Couscous Chicken Salad with Chopped Vegetables

I actually cooked a meal for myself. Pretty amazing considering the last few months of eating sandwiches and bowls of cereal.

The creamy yogurt dressing has a hint of sweetness from the honey and an extra zing from the vinegar.

There's even a video: Dinner Tonight

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

• Salad:
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup uncooked couscous
• 1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken
• 1/2 cup (1/8-inch-thick) diagonally cut carrot
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 3 tablespoons dried currants
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 
  Dressing:
• 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Preparation

To prepare salad, bring water, 1 teaspoon oil, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Place in a large bowl; cool to room temperature.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining oil to pan. Add the bell pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes or until bell pepper is tender. Add bell pepper mixture, chicken, carrot, onions, currants, mint, and black pepper to couscous; toss gently to combine.

To prepare dressing, combine yogurt and remaining ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over couscous mixture, tossing gently to combine.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 368 (20% from fat)

Fat:8g (sat 2.1g,mono 4g,poly 1.2g)

Protein:24.1g

Carbohydrate:49.4g

Fiber:4.3g

Cholesterol:46mg

Iron:1.8mg

Sodium:540mg

Calcium:148mg

Carla Fitzgerald Williams, Cooking Light, JUNE 2004