Meatless Monday: Fall Harvest Couscous

I am always pleasantly surprised when an idea comes to fruition. My husband had asked if we could have a dish with couscous and I jumped at the opportunity. After looking around at recipes, I found one that used chickpeas, cranberries and squash. Per usual, I did not have the necessary ingredients! Of course….so I do what I always do….wing it. I prefer my dishes to have some wiggle room. So once again, I bring you a dish that you can seriously tailor to your preference.

Preheat oven: 400 degrees Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients (makes 2, double for more)
Place below ingredients on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper
Add small amount of extra virgin olive oil to each item on pan, coat with hands.
1. Half stalk Asparagus – snap of bottoms
2. One pepper – diced
3. 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds. Watch these bc they can burn (may need to be taken out early)
4. 2 roma tomatoes – diced
5. 1/2 cup canned chickpeas -wash and remove thin shell on each – time consuming but worth it b/c it cooks to a nice crunch
***Sprinkley 1tsp garlic salt and 1 tsp onion powder over veggies – pepper, tomatoes, chickpeas
***Sprinkle a couple shakes salt over almonds
(save 1/2 cup of craisins to add to dish AFTER out of the oven. Don’t cook the craisins.)

While veggies are in the oven, boil 1 and 3/4 cup water and 1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil in saucepan. Follow directions on box of Near East Pearled Couscous Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil. This stuff is magic in a box! So good!
When the veggies come out, use scissors to cut your asparagus into small pieces. Put everything into the pot and stir. I chose to add craisins to mine to have a sweet contrast to the garlic. You could also use yellow raisins, regular raisins or even dates. (I have no advice on how to use dates, but I saw it suggested somewhere and wanted to pass it along. I prefer craisins and yellow raisins myself.)

And that’s it! Let me know what you think!