Friesencold

The other day when I said I wasn’t cooking anything new, I realized that same day that in fact I was. It’s not new to us, but it’s a new-to-the-blog recipe. This recipe if from the red Betty Crocker cookbook and the name of it in that cookbook is “Italian Chicken and Couscous.” I just omitted the chicken, upped the veggies, and ta-da! A whole new dish.

Recipe 20: Zucchini and Tomato Couscous

1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can stewed tomatoes, drained and 1/2 cup liquid reserved
1 medium onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups organic chicken broth (or I’m sure you could use vegetable broth)
3 small zucchini, cut lengthwise in half, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
5.5 oz package of Near East flavored couscous, including seasoning packet (I have used the Herbed Chicken flavor and the Garlic and Olive Oil flavor….any will work fine, just be sure it’s not the box of plain couscous because the seasoning packet is what gives the dish its flavor)

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic in oil 1 minute, stirring frequently.
2. Stir in reserved tomato liquid, onion, oregano and pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender.
3. Stir in broth; heat to boiling. Stir in zucchini, couscous (including seasoning packet), and tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes with a fork (I cut the tomatoes beforehand with a knife). Stir well and leave on burner for just a couple minutes so everything gets good and hot. Then remove from heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes or until couscous is tender and liquid is absorbed.

This is a super easy and quick recipe and yields 3-4 servings. Bauer knows it as the Zucchini Stuff. I served it with corn-on-the-cob and toasted rice bread on this particular evening.