Who Made This SALAD!!!???

 I have decided to make an effort to cook healthy for my family but I also want it to be fun and tasty. One of the recipes I found was for  a Couscous & Fruit Salad. I made this for dinner the night before my kick-off meeting for my MOPS group and decide to make extra to take the next day. When I pulled out everything that I needed, I realized my kids had eaten all but one of the nectarines. The raspberries I had purchased just 3 days prior were molded and had to be thrown away. I had blueberries which was great, but I knew it would need something else. Luckily, I had just purchased these delicious dried white grapes from Henry's Market. These actually made that salad for me. One other modification I made was to drizzle honey over the salad tossing  it, and drizzle honey again. The shallot's in the salad were very strong and the I was hoping the honey would help, which it did very nicely. Next time I will actually half the amount of shallots called for.

How did this salad work for my family? My husband seemed to eat most of his and added a second serving, my 17 year old ate hers right up, my  5 year old did alright with it, and my 3 year old son ate the fruit and left the couscous. I loved it, and I hoped my MOPS group would too. The next morning after having been chilled over night (when we ate it for dinner it wasn't chilled and it is way better chilled) I took it to my group. I was nervous that nobody would eat it. I like different salads but I didn't know if this was too different. Then half way through the meeting I hear "Who made this Salad???" I look up and I see Susie holding up my bowl and exclaiming how amazing it was. After the meeting 3 moms came up to me asking how to make it.. I found a winning recipe and wanted to share it here with you! I will note the modifications I made in the recipe in pink. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did and my MOPS group did. In a few days I will be sharing with you my Baked Oatmeal Recipe which is another favorite amongst my MOPS group and my family!

 Enjoy!

Couscous & Fruit Salad

adapted from Eating Well

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons finely chopped shallots
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups cooked whole-wheat couscous
1 cup chopped nectarine
1 cup mixed fresh berries, such as blueberries and raspberries
2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds, (see Tip) ( I did not toast mine)

Honey for drizzling and dried white grapes (purchased at Henry's Market bulk section)

Preparation:

Whisk oil, orange juice, vinegar, shallots, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add cooked couscous, nectarines, dried grapes, berries and almonds; drizzle with honey (twice) gently toss to combine.

Tip:
To toast sliced almonds, heat a small dry skillet over medium-low heat. Add nuts and cook, stirring, until lightly browned and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.

The recipe as is serves 4, so just double or triple as needed!

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