As many of you know, Chad is in the military. He's my favorite soldier in the whole wide world! Our first couple years of marriage have been... interesting... lonely... chaotic. He's been gone from our marriage a lot: our of the last 30 months, he's been gone 13 solid months, and about 2 months more in sporadic spurts. In the foreseeable future, he's going to add another month and a half to that list. It's safe to say he splits his time almost evenly between us and them (at least until he deploys next year). He's been home about a year now (minus random training events) and I've run out of things to make. I haven't needed to expand my repertoire since recently, but I'm pretty sure he's glad we're not eating the five things I'm good at making over and over again every week.
I've inherited one of Moms' talents: I can sort of toss things together randomly and they'll taste good. It comes in handy when I need to add a little more to feed more than just my family, or when I've got leftovers that need using. It's also a handy thing to have in my pocket of abilities when trying new recipes out. Today's conquered meal: Parmesan Couscous Sausage Bake.
Let me tell you: It looks YUMMY! It's got a bunch of things in there that would make my younger self cringe. It's got stuff in there my mom would love. It's got stuff in there that only one of my siblings would eat, really.. and maybe my dad.. since it doesn't have sauce ;) [Spaghetti sauce and apple sauce are the only acceptable sauces for dinner]. What's in it you ask? Well, I'll tell you!
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups couscous
1 lb Jimmy Dean HOT sausage (great flavor!!)
1/2 large white onion (chopped)
3 TBS minced garlic (we have a love affair, garlic and I)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 TBS basil
1 (ish) cup shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Ready?! Bring chicken stock to a boil, stir in couscous, boil for a couple seconds, cover, remove from heat. Let sit for 5-10 minutes (or till your done with everything else, like I did), and fluff for good separation. Meanwhile... Brown your sausage. Toss in your onion and let it saute in the yummy grease until almost translucent. Add your garlic and let it soak up the flavors for about 2 minutes. Toss in your red and green bell peppers, stir around for a minute or two. Add your can of tomatoes, juice and all. Add your basil. Cook this for a few minutes, letting the juice from the tomatoes reduce just a bit. In a 9x13 glass casserole dish, combine couscous, meat mixture, and half of your parmesan cheese. Top with remaining cheese and put it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Serve. It's yummy. I promise!!
Mom never would have gotten away with peppers and couscous... let alone all in one meal!
