CousCous

My first memory of couscous comes from my sophomore year of college.  There was a girl on my floor that freaked out with happiness every time the dining hall served couscous.  It reminded me too much of rice (which I loath) so I've never tried couscous.  Well, I read an article a while back about how couscous is one of those easy meals that is not only good for you, but is an easy meal for lunch the next day.  Then on my first flight to China they served couscous with our meal, so I tried it and it wasn't bad!

I've since come to love couscous, not only for it's simplicity, but for the fact that it DOES truly make a fantastic lunch the next day.  It keeps and heats up very well.  And it only takes 5 minutes to cook at night for a meal!  On our busy schedule this is golden.

Ingredients:
1 box Near East couscous (pick any flavor you like)
4oz shredded turkey or chicken
2C veggies of your choice (broccoli works well)

Over the weekend I will toss either a few chicken breasts or turkey fillets in the crock pot with some seasoning (usually Mrs. Dash sodium free garlic and herb) and about 1/4C Swanson's organic chicken stock.  I'll cook it on high for a few hours until it's ready to shred.  Then I'll stock the freezer for the week, making meals super fast during our hectic work week. This shredded meat is perfect to mix with couscous (or quinoa - bet you can't wait to hear about that one!)

Couscous takes 6 minutes to make.  You boil 1 1/4C of water mixed with the seasoning packet and a tiny bit of butter.  Once it boils (approx. 1min) you add the couscous, stir, and cover for 5 minutes.  Don't forget to turn the heat off!  While it's steaming, I heat up the turkey (1min on high) and steam the veggies (2 min on high) in the microwave.  Voila - a quick and easy 6 minute meal, that is not only healthy but provides left-overs!