Cranberry-Nut Couscous Salad

Cranberry-Nut Couscous Salad

Prep: 25 min + chilling

Ingredients:

1 package (10 oz) plain couscous (I used whole wheat couscous with mine)

1 cup dried cranberries

3/4 chopped green onions

3/4 chopped sweet yellow or red pepper

3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

(*I added about 1/2 of a tomato, diced)

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

*You can also try using quinoa (pronounced "keen-waw") instead of couscous. It has a lighter flavor, but its still good. Plus, its a really healthy whole grain.

(pictured with quinoa)

Prepare couscous according to package. Transfer to large bowl; fluff with a fork. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled

Stir in cranberries, onions, yellow pepper and almonds. In a small separate bowl whisk the lemon juice, oil, paprika, salt and pepper; pour over salad and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Yeild: 14 servings

Nutrition Facts: 1/2 cup equals 170 calories, 7 g fat (1 g sat. fat), 0 cholesterol, 45 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Mashed Cauliflower

I don't know if anyone watches 'Biggest Loser', but Jillian mentioned using cauliflower instead of potatoes for "mashed potatoes". Its a great alternative because its without all the starch of potatoes. I made it the next day, and I loved it!!

Instructions:

Cook cauliflower, drain. Blend with plain, unsweetened soymilk (or milk of your choice), sea salt & pepper, and about 1 tsp olive oil, in a blender (or food processor, or kitchen aid, etc.). Add fresh, chopped chives if you want, and voila!

One head of cauliflower serves about 4 people.

About 3/4 cup of milk per head of cauliflower, if you want to make more.

Salsa

1 can Mexican Stewed Tomatoes
½ can chopped Green Chilies
3 green onions
Cilantro (maybe 2 T or more)
1 jalapeno
1 clove garlic
½ tsp garlic salt
½ tsp cumin
½ Tbl worcestershire sauce
Juice of half a lime
3-4 fresh garden tomatoes

In a food processor, combine all ingredients EXCEPT the fresh tomatoes. I cut the onions and pepper into smaller pieces. If you want it spicy, leave most of the seeds in the jalapeno. If you don’t want it spicy, you can leave it out I guess. Or just remove all the seeds and the white insides. It’s really not that spicy that way. You could use a milder pepper as well. But I like it hot! Chop until you are sure the garlic and pepper are chopped small. I usually let my food processor run for quite awhile. I’ve never had a problem with it blending my salsa too thin. Pour mixture into a bowl. Peel tomatoes and chop small (with a knife, not in the processor). Add together and chill.

This recipe is halved, if you can’t tell. If you have a larger food processor you can double this recipe and make it easier. ½ Tablespoon is equal to 1 ½ tsp if you don’t have a ½ T measuring spoon.

I got this recipe out of a cookbook but I changed it a lot so I guess that makes it mine :) Maybe I should call it ‘Joanie’s Awesome Salsa’. The only thing I don’t like is that it calls for canned tomatoes but I don’t know how to get that flavor from scratch. And I put a lot of fresh tomatoes in as well.