Don’t you sometimes get tired of the same old same old?  I know I do.  I tend to get into a rut of eating brown rice with everything.  I’ve been trying to mix things up in the grains department over the past few weeks.  I used quinoa last week instead of rice to go with some black beans.  Turned out very well actually, so I’ll probably do that again.

Today, this recipe came through in an e-mail from Sparkpeople.com and it looks really delicious.  I printed it out and it’s in my “Recipes to Try” pile (which is getting bigger and bigger all the time)!

Countryside Couscous
(from the National Pork Board)

Makes 8 servings (approx. 2/3 cup each)

1 can (14.5 oz) vegetable broth
1/4 cup water
1 Tbs. dried minced onion flakes
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1 package (10 oz.) couscous, about 1 2/3 cups
2 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped

1.  In medium saucepan, bring all ingredients except couscous and parsley to a boil over high heat.
2.  Stir in couscous; remove from heat.
3.  Cover and let stand 5 minutes; stir in parsley.

Nutrition Info:  214 calories, 6.2g fat, 34.4g carbohydrates, 5.6g protein