Monday, October 01, 2007

Something New

Well, today I started two weeks at Baptist Hospital. It's kind of an interesting situation because, as one of my classmates said, we are redundant. Basically, nothing we write on the charts matters. The residents still have to write morning progress notes, even if it says the same thing we say. After rounds in the morning we either have class, go with a patient to a procedure, or sit around until 1 pm, when we can go into the lounge and eat lunch (the doctors don't want students taking their seats!). After that we might have class again, but the only other thing we have to do is write an afternoon note. So, it will be different but good. Just like my hair! I got it cut this Saturday. It used to look like this from behind....now it looks like this I have a 8-10 inch pony tail sitting on my dresser, ready to mail to Pantene to be used in a wig. I hope someone enjoys it! What else is new? This dish I tried from Cooking Light! It really is a summer dish, but hey, I had squash and wanted to try the dish. I haven't had couscous is forever and wanted to try something with it. Using chicken broth to make the couscous gave this an almost dressing-like flavor! SO GOOD! I'm probably going to try this again but put in more veggies to bulk it up some. I highly recommend this AND the other dishes that you will find at Sweetnicks' ARF Tuesday. Be watching for another dish using couscous...I plan on stuffed peppers! NOTE: This can easily be vegetarian if you use vegetable broth instead of chiken.Baked Couscous with Summer Squash and Herbs from Cooking Light July 2005
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
3/4 cup uncooked couscous
Cooking spray
2 cups sliced yellow squash (about 2 small)
1/2 cup chopped onions (a change)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1tT prepared minced garlic (on 1 fresh clove minced)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded fontina cheese (I used Mexican)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup egg substitute
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Preheat oven to 400°. Bring 1 cup chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in uncooked couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add squash, onions, basil, oregano, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes or until squash is tender. Set aside.

Combine fontina and Parmigiano-Reggiano; set aside. Combine couscous, squash mixture, and half of cheese mixture in a large bowl; stir in remaining chicken broth, egg substitute, salt, and pepper. Spoon mixture into an 8 x 8-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray. Top with remaining cheese mixture. Bake at 400° for 35 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.
You can use this as a side dish or large portions for a main dish served with a salad and fresh fruit.

11 comments:

gail@more than a song said...

I love your haircut, so cute!
And I love couscous...I've been buying the whole wheat one lately. But that looks so good with the squash!

Robert Chapman said...

i'm a guy, but I love to cook. Nice blog - and I'm older than you!!! 29!!!

Stacy at Exceedingly Mundane said...

Oh Claire, your hair looks adorable and that's so great of you to donate your locks :) Hope you enjoy your stint at Baptist. I was born there :)

I missed that couscous dish in my CL. Of course, the fact that I'm several months behind on reading them contributes. I will have to mark this one to try sometime, it looks good with the cheese and squash. I can barely get my hubby to eat "plain" couscous, so maybe he'd try this. :)

Have a great week!!!

Stacy at Exceedingly Mundane said...

DUH, don't I feel silly! Now I see that the recipe is from July 05, not July 07. I'm not that far behind, hehehe! In fact, I didn't even subscribe then!

Cate said...

Love the new cut!

Peabody said...

I grow my hair out every year to year and a half(until it reaches 10 inches) and give it away for wigs for cancer too. It's a nice thing to do.
I bet you feel like you have no hair though, that is how I always feel.
It looks very cute though.

Lisa K said...

I love couscous...I never thought of putting it with squash!

Cute new hairdo!

Erika W. said...

Wow! I keep thinking about cutting my hair, but then I chicken out. It's all the way down to my backside, so I could probably donate twice off of it.

I like yours though! It's cute!

Unknown said...

Gail - Thanks! I actually meant to get the whole wheat but ended up with regular. Oh, well. Whole wheat next time.

Robert - Thanks! Yeah...I guess thats what getting married does to you...makes you age. :-)

Stacy - Thanks! Now I just need to mail it off. Im definitely enjoying Baptist...its pretty low key. And you're right, not as far behind as you thought.

Cate - Thanks!!!

Peabody - I'm loving it right now. It's so easy. My hair gets really heavy when it's long, so I cant do much with it.

Lisa - This was a really good recipe. I can't wait to do it again.

Erika - If it's that long you could cut it but to a length where it's still long. 10 inches isn't as much as you'd think.

Anonymous said...

Love your new haircut! I cut mine about 2 years ago and never once regretted it (and had about 12" braided sent in to Lock of Love).

Anonymous said...

The haircut looks really nice and super stylish!

I loved the Tuscan Veg. Soup recipe. Soups like that are my favorite, just loaded with vegetables, and I have a recipe very similar to yours that is calling my name now that cooler weather is here.