Not much cooking, but lots of flavor!

Couscous is one of my favorite things.  I don't know if its because of how it tastes, the texture, or because it's a little bit exotic...no matter, I like it.  I also like garbanzo beans. Whenever I find them on a salad bar, I put them on my plate.  They are high in fiber and pure protein which are both really good things!

So I stole a salad idea from BJ's wholesale club.  Theirs is a garbanzo bean salad, it yields about as much as my recipe, but costs about $6 whereas my version costs about $3.  Here are the ingredients

-(1) 15 ounce can of garbanzo beans
-(1/2) can of pitted green olives
-(1) small can of corn
-1/2 cup each of red, yellow and green bell pepper
-1 cup couscous

-1 cup water
-1 Tbs. olive oil
-1/4 tsp granulated garlic (substitute garlic powder)
-1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
-1/3 cup Italian salad dressing (or to taste)

I only used the tops of the bell peppers, minus the stems of course!

Don't worry, this will yield just enough bell pepper!  You're going for color mostly.

Cook the couscous according the package directions.  I add a Tbs. of olive oil and a Tbs. of Italian seasoning to the water before it boils.  It really is as easy to cook as it seems--boil water, dump in couscous, cover, let sit for 5 minutes or so, uncover, fluff with fork.  That's it!  It's done!

Now you have your ingredients all ready for final assembly.  I just dump everything into a big bowl, add the dressing and mix it together!  All done!  Put it in the fridge for a few hours to chill.  If you try this, let me know what you think.  I think it's delicious!