Whole Wheat Cous Cous with Apple, Raisins & Green Onions

Cous cous make a great side and especially for juicy flavorful chicken dishes! Although I don’t make cous cous often, its the perfect side dish for entertaining since it’s both easy and quick to make. Cous cous is also easily customizable and takes well to both sweet and salty food pairings from anything to olive to dried cranberries.

Since I paired my cous cous with Ginger Chicken with Seasonal Fruit I wanted to incorporate similar flavors in the cous cous to bring out the sweetness in the chicken dish. And adding raisins, apples, and green onions, not only added tremendous flavor to the cous cous but a wonderful melange of colors that brightened up the dish.

Whole Wheat Cous Cous with Apple, Raisins, & Green Onions Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/3 cup chopped green onions
• 1 small apple peeled & diced
• 1 1/2 cups water (or chicken broth)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dry cous cous
• 1/3 cup raisins

PREPARATIONS

1. In a large saute pan heat one teaspoon of olive oil. When hot add apples and green onions and saute until fragrant (about 2-3 minutes) and leave aside.
2. In the same pan, bring the water, one tablespoon olive oil, and salt to a boil. When the liquid mixture has reached a boil, pour in the cous cous, take of the heat and stir the mixture to combine. Add the raisins and keep the pan covered for five minutes. 
3. Remove the lid and fluff the cooked cous cous with a fork and add the onion and apple mixture. 
4. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the cous cous medley and serve!

Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp with Steamed Vegetables

Cooking Light

Cooking Light’s Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp, is probably the first Cooking Light recipe that I prepared without any alterations or substitutions. I happened to have really enjoyed the flavors in this dish, though I felt it could have been a little spicier.

This had been my first time ever using red curry paste and I was very underwhelmed by its flavor. Because I tend to like spicier foods, I added some sririacha to the sauce. I would also recommend adding small amounts of Tumeric to spice it up even more.

If you don’t have brown rice on hand or prefer pasta, I suggest using some whole wheat papparadelle and increasing the amount of coconut milk to about 1 1/2 cups, creating more of a sauce. Combining the cooked papparadelle with the shrimp mixture right before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon red curry paste (such as Thai Kitchen or Sririacha)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 12 ounces pre-cooked (frozen) shrimp
• 3/4 cup light coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 2 cups broccoli
• 1 cup sliced white button mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (optional)
• 1 Ziploc Steam Bag

Preparation

1. Defrost the shrimp, by placing them in a large bowl covered with warm water. Then take off their tails and slice each shrimp into two pieces.

2. Heat the curry paste, fish sauce, and coconut milk in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds until thoroughly heated. Stir in sugar and sauté 15 seconds.

3. While coconut milk is heating up, place two cups of broccoli and 1 cup of mushrooms in a Ziploc bag. Place pre-cooked brown rice packet and the Ziploc steam bag simultaneously in the microwave and heat based on instructions.

3. Add shrimp and green onions; sauté on a low flame for 2 minutes or until coconut milk appears to be sticking to the shrimp.

4. Remove steamed vegetables from the microwave and sautee with the shrimp until combined.

5. Plate a 3/4 cup of brown rice in each of two bowls and top with 1 1/2 cups of the shrimp and steamed vegetables.

Coconut Curry Shrimp with Vegetables

Nutritional Information*

Calories: 255 (26% from fat)

Fat: 7.4g (sat 2.6g,mono 1.8g,poly 1.9g)

Steamed Vegetables are not included, but can be estimated at about 90 calories per cup.