Couscous with Garden Vegetables

What better way to celebrate the first harvest of the year than with a big delicious bowl of couscous loaded with veggies fresh from the garden.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup couscous
• 1/2 small orange bell pepper chopped
• 4 scallions sliced (avoid the dark green bits)
• 12 small cherry tomatoes halved
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• Lemon zest
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place couscous in a heat proof bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over couscous. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with fork.
2. Whisk oil and juice together with salt and pepper and dress couscous
3. Mix in cut veggies and sprinkle with lemon zest.

Grilled Rosemary Sausage Skewers

I'm going to buy a grill next week this is deffinatly going to be on the menu in one of the coming weeks, it is a perfect summery dish.

Ingredients:

• Assortment of bite-sized veggies (I usually use cherry tomatoes, chopped Bell Peppers  and Mushrooms)
• 3 Sprigs of fresh Rosemary
• 1 Cup of Olive Oil
• 1 Garlic Clove minced
• Juice from 1 Lemon
• 1 pound Italian Sausage cut into bite-sized pieces

Directions:

1. Alternate veggies and sausage on a skewer.
2. Remove Rosemary leaves from sprigs and chop finely. Combine with garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice.
3. Baste skewers with mixture.
4. Grill 5-7 minutes on each side.

This dish goes well with crusty bread and a fresh salad.

Homemade Sloppy Joes

These are my husbands absolute favorite. I think he'd be happy if I made them every day of the week. I found the recipe in a magazine 5 years ago and I've tweaked it to meet my needs. These are so much better than the awful canned sauce you mix with ground beef and only take a little bit more effort. This meal is the best thing to make on a rainy summer day (you know those late summer storms Lugh is so famous for) when you want the flavor of summer but your stuck inside.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 1/2 Large Onion
• 2/3 Cup Ketchup
• 1/4 Cup Water
• 1/2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp White Vinegar
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 1/4 Tsp Ground Mustard
• 1/4 Tsp Chili Powder
• 1/8 Tsp Ground Allspice

Directions:

1. Saute ground beef and onion until beef is browned and onion is translucent. Drain excess fat.
2. Add ketchup, water, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard, chili powder, and allspice.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened.
4. Serve on hamburger buns and enjoy!

This recipe actually makes quite a lot of Sloppy Joe filling so you can easily feed four and have enough for sandwiches the next day.