Black Bean and Couscous Salad

My dear friend Kristen brought this salad over to me about 6 months ago and it was love at first taste.

It's so light, fresh, healthy, and delicious! (and very colorful)

It's always fun making something different and a nice change from heavy cooking!

1 C uncooked couscous

1 1/4 C chicken broth

3 T extra virgin olive oil

2 T fresh lime juice

1 t red wine vinegar

1/2 t ground cumin

8 green onions, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro

1 C frozen corn kernels, thawed

2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained

salt & pepper to taste

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a 2 quart or larger sauce pan and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans and toss to coat.

Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.

It's tastes best if it's served cold, I think. Also, it stays fresh for a few days and still tastes just as good.

Berry and Roasted Almond Salad

I was pretty much trying to duplicate the Nuts about Berries salad at Zupas... one of my favorite places to eat lunch with Steve and the kids. It's a pretty close replica!

Ingredients:
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 sugar
1/4 vegetable oil
1/4 tsp paprika
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
Slivered roasted almonds (I roast my own in oven with a cinnamon, sugar, salt, egg, and almond extract mixture for about an hour or so, stirring often)
2 hearts of romaine
mix of berries - strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc (approx. a quart total)

Directions:
In a bowl mix the sugar, vinegar, paprika, oil, and worchestershire sauce. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours. In a bowl, toss berries, romaine, and almonds. Mix with the dressing just before serving.

I'll add my exact cinnamon roasted almond recipe later. This salad is so yummy and those almonds really make it, in my opinion. Enjoy! :)

Banana Cream Fruit Salad

I got this from a coworker a few years ago and never made it until today when I ran across the recipe. It's a fun twist on a regular fruit salad.

Ingredients:
1 tub frozen whipped topping (thawed)
1 cup buttermilk (8 oz.)
1 pkg. Banana Cream Jell-O pudding
1 can mandarin oranges
1 can pineapple tidbits
chopped fresh strawberries (whatever looks like enough) :)
Keebler Fudge Striped cookies

Mix the banan pudding with the buttermilk. Fold in the whipped topping. Add all the fruit and mix. Break the cookies in 1/4ths (about 1/2 of a package - whatever looks like the right amount) and mix those in too.

I would imagine you could change the fruit to whatever you like, but this is what he used in his. Not the healthiest fruit salad ever, but really good!

Italian Pasta Salad

My mom always used to make this and I love it!

Ingredients:
1 box (12 oz.) Rainbow Rotini (or any pasta you like - this is nice and colorful)
1 bottle italian dressing
Variety of vegetables, like carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, olives, etc.
Can add cheese, diced ham, etc (optional)

Boil pasta according to directions on the box. (Do not overcook!) Drain and let cool. Chop veggies to add. Once pasta is cooled, add veggies and dressing. Add as much or as little dressing as you like. I usually use about half the bottle, or a full bottle if I double it and cook 2 boxes of pasta. Stir and refridgerate until ready to serve.

This is the kind of salad that the flavor gets even better the longer it sits in the dressing. A word of caution though, if you want it to last a couple of days, don't add tomatoes because they tend to not taste as fresh a couple days later.