Mediterranean Couscous

I've been cooking 
light meals lately, just throwing things together, trying to use 
lots of veggies and other healthy stuff, like quinoa and couscous instead of the traditional side of potatoes, pasta or rice. Here is something we had the other evening and  loved it! 
I quickly wrote it down 
so I can duplicate it again. The additional recipe that follows is a variation. I love roasted tomatoes, too. If I had them on hand I may have added them. 

Other side dish recommendation: hummus and pita bread and a bowl of olives.

2 cups couscous

2 1/2 cup chicken broth

1 Tb. olive oil

3-4 garlic, minced

1/2 - 1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

1 Tb. basil

1 Tb. oregano

1/2 onion, finely diced

2 zucchini, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 handful fresh green beans

1 tsp. parsley

2-3 roma tomatoes, peeled and diced

parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add couscous and cook according to packaging directions, or till soft. Remove from heat, fluff with fork and toss in cubed chicken. ( I had some rotisserie chicken on hand, so that is what I used, otherwise I would have chopped up some fresh chicken and sautéed it in some olive oil, then added it to the couscous.  In another pan, heat the oil and sauté the carrots for several minutes. Then add other veggies except tomatoes. Sauté for a few more minutes, then add spices and garlic. Sauté until veggies are al dente. Add tomatoes for last 1-2 minutes. Serve over couscous with some freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Mediterranean Grill Over Quinoa

Another evening, we had something similar, except we grilled the chicken and veggies and served it up over some cooked quinoa, but you could use rice if you don't have quinoa on hand. Here's the exact recipe:

2 chicken breasts, sliced in half or thirds

olive oil

2 zucchini, cut into several pieces

2 bell peppers, cut into several pieces

1 onion, quartered

2-3 roma tomatoes, quartered

garlic powder

dried or fresh oregano

dried or fresh thyme

dried or fresh basil

salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese

Slice the chicken into halves or thirds, and drizzle with olive oil. Then season with oregano, basil, thyme, and garlic powder. Place on grill over medium heat. Cook 13-18 minutes. Cut veggies, drizzle with olive oil and season with herbs. Place on grill over med-low heat. Grill till preferred doneness, about 8-12 min, turning occasionally. (I actually cut my veggies into bite size pieces and grilled in a grill basket.) Cook quinoa in rice cooker just as you would with rice, or on stove top according to packaging directions. Serve chicken and veggies over quinoa and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.