pretty much whatever you think will be tasty! :)

Leave a comment if you have a guac recipe I should try, or an extra ingredient I just have to add. Enjoy!

Home, & A Recipe

Well, I am home from Thailand and crazy exhausted/jet-lagged, of course. I pretty much slept all day Friday, which wasn't the best idea, but like I said, I was exhausted. LOL Anyways, today I'm just relaxing at home, doing laundry, unpacking, etc. But a girl's gotta eat, right?
So I go to the fridge/freezer to see what I have - not much, obviously, since I just got back from a two week trip, but enough that a plan forms in my head. This plan turned out to be pretty darn amazing, if I do say so myself, and so I thought, "I must share this "recipe" with the world!!" Of course, I don't really have world-wide domination [yet], but onto to blog it goes. :)

I'm going to call this the "Creamy, Hearty Pasta Sauce" because well, I'm jet-lagged and that's about as creative as I can get at this point... ;)
Ingredients:
water
1 tomato
1 tblsp. olive oil
1 tblsp. butter
1/4 onion, diced
basil
oregano
black pepper
salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 pint of heavy cream
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
chicken stock or broth
parmesan cheese

*Also, you'll need a blender*

Step 1: Boil enough water to cover the tomato. I used an electric kettle, then placed the tomato in a measuring cup (bowl works too) and poured the water on top. Cover with a plate or something to keep the heat in. Leave it soaking while you prep everything else. You're doing two things: 1) softening the tomato skin so you can peel it & 2) warming up the tomato.

Step 2: Heat oil in skillet on med-high heat. When hot add onions & stir. Add butter & stir. Cook 2-3 mins, stirring occasionally so they don't stick or burn. Add salt, pepper, oregano, & basil. Keep stirring. Cook approx. 5 more mins, until the onions have softened a bit and the spices are smelling really good. Add the garlic, stir and cook another 2-3 mins.

Step 3: Add the heavy cream. Bring up to a boil and reduce heat to med. Keep stirring, and watching, because cream will boil over if you're not careful. Add yellow pepper, stir and bring back to boil again. Continue cooking the cream mixture for approx 8-10mins until it thickens up a bit.
While sauce is thickening, remove the tomato from its bath, pull the skin and top off, and place it in the blender.

Step 4: Add a splash of the chicken stock/broth to the thickened cream mixture (approx. 2-3 tblsps.), and stir. Pour cream mixture into blender, over the tomato. Blend mixture on the "Puree" setting, until everything seems mixed together well (2-3 mins). Pour back into skillet. Stir in 3-4 tblsp. of parmesan cheese, add to your pasta, top with a little more parmesan, and voila!

I had mine with ravioli, and while good, I think the filling over powered the sauce a bit. So, here are a few suggestions on how to use this sauce:
~ Toss with steamed veggies (peas, carrots, asparagus, etc.) and angel hair pasta, for a "Pasta Primavera" style meal.
~ Toss with linguine or fettuccine pasta, and top with grilled chicken.
~ Add some ground sausage or turkey and toss with spaghetti pasta.

Let me know if you try this out, if you enjoyed it, and what kind of combo you used or came up with! Bon Appetit!