Cooking in Jackson

Couscous stuffed bell peppers!
Black bean and spinach enchiladas!
Baked couscous with asparagus!

What do these things have in common?  Is it... A) that I cooked them all this week, B) that they are all from the Betty Crocker cookbook that I started this blog to cook through, C) foods that Scott would refuse to eat if he were here, or D) all of the above?

If you selected D, you are correct!

One of the "perks" of living apart from Scott for the year is the opportunity to cook a wider range of food, since I don't have to cater to Scott's picky eating habits.  I started my first week off right by cooking three meals he would turn his nose up at.  First up: bell peppers stuffed with couscous.

This is a relatively simple recipe that includes ground beef, onions, couscous, and tomato sauce, all mixed together and stuffed into a bell pepper.  Then you put the stuffed bell peppers in the slow cooker for 5-7 hours, and out pops one of my favorite meals.  Yum.
Up next: baked asparagus with couscous.  This is another relatively simple meal, that is essentially a vegetarian casserole.  Carrots, onions, asparagus, couscous, some broth and cream of whatever soup...  boom!

 

This week when I went to grocery shop, I couldn't find bread crumbs, so I ended up toasting and making my own.  A bit more work, but don't they look beautiful on top of that casserole?  Also note, this was the first dinner I got to eat at my fancy new farmhouse dining room table.  It's 8 feet long, which will be perfect for potluck dinners with our 11-person resident class.
Lastly, unpictured, I made a casserole of enchiladas.  Pretty standard eating for our house, but I was able ot pack in black beans and spinach since I wasn't sharing with Scott.  And so you have my first week of cooking!
As an aside, I HAD planned to make a vegetable lasagna this weekend, and then freeze some of it for the future, but something happened with our electricity/circuit breakers and our oven is currently out of commission.  This house/move has just been one adventure after another... stay tuned for more!