So Many Dishes

I love going through my dinner journals from past years and rediscovering recipes we’ve forgotten. I’ve mentioned these journals before; we started noting what we cooked for dinner in 2017. I include the cookbook or other recipe source, including the page or other location, and comments about our thoughts on the dish. For some reason, we didn’t pick the practice back up until September 2019, but we haven’t missed since then. Our weekly menu is posted on the fridge, and when I take down the previous week’s list, I immediately copy the info into the current journal.

I’m not sure what prompted me to pull out the 2022 journal a few days ago, but we discovered two recipes from a cookbook that probably hasn’t been off the shelf since 2022. Our notes showed that we enjoyed both dishes, so we put the two of them on our current menu. I cooked the first last night, and we’re trying to figure out how we could have forgotten about the recipe, given how hard it was to keep from going back for seconds.

I love the Greenwise chicken sausages that Publix carries. All the flavor combinations are delicious, but my favorite is the spinach and feta variety. That’s fortunate, because that’s what the recipe calls for. The other primary ingredient is Israeli couscous, also known as pearl couscous. That’s a staple in our kitchen. Actually, except for the sausage, every other ingredient is a staple, since it’s rare for us to be without feta in the fridge.

Israeli Couscous and Chicken Sausage Skillet

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 package (12 ounces) fully-cooked spinach and feta chicken sausage links, sliced
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/4 cups uncooked Pearl (Israeli) couscous
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, optional

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add sausage, onion, and celery; cook and stir until sausage is browned, 6-8 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.

Stir in broth, water, and pepper flakes; bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Stir in parsley. If desired, sprinkle with feta. Makes 4 servings.

I had prepped the veggies and sliced the sausage earlier, so it took about 30 minutes from the time I started actively cooking until I plated dinner. For us, the feta on top was mandatory, not optional. I crumbled the feta into a small bowl so that we could each add what we wanted at the table.

I made absolutely no changes to the recipe, which is from Light & Easy Weeknight Cooking, a Taste of Home cookbook, except for adding a pinch of salt. The chicken broth I use is exceptionally low in sodium, and adding water meant the liquid was rather flat. I mentioned to Ken that a little fresh dill might be a good addition, but his reaction was, “don’t mess with success.” I could see using the red pepper and queso chicken sausages and crumbling queso fresco on top, but Ken’s right in that there really is no reason to make any changes.

I’ll be cooking the other resurrected recipe tonight, and I’ll report on that tomorrow. In the meantime, happy eating!