Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

Yay for the Panini Maker!

Mama Loves her Panini Maker and this recipe was perfect for it. The filling was super yummy, a nice and quick & fresh dinner, and when there were leftovers they were great to each for lunch.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

borrowed from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature--I used Uncle Ben's Ready Rice

1 cup cooked, shredded chicken---I used unseasoned Rotisserie

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 green onion, finely sliced (white and green parts)

1/2 red or green pepper, diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

2 cups shredded cheese

Sour cream (optional)

6 burrito-sized flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS:

Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt.

Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream.

Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla.

(Optional: on some of the wraps, I dotted the cheese with about 1-2 tablespoons of reduced fat sour cream before arranging chicken and rice mixture down the center – it made the wraps delightfully creamy.)

Roll stuffed tortillas, leaving edges open.

Spray the tortillas all over with cooking spray.

Heat a large non-stick skillet ( I used my Panini Maker) over medium heat for 1 minute (I used my SEAR setting on the Panini Maker).

Arrange wrap, seam-side down, and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side (6 minutes on the Panini Maker).

Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps.

Slow Cooker Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork

Slow cookery is becoming quite popular in my house. Thanks to recipes like this. I am a huge fan of North Carolina BBQ, which is more vinegar based then BBQ sauce. And this recipe is unique in that most slow cooker pulled pork is more BBQ sauced. I hoarded these leftovers and ate it for lunch 2 days in a row. I also dont like coleslaw ON my sandwich. I like it on the side. You eat it any way your hungry belly likes.

Slow Cooker Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork

borrowed from Six Sisters Stuff

Ingredients:

1 2 1/2 - to 3-pound boneless pork loin

1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

3/4 cup chopped green sweet pepper (1 medium)

1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup ketchup

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

hamburger buns or small round dinner rolls, split and toasted

Deli coleslaw or see the coleslaw I made----***recipe below

Sweet or dill pickles, coarsely chopped-optional

Directions:

1. Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut meat to fit into a 3 1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker. In the cooker, combine onion and sweet pepper. Add meat; sprinkle with thyme and rosemary. Pour broth over meat.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 9 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 1/2 to 5 hours.

3. Meanwhile, for barbecue sauce, in a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, honey, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, black pepper, and salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

4. Transfer meat to a cutting board. Using two forks, pull meat apart into shreds, discarding fat. Return meat to the slow cooker and Stir in barbecue sauce. If using high-heat setting, turn to low-heat setting Cover and cook for 1 hour.

5. To serve, spoon meat mixture onto bun bottoms. Add coleslaw and pickles if you chose. Add bun tops.

My Coleslaw Recipe:

4 cup(s) cabbage/carrot mix

1/2 medium red onion(s), thinly sliced

1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), thinly sliced

1 medium carrot(s), thickly shredded

1/2 tsp table salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 1/2 Tbsp sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp water

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, combine cabbage, cucumber, onion, garlic, and carrot.

In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients; pour over vegetables and toss to mix and coat. Chill in refrigerator, tossing once or twice, for about 1 hour. Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.

Chicken Meatball Subs

Chicken Meatballs

slighly adapted from How Sweet It is

1 pound ground chicken

2 tablespoons whole wheat bread crumbs

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika & ¼ tsp. regular paprika (1/2 tsp. all smoked was a little too smokey for me)

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Heat skillet on medium heat. Add one tablespoon olive oil.

Mix chicken with remaining ingredients. Form into meatballs about 1 1/2 inches thick. Brown in pan on all sides. Place in pan and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes until cooked through. *** you could brown these all the way through in the skillet but I I wanted to make sure they were cooked all the way, but make sure they dont dry out. You could also throw them into the sauce and let them finish cooking perking away there as well.

Makes about 8-10 meatballs.

Meatball Subs

4 whole wheat buns

1 cup tomato sauce

4 ounces low-fat, shredded mozzarella cheese or provolone

Add 2-3 sliced meatballs to each bun, topping with a 1/4 cup of tomato sauce each. Preheat the broiler and top hoagies with one ounce of cheese each. Place under broiler until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 1-2 minutes.

Oven Baked Ham & Cheese Sliders

I can not believe I am writing about this meal now!

I made these for one of the Giant's Football Play off games. It was an amazing game AND such an awesome meal. I made it with the Sausage and Gnocchi Soup from postings past and it was a Sunday Meal for the ages.

When I saw this recipe I was so curious, seems so simple and yet Genius!

Well, I will tell you they couldnt have been easier, they were so yummy, you could easily serve a crowd, they reheated great the next day and I loved them!! Big puffy heart loved them!

Ham and Cheese Sliders

adapted from Annie’s Eats

24 good white dinner rolls

24 pieces good honey ham

24 small slices Swiss cheese

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

Poppy seed sauce

1 Tablespoon poppyseeds

1 1/2 Tablespoons yellow mustard

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 Tablespoon minced onion

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and mustard. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. You do not have to use all of the sauce! Just use enough to cover the tops. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes or until tops are slightly brown and crispy. Serve warm.

** sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.

One Year Blog-aversary

HOLY COW!!! I cant believe an entire year has gone by. I have had such a great time finding meals and blogging my adventures. I know in the past few months I havent shared as many adventures and my blogging is slow on the upload but it has been such a great way to share my love of cooking with the ones I love.....and some I dont even know. I have such a backlog of meals waiting to be blogged so I am going to pick something that I really enjoyed for this my one year blogaversary!

Chicken salad.....it has to be chicken salad.

Becky's Chicken Salad

borrowed from All recipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups diced and chilled, cooked chicken meat
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup sliced, seedless grapes
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds***I used walnuts***
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whip cream to soft peaks.
2. Combine meat, celery, grapes, nuts, parsley, salt, and mayonnaise with whipped cream. Chill.




VERDICT

AMAZING, STUPENDOUS, DELICIOUS, PERFECTION.....you get the picture. I had this exact chicken salad in a restaurant and have craved it ever since. I read about 100 chicken salad recipes and was looking for one that incorporated fruit and nuts. I used to think that was an odd choice but it really was so delicious. It is a little "wet" if you dont whip the cream enough. I might try to whip it even more next time too. Its kind of a bad picture because I seriously just couldnt wait to eat it. I used my trusty rotisserie chicken and it was so quick to put together. From now on this is my go to chicken salad recipe.....and I love chicken salad so its awesome to have found such a perfect recipe for me.







a year ago I made

Chicken and Cashews

Irish Feast

WHAT??? How is it possible that I havent updated this blog in over a month!!!!

I am so sorry. I did cook. I made a lot of meals that I hadnt made in awhile and blogged about already. As well as making some things that quite frankly werent that great so they werent worth my time. But I have a list of 6 new recipes from last month and a whole stack of new ones for spring. I am working on making better food choices for my family and dropping some weight wouldnt be the worst thing ever with summer right around the corner. So I will stop the chit chat and get started.

It seems kind of silly to go back to St. Patty's day now but while you read this blog to get recipe Ideas I use it as my recipe book and since I like this recipe a lot I need to keep it here so I dont lose it.......the stack of recipes pile up so badly they do get tossed out eventually.

This is this meals second appearance on our St. Patty's table and I think it will be an annual feast for my non-Irish family.

Beef Brisket Sandwiches

from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Magazine March 2009

• 3 1/2 pounds beef brisket

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 2 (12-ounce) bottles extra stout beer, Guinness®

• 1 (14-ounce) can beef broth

• 1 (1-ounce) package onion soup mix

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1 (9.25-ounce) package dinner rolls, Rainbo®

• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard

• 1 (8-ounce) package provolone cheese slices, cut into quarters, Sargento®

Sprinkle the brisket evenly with salt and pepper.

In a large electric slow cooker, combine brisket, beer, broth, onion soup mix, Worcestershire, and garlic. Cook on High for 6 hours, or until brisket is fork-tender. Remove brisket from sauce, and shred with two forks.

Separate rolls by twos to make 12 sandwiches. Cut rolls in half horizontally, and spread about 1/2 teaspoon mustard on the bottoms of rolls. Top each with shredded brisket and 2 quarters of cheese.

Preheat oven to broil. Place prepared sandwich bottoms and tops on baking sheets. Broil, 5 inches from heat, for 5 minutes, or until cheese melts and tops of rolls are brown. Cover with roll tops. Serve hot.

• Yields: About 12 small sandwiches

Irish Potato Soup

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 2 cups chopped onion

• 1 cup chopped celery

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 31/2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and chopped

• 8 cups chicken broth

• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, Sargento®

• 1 cup chopped green onion

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• Garnish: shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, sliced green onion

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic; cook for 4 minutes, or until vegetables are softened. Add potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soup is thick and only small chunks of potato remain. Add cheese, green onion, salt, and pepper, stirring until cheese is melted. Garnish with cheese and green onion, if desired.

• Yields: About 8 cups

Verdict: I really like this meal. The taste of the meat is very tender and its so good with the mustard and the cheese. I am not a typical corn beef and cabbage lover so this is a really nice alternative to the typical classic. I finally found slider sized rolls which will now be appearing a lot on this blog. They are Martin's whole wheat and they are quite fabulous. Who doesnt love a mini-anything?

The soup is funny. Its very healthy in some respects because it has no cream or milk. Its very simple and easy to make. Yes, you can add a ton of cheese to it, but what I did have to add was a lot of salt. For some reason it didnt have much taste. I dont remember that being the case when I made it last time. I made this soup since it was on the same page in the magazine but it wasnt my absolute favorite potato soup.....but my favorite has some cream so maybe it shouldnt be featured too often in the rotation.

Thanksgiving came early

I don't even know which picture to start with because they are both so pretty.....and delicious. No verdicts tonight. I make both of these things all the time and I love them. I don't always know if I am cooking dinner on Sundays (because we get invited over people's house a lot) and since I was headed to the grocery store I could figure out something quick but Sunday
Dinner-like. I created this sandwich...Ok I am sure I didn't invent it but this is my quicky version.

Thanksgiving Come Early & Often Sandwich

1 rotisserie chicken sliced
1 jar of Heinz home style chicken gravy**if you like to dip your sandwich warm 2 jars**
1 small can of whole cranberry sauce
2 single serve containers of Stove Top Stuffing or the regular box w/ leftovers
4 ciambatta rolls toasted

Slice the chicken and warm it in a large saute pan with the Heinz Gravy.
Cook the stuffing
Open the can of cranberries
Put warmed chicken on the roll
Then some stuffing
Then Smear the Cranberries on the top of the roll
Close the roll
Cut
Eat
Seriously its that easy. No real cooking involved and its one of my all time favorite sandwiches. It doesn't look like something I threw together with all store bought ingredients. I like it with some sweet potato fries, which you could make yourself or you could take them out of a bag.

NEXT UP........And how impressed are you right now with this photo???? This is just about the prettiest soup I have ever eaten.
Butternut Squash Bisque
from Allrecipes.com

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup diced onion **I use 1 medium**
3/4 cup diced carrots **I used 2 carrots**
4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash **I buy this in my grocery store already peeled and cubed it comes in a 20 ozs package and I use 2**
3 cups vegetable stock or chicken **I usually use 4 cups or a large container**
salt and ground black pepper to taste
ground nutmeg to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

Heat the oil and melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.

Cook and stir the onion in the butter and oil under tender.
Mix the carrots and squash into the pot.

Pour in vegetable stock, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until vegetables are tender.
In a blender or food processor, puree the soup mixture until smooth.

Return to the pot, and stir in the heavy cream.

Heat through, but do not boil.

Serve warm with a dash of nutmeg.

My thoughts

No verdict because I love this soup. And after I made my cream art with it tonight I wish I could have a fancy dinner party just to make this soup. It is perfection. I love it because you literally just throw a bunch of things in a pot, cook them, blender them with your handy hand blender, stir in a little cream and you are done. Never in a million would I expect it would be that easy. These to things went perfectly together and I cant wait to eat some leftovers tomorrow. I do make some changes but try it as is. I adjust the recipe depending on what I have on hand and what I am in the mood for. I dont like wasting 1/2 of an onion or having 1 cup of broth in my fridge so I just use it and adjust the other things too. Its my own version of soup art!

Potato Leek Soup

I have a few thoughts for you tonight--sorry this is so long

I always grocery shop in the same store. I don't know why, maybe its comfort, and I know each and every aisle so I can be quick. Recently My sweet Mia and I ventured into another local grocery store and it was GLORIOUS--Ok not glorious but pretty darn cool. I found some things that I always looked for in my store but they just never carried. I got a tube of tomato paste so that I can use a Tbsp. at a time and not have to chuck out the rest of the can. Mild Rotel which I prefer to the original because its less spicy. And FLAT OUT whole wheat wraps that are full of fiber and are barely any calories. I might have to step out of my comfort zone more often.

This is the first of many soup and sandwich combos. I make them a lot for lunch and dinner. I didnt post the wrap recipe because well.....I didnt like it and why waste the space. But keep reading to check out the soup!


Have I told you I love soup. All kinds. I could eat soup even when its 100 degrees outside. So naturally once the chillier weather hits I can get the rest of the family on board with my soup obsession too. It is very rare that I don’t make at least 1 pot a soup a week so if you are also a soup lover check in often, you are going to be very happy with the new batch of recipes. This is one I found in the spring. I had never made it before and was always scared of Leeks. Now if you have never worked with Leeks before I need to tell you a few things, if you have skip this part and just start cooking.
Ok, now Leeks…..ARE FILTHY. They pile dirt on them to make them grow better. Because of this they have sand all through out them. When you take them out and put them on the counter, your counter will have sand on it. You will find sand on your knife, in your sink, on the floor. Its crazy what these little buggers do. I have found some good tips to cut down on the mess and speed up their cleaning.

I never take them off the plastic bag when I am cutting them so the initial dirt goes right onto the bag and not on the clean cutting board. I cut them into quarters and then put them into my salad spinner. Any colander in bowl will do. Then I soak them in water, separating all the layers like an onion. The more you can split them the more you know there is no dirt hiding. I do this once or twice until the water on the bottom runs clean. I like to use the salad spinner because the bowl is clear so its really easy to see the dirt on the bottom. Then if you need to dry them they are already in there. For this recipe it doesn’t really matter if they are wet or not. Don’t be scared if you never cooked with them before. Once you figure out how to clean them it’s easy breezy, and quite delicious.

This soup can be served cold or warm.

Potato Leek Soup
from Martha Stewart Everyday Foods
*6 medium leeks, (about 2 1/4 pounds), whites only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise, cleaned **(I only had about 4)**
*2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
*1 (8 ounces) baking potato, peeled and diced **(I used 2 because I used less leek)**
Coarse salt
*3/4 cup heavy cream **(I used ½ cup milk ¼ cream)**
*1/2 cup snipped fresh chives--I didn't use these

In a large saucepan, combine leeks, broth, potato, 2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Working in batches, puree soup in blender, transferring it to a clean bowl as you work. (To prevent splattering, fill blender only halfway, and allow heat to escape: Remove cap from hole in lid, and cover lid firmly with a dish towel.) OR Buy the handy hand blender I told you about before so that you just turn it on and it literally takes 30 seconds and no clean up to puree your soups. Stir cream into pureed soup, and season with salt.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and chill until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. If necessary, thin with water, and season with salt. Serve soup in chilled glasses, garnished with chives.

VERDICT
Well obviously I like this soup because I have made it before. Even with all my adjustments it was really great. I finished the last of it 2 days later and I was sad when it was gone. If you don't have a hand blender you need one, cuts down on the work load and makes this soup really fast and easy.

Rachael Ray Chicken Salad Sandwich

Cooking dinner nightly with 2 small kids being pretty demanding just got easier with the introduction of puffs. Miss Puff Princess Amelia Grace could eat them for hours upon hours and be perfectly content. She is quite good at delicately placing them in her mouth...only 1/2 of them end up on the floor or down her shirt

So you are wondering where August 10th went huh?

I was going out with the ladies so I cooked the guys some quesadillas again. Recipes already on here so no need for a re-post

Onto dinner...from last week shhhhh I am still playing catch up

Here is another Rachael Ray Day. Again I find her pretty annoying but I am always on the look out for new inspiration and I had not tapped into her magazine yet. I refuse to call a sandwich a Sammie, I will put that out there from the beginning so I have to change the name of this recipe but if you would like to see the given name, click on the link for now I will simply call it

Rachael Ray Chicken Salad Sandwich
Adapted from the lady herself Rachael Ray

INGREDIENTS

1 large shallot, finely chopped
3 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Salt and pepper
3 cups shredded poached chicken or skinned rotisserie chicken
3 ribs celery from the heart, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped or grated
A handful of butter lettuce leaves, torn or chopped ** I love Boston Bidd for Sandwiches**
4 sprigs tarragon, leaves stripped and chopped **After I bought it and chopped it I omitted—I HATE tarragon**
1 large Pullman-style white or whole wheat bread loaf, unsliced ** I used ciambatta rolls** a nice Italian loaf will do.


In a bowl, combine the shallot, vinegar, mustard and honey.

Whisk in the EVOO and season with salt and pepper.

Add the chicken, celery, carrot, lettuce and tarragon; toss.

Trim the ends off the loaf of bread, then slice the loaf into six 2-inch-thick slices.

Using a serrated knife and starting at the top, cut a pocket into each bread slice.

Fill the bread pockets with the chicken salad….Or just use a roll and eat dinner like a normal person

VERDICT
While I find her annoying, If I ever meet her I will thank her for hiring people who can write such great recipes. This salad is amazingly delicious. I love that it is no mayo. It is so fresh tasting and really delicious. I forgot to take a picture of it last night when we ate it, but thankfully we had a bunch leftover so I could recreate the picture….and eat the extremely yummy sandwich again. I think this would be a great addiction to a brunch buffet, tail gating, the holiday leftovers, just make it and you will get what I am saying. I have a favorite chicken salad recipe that is my old faithful but I have to say this one might be taking over the top spot! It scores high marks for using ingredients I usually have in the house.

Oh and I didn’t use the tarragon because ew! I don’t like tarragon. I wasn’t sure but when I chopped it and smelled it and then put a small bit in my mouth I remembered I don’t like it. It smells like black licorice or anise and I don’t like either of those things. I almost added it to be fair to the recipe but I was really hungry and didn’t want ruin a whole giant batch of yummy goodness. So if you like it use it, I am sure you will be happy with the end result. Come on, I like cilantro now, so I had to find another offensive herb to protest against.

And I didn’t get the whole stuffed Sammie thing. I just used a normal ciambatta roll (which I love) and it worked out just fine. No need to stuff anything or make it harder then it needs to be. It’s a sandwich not an art project. Shoprite makes the most delicous Ciambatta rolls which is why I use them often. Its hard to believe they make the best rotisserie chickens AND the best rolls right in my local grocery store

I paired with this

Summer-Strone

adapted from a Rachel Ray recipe--I added to it and I think made it better

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Israeli Couscous **I used small little tube pasta because I couldn't find this kind of couscous**
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound kirby cucumbers—peeled, seeded and sliced **I used English seedless**
One 15-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
2 cups vegetable broth
1 zucchini, shredded
1 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped **could also use basil**
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Grated peel of 1 lemon

optional--I also used 2 ears of fresh corn off the cob

Directions:
In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the couscous (or pasta) until al dente, according to package directions.

Drain and rinse with cold water.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat.

Add the cucumbers and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes and paprika.

Using a food processor, and working in batches, puree the mixture. **I used my immersion or hand blender if you don't have one its a kitchen must have in my house**

Return to the pot and stir in the vegetable broth, couscous and zucchini. AND fresh corn if you would like to make it even better

For cold soup, refrigerate until chilled. I liked it hot with cheese on top

In a small bowl, combine the parsley, Parmesan, lemon peel and remaining 1/4 cup olive oil.

Serve the soup drizzled with the parsley pesto. **I skipped this step because I was starving and didn't think Jackson would like it and didn't feel like cooking anymore**

VERDICT:
Loved this soup. As I have said before I could eat soup everyday and this one is sure to please. Jackson loved it and so did I. It was heavy enough to make a meal out of as well. I loved the corn in it and was glad I thought to add it. I also liked the veggies grated up so it wasn't too chunky. It is the perfect light lunch soup too. Will be making this one again soon. Never did find the right couscous and I am glad I didn't use the regular small grain one, I think that would have ruined it. You could use ditalini, pastina, or achi de pepe also.