An easy, tasty and healthy side dish.......

or possibly even a main course if you wanted to add diced chicken, shrimp or beef to it.  I'm talking about Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend.  Description on the package: A Savory Blend of Israeli Style Couscous, Orzo, Baby Garbanzo Beans, and Red Quinoa.  This was fabulous, and as easy to make as rice is.

Of course, the dried cranberries were my idea, I love adding something sweet to rice or couscous.  On this all I did was follow the package directions which were:

Bring 1 3/4 cups water or chicken broth to a boil.  Add 1 tablespoon butter and stir in  1 1/4 cup of Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend.  Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.  Yield:  approximately 3 cups.....

I threw in a handful of dried cranberries and stirred them in just before removing from the heat.  Also, I hardly ever use water when making rice or couscous.  The broth provides tons more flavor.

Trader Joe's is a new adventure for me.  It is an organic grocery market for the budget conscious, which I love.  It is now my go-to place for stocking my pantry with pasta, tomatoes, beans, oils, vinegars and condiments so far.  The location available to me is not a large store, but the inventory is pretty amazing.  

Couscous is essentially tiny pasta.  Once I discovered the pearl (Israeli) couscous, I haven't gone back to the traditional couscous.  I think even your picky eaters will like this side dish, especially if they already love noodles.

Have a wonderful day!

Nancy