Couscous with Peppers & Onion

Here's another way to dress up couscous. I got this mix of ingredients and flavors from Cooking Light. However, their instructions -- sauteing AND then cooking the peppers & onions with the couscous -- leaves the veggies soft and soggy (and I'd bet good money the veggies pictured on their recipe page were not cooked that way!). So here's my spin on it...amounts below will serve 2 or 3 as a hot side or cold salad.

Ingredients

1½ C chicken broth (or water)

¾ C Israeli (pearl) couscous

1 T olive oil

½ red bell pepper, small diced

½ jalepeno pepper, very finely diced

¼ red onion, small diced

2 T lime juice

1 T chopped fresh cilantro*

s & p to taste

* I am not a cilantro fan! But I did have some flat leaf parsley and it adds a nice freshness and pop of green to the finished dish.

Directions

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan; add couscous and reduce heat to simmer. Cover, simmer 8-10 minutes until couscous is al dente.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a fry pan and sauté peppers and onions over high heat briefly; it's nice if they still have good texture, but a little char adds flavor!  Optional: I wish I would have gotten more char on mine, but I didn't want to overcook them -- should have had the pan hotter. But, you could completely skip this step if you're going to serve it cold...leave the veggies fresh and crunchy.

When the couscous is finished, stir in the peppers & onions along with lime juice. Garnish with chopped cilantro (or parsley) to serve.

If you're craving some protein, dice up some chicken, pork or even ham, which is what I had on hand. Sauté it with the onions and peppers, and throw it into the mix!