Beefless skewers with tomato basil couscous

Uncooked Gardein beefless tip skewers

I was sad I missed taking pics of the lentil burgers I made before we gobbled them all up, but I learned my lesson and captured some of the beauty of my next veggie meal.

Before the recipes though, a bit on my experience so far. Part of the reason I couldn't deal with meat anymore was how dangerous it felt working with it in the kitchen. I was being so careful not to cross-contaminate. Prep meat, then move it safely away. Get utensils and cutting boards in the sink, wash them off, load them in the dishwasher. Wash hands, disinfect counter, disinfect sink--oh great, chemicals! Don't get me started...

So my first two veggie meals have felt glorious to make. Working with my hands on the all-veggie patties and skewers was a delight (and how cool that I could taste the raw ingredients of the burger and adjust the seasonings as I was mixing it!)

My second meal was even better than the first. I have to thank my mom for sharing the bounty of her beautiful, thriving garden. She expressed us a box of veggies from Long Island to Cali! and I jumped at the chance to center our meal around them.

Gardein beefless tip skewers 
Great product to cook with--my 3-yr-old knew it was a veggie meal, but at first bite asked "is this meat!?"

Ingredients:

• 1 bag Gardein beefless tip skewers
• 3 red bell peppers, cut into large squares
• 2 large onion, cut into skewer-able sections
• 1 pack of mushrooms, cut in half if large
• A1 sauce
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• black pepper
• (and wooden skewers)

Preparation:

One hour prior to grilling, marinate the Gardein tips in a gallon size bag with the garlic, black pepper and A1 (enough to cover the tips well) and soak the skewers in water.

After marinating, skewer the pepper, tips, onion and mushroom. I found it was helpful to put the pepper, then the tip--so it has something to anchor it.

Cook on a medium-low grill (too high will blacken the outside of the veggies and leave the insides raw). Gardein says to cook the tips to a 165 internal temp,  which will easily be achieved by the time the veggies are ready.

Tomato basil couscous
Ingredients:

• 2 cups couscous
• 2 cups water (and/or vegetable stock)
• 4 tbsp of olive oil, divided in half
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
• ~10 grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
• ~1/2 bunch of basil, cut into thin slices
• salt

Preparation:
Cook couscous according to package directions (2 cups of couscous, 2 cups of liquid, plus 2 tbsp of olive oil). OR- if you have a rice cooker, add the couscous, liquid and oil to the pot and cook on the regular cycle.

Once done, turn off heat, fluff and mix in the balsamic, remaining olive oil and plum tomatoes. Recover and let sit at least 5 minutes--or until you are ready to serve the meal.

When ready to serve, salt to taste and top with the grape tomatoes and basil. We also had some Trader Joe's pitted kalamata olives with evoo. Great on the plate with this fantastic meal.


PS--this makes a ton of couscous. I enjoy lots of leftovers, but if you don't, just 1/2 everything except the tomatoes and basil.