Couscous Pilaf Salad

I have been horribly neglectful of this poor little blog. But I have a good excuse. So while I have been doing a lot of eating, I've lacked the energy to take pictures and post. But I found this recipe in my old binder, made it, consumed a lot of it, and had to share it. This is courtesy of my friend Catherine.

Ingredients:

1 box of Near East Couscous

1 1/3 c. and 2 T. vegetable stock (or chicken stock)

1 T. canola or olive oil

1 onion chopped (yellow or spanish)

2 T. cider vinegar

1 T. curry powder

1 t. brown sugar

1/2 t. each of salt, cumin and cinnamon

1 c. fresh or frozen peas

1/2 c. diced red or green peppers

1/3 c. chickpeas

1/4 c. raisins (optional)

2 T. sliced almonds (optional)

Directions:

Follow the directions on the box of couscous and use chicken or vegetable stock instead of water to cook the couscous in.

In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes. Stir in vinegar, remaining stock, curry powder, brown sugar, salt, cumin and cinnamon. Mix. Add in all vegetables and optional mixings and cook through. Add to couscous and toss gently. Can be served hot or cold.

My Recommendations:

To make this recipe more kid friendly, you can cut down on the amount of curry powder. My two don't eat this even if I leave out the curry powder all together, so I always add the full amount. You can also add any vegetable you would like such as broccoli or cauliflower. Lastly, I always tweak the amounts of chickpeas, peas and almonds, putting in more chickpeas and almonds and less peas.

Easy Baked Macaroni

My mom made this for us a few years ago and after only one bite, I demanded the recipe. When I read the recipe for the first time, I almost laughed at how easy it is. Then I recovered and made lots of it, and consumed it in mass quantities. I'm pretty sure this is where all of my baby weight with bubba came from.

Ingredients:

6 T. margarine or butter

2 c. elbow macaroni, uncooked

4 c. milk

8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

(Optional crumb topping)

2 T. melted butter

1/2 c. bread crumbs

Directions:

Melt margarine or butter in a 2-quart casserole dish. Dump in uncooked macaroni, milk and cheese in that order. DO NOT STIR. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

For crumb topping: Combine melted butter with bread crumbs. Sprinkle over the top about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

My Recommendations:

If you are like me, serve with heated diced tomatoes. Or if you're like Al, look at me with a bizarre look and make retching noises when I suggest that. (Am I the only one who likes my macaroni with hot tomatoes?)

This would definitely classify as a kid friendly recipe. I barely had time to serve myself some before MJ handed me her empty bowl asking for more. I love it when that happens.