Recipe of the Week: Baked Couscous

I love reinventing leftovers into something entirely different from what we had the night before. It's not always possible, of course, but sometimes it works, and when it does I feel so thrifty and sensible!

So the other night we had Greek tacos. Never heard of 'em? Well, no recipe is required...here's how you make the swap:

Greek Tacos

In place of ground beef, use ground chicken
In place of taco seasoning, brown the chicken with a little oregano, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper.
In place of shredded cheddar, use feta
In place of taco shells, use pita pockets
In place of sour cream, use a dollop of Greek yogurt
Sprinkle with tomatoes and cucumbers, and serve with a side of garlic and olive oil-flavored couscous.

Now here's where it gets interesting. I had seen a recipe for baked couscous in a magazine, Family Circle I think, and had a mental note to serve it as a re-invented side. It called for a little mayo as the binder. But when we have Greek Tacos, there's always a lot left over, so I thought, why not make it a main dish with the chicken thrown in? Here's what I did:

Baked Couscous with Greek Chicken

In large bowl, combine leftover couscous with leftover chicken from Greek tacos (see above).
Stir in ½ c. chopped broccoli, 1 shredded carrot and 1 c. Parmesan cheese.
Add about 3 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise, and stir until well-mixed. You'll want the mixture to be moist, but not too gooey.
Sprinkle with more Parmesan and bake 20 minutes at 350.
Serve with toasted pita bread rounds topped with tomatoes, feta, and oregano.

There! Two meals, two different nights, same basic ingredients...love it when that happens. Oh, and everyone loved it. Kids, too. The baked couscous would be easy for a toddler to spoon up.