Taboule Salad--With a Tweak

I wanted to try couscous...I've watched enough Food Network and have enough energy and spunk to try new foods. But when I looked at the EXPENSIVE box on the Walmart shelf I decided the excitement could wait a while. Next to the couscous was a box of Taboule (wheat salad) and it looked fairly appetizing. Considering it has sat in my pantry for several weeks, I would look at it and think, "I wanna try that"...but cooking for myself is not fun and since I don't get to live with Kyle for two more weeks I don't usually get to make meals for him. Occasionally we will make sandwiches and eat together, and I have gotten to cook for some of our friends a couple times, but I don't get to cook for him on a regular basis.

Yesterday was BEAUTIFUL. Today is a windy mess and the day before was not beautiful. But yesterday was perfect. I walked out of class thinking, "it would be an ideal day for a picnic." I knew Kyle had things to do in the afternoon and we planned on going walking later, but I didn't say anything. Kyle called and said, "Sarah, I'm about to mow, but can we have a picnic this evening with, or in place of, our walk?"

We know each other so well.

He suggested I make sandwiches. But lunch had been a sandwich for us both and I didn't want to redo a second time. I wandered around my "very-single-woman-sparsely-stocked" kitchen and assessed the situation: there wasn't much to fix.

There it was: that box. I grabbed it and looked at the ingredients necessary: olive oil and lemon juice. The spices were already included in the box with the Bulgar wheat. I had all of the necessary ingredients! In my mind I knew it was a good protein in and of itself, but I also knew there needed to be some meat involved. I had a package of deer sausage in the freezer and I decided to cook it up. I added it to the salad along with some corn and peas.

Yes, the corn is a starch, but Kyle loves it, as do I, and it added a sweet crunch to the salad. I tasted it several times to make sure I liked it before I tried it on Kyle and I felt pretty good about it.

HE LOVED IT! He added it to a green salad with a little ranch dressing and it did indeed taste amazing. He took some of the leftover to work today to have a repeat. I had some left at the house and enjoyed a bowl and a half myself today. It is good cold or hot...I loved it both ways.

In addition to the salad I made cherry cobbler. Instead of regular flour I used whole wheat, I cut the sugar amounts, and used flour to thicken rather than corn starch. The recipe turned out well. I'm having to test different flours because wheat makes the bread heavy indeed. I am still learning...but getting there.

I'm so excited that Kyle liked the dish. I have tried a couple "iffy" ones and he has braved through them. We found a winner and will most definitely be using this again for salad dinners in our very foreseeable future.

Recipe:

1 box Taboule salad (with seasoning packet...I know, this is a cheater way to make it)
1 lb. deer sausage (pig or turkey sausage would work as well)
1 can corn drained
1/2 - 1 c. frozen English peas
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice

Welcoming the weekend,
Sarah