Veggie Stir Fry with Whole Wheat Couscous

I am a huge fan of meals-in-a-bag.  We’ve all been there.  Either we don’t feel like cooking or we’re too busy to stand in front of the stove for more than 15 minutes.

When we went to the grocery last week for a quick shopping trip I picked up a veggie stir fry for last night’s dinner.  Instead of putting it on rice I did couscous, because it was in the closet.

Veggie Stir Fry with Whole Wheat Couscous

Ingredients:

• Vegetable Stir Fry meal-in-a-bag
• 1/2 tsp ground red pepper
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 cup whole wheat couscous
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in stir fry pan until warm.
2. Add in stir fry mixture.  Put sauce packet aside.  Make sure you are cooking on medium heat.
3. Cover stir fry and stir occasionally for approximately 5 minutes.
4. In a saucepan heat 1 tbs olive oil.
5. Add the couscous into the sauce pan and mix for approximately 1 minute.
6. Boil 2 cups water in the tea kettle.
7. Add boiling water to couscous mixture.
8. Turn couscous on low heat and cover.  Stir occasionally for 7-8 minutes.
9. Add sauce packet contents to the stir fry mixture and coat the vegetables thoroughly.  Cover with lid for another 5 minutes stirring every minute or so.
10. Turn the heat on the couscous off and let it sit for 3 minutes before serving.
11. Serve stir fry and couscous together!

Grade: C+

Comments: I’ve bought bagged stir fry previously, and it has been a lot more flavorful than this one.  I’m not sure if it was just the brand or what, but it was just like eating steamed vegetables on couscous.  If I had known the sauce was going to be so weak I would have added a lot more to it than just red pepper.  The big plus for the sauce was that there was almost no sodium. I hate the way salt tastes, so I avoid it at all costs.  I was glad to see a bagged meal that wasn’t high cholesterol waiting to happen.  The vegetables were delicious and tasted very fresh.

It was an okay quick and inexpensive meal, and it was very filling.  We’ll probably never buy that brand of stir fry again.  I definitely prefer a few others to this one.

Tagged as: main dishes, quick dinners, recipes, stir fry, vegetarian