Roasted Veggie Couscous Salad

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Combine the zucchini, squash, asparagus, tomatoes and onion in a large bowl. Any of these vegetables can be substituted. If you don’t like squash, try broccoli. Not a fan of tomatoes, then red bell peppers are fantastic. I’ve yet to meet a vegetable that isn’t made even better after roasting.

Drizzle on the oil and season with the listed amounts of garlic powder, rosemary, salt and pepper, or to taste. The hubby and I are big fans of garlic and I use it quite a bit in this dish (I mean can you really ever have too much garlic?) Toss and make sure all the vegetables are lightly coated. I use a bowl with a lid that snaps. Then I shake until everything is coated. Place veggies in an even layer on greased rimmed cookie sheets and bake for 25 minutes. I used 2 sheets and really spread out the vegetables so they all had equal roasting opportunities.

While the oven is working its magic, take this time to prepare the couscous according to your package directions (although you can reduce the listed amount of oil as I did). You will need approximately 4 cups of cooked couscous for this size batch of salad.

Pour your cooked couscous into a large mixing bowl along with any extra seasoning. I used more garlic powder (yum, garlic), Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix well and then stir in the black beans, crumbled feta and roasted veggies. Done. So easy right?

The flavor of the roasted vegetables are really the stars in this salad but feel free to use your family’s favorite herbs and spices and make it your own.

Recipe yields six 1-cup servings at 250 calories each.