Even as a food blogger and writer
who loves to cook and entertain, I find it can be exhausting to think of what
to make for dinner each week.
My husband and I have figured out a system that works for us—a list of 20
meals for the month. I pick out a couple of meals for each week, depending
on what we have going on, and then order groceries and plan from there.
One thing he included was a selection of side dish ideas, which has been a
huge help. It’s been nice for us to have a variety of meals to avoid eating the
same things every week. Here’s one to add to your rotation.
Find this recipe and more at kentuckyliving.com/recipes.
HEATHER BILYEU, raised in southern Kentucky, is the owner and voice behind
the food blog, Fueling a Southern Soul.
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we all love an easy and flavorful side
dish an easy Greek couscous pasta salad
is the answer to that need toss this
together in 20 minutes and serve it all
year long full of delicious Greek
flavors and perfect for serving at room
temperature or chilled this is going to
be your new favorite side dish this year
to begin this recipe we’re going to cook
the couscous first so that can be going
while we chop and prep all of our
veggies to IM mediumsized pot I’m adding
2 cups of water to the pot a pinch of
salt and about a tablespoon worth of
butter once at a boil you’re going to
add 1 cup of the couscous turn it down
to medium heat cover and let it cook
until alente while that’s cooking we’re
going to go ahead and chop all of our
veggies first we’ll start with the
Cucumber I’m using many cucumbers here
but you can use any cucumber that you
like I just like to cut these Into Thin
strips and then chop them into tiny
bites we want to make sure that all the
vegetables are around the same size so
that when you bite into everything
you’re going to have an even size of
veggies per bite and not one thing big
and one thing small so we’re just going
to cut these into little bite-sized
chunks and we’re going to add about a
cup of cucumber straight into a large
bowl next are the cherry tomatoes we’re
going to use about a cup of cherry
tomatoes I like to half and quarter
these depending on the size if they’re
smaller just go ahead and half them if
they’re larger I like to quarter them
next up is the Red Onion so for this I
actually just like to really really
thinly slice if you have a mandolin this
would be perfect for this but I’m going
to use a really sharp knife and just
really thinly paper slice the red onion
and add it to the Bowl this is the only
thing I’m not going to chop up really
little I like to leave this in the half
form I think it just looks pretty but
you can chop it up a little bit finer if
you don’t like a bigger chunk of onion
next up is my personal favorite the
olives I just buy a jar of already
pitted calamada olives you can roughly
dice these all up or just slice them in
half add them to a bowl we’re going to
use about a cup of this as well and then
last is the feta I personally like to
buy a block of feta and chop it into
tiny cubes instead of using the crumbles
but you definitely can use the crumble
feta to make this a little bit easier if
you prefer as you see here I’ll cut it
in half and then turn it over cut it
into long thin strips rotate it again
cut it into cubes the recipe calls for
about a half a cup of feta but I added a
little more here just because I
personally like extra cheese so a half
to a Full Cup just depending on your
personal preference next up we’re going
to make a super simple dressing when I
was making this I actually doubled the
amount of dressing to be able to use it
for something else so just disregard the
double measurements but to a Pyrex
measuring cup add 1/4 cup of olive oil
the juice of half of a lemon around 2 or
3 teaspoons of Dijon mustard and then
we’re going to add some fresh herbs
about 2 or 3 teaspoons of freshly
chopped am minced chives and about a
half a teaspoon of fresh oregano then
we’re going to add a couple spices
around 1/4 teaspoon of salt 1/4 teaspoon
of freshly cracked black pepper and then
about a pinch or an eighth of a teaspoon
of red pepper flakes but we’re going to
go ahead and give this a good whisk so
everything is mixed together and then
set it aside once the couscous is fully
cooked and alente remove it from the
heat give it a Fluff with a fork or
spoon and then we’re going to add that
directly into the big bowl of veggies
and the feta that I’ve added in and give
it a good toss now we’ll drizzle the
dressing on top and again give it a good
toss and because the pasta is warm at
this point it just kind of helps melt
everything together the Veta gets a
little creamy and it just creates this
beautiful texture and dressing that just
coats all the things and it’s so
delicious I could eat this entire Bowl
just standing at the counter right now
it’s so good now this can be served
right away as it’s a little bit warm
just go ahead and add it to a large
platter everyone can kind of help
themselves at room temperature or stick
it in the fridge for a couple hours
until you need it it’s a really easy and
versatile recipe for whatever your needs
this is a great side dish or something
to bring to a potluck or a summer
barbecue this salad keeps really well
for about 2 days and makes really
delicious leftovers you can add some
chicken on top to make a really easy and
healthy lunch the next day I know yall
are going to love it for the full recipe
head on over to Kentucky living.com
everything is mapped out there for you
plus some other really delicious side
dishes that I know you will enjoy thank
you so much for joining me in my kitchen
today and until next time I’ll talk to
you all very soon