Made Couscous Shrimp Salad

Couscous is by no means a staple in the Madeley household, in fact I kept singing the praises of this recipe hoping to convince B he would love this dish.  And he did!! Three special friends joined us for dinner and we had a great evening cheering on Scotty and Lauren in the American Idol finale show.  This would be perfect for a ladies luncheon, Keno party (hint, hint to my mother-in-law), wedding or baby shower.

Shrimp Couscous Salad 

2 c. boiling water 

2 c. couscous

2 tsp. butter

1 1/2 tsp. granulated chicken bouillon

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 lb. green beans, cut into 1/4 inch chunks, blanched and set aside

12 oz. bag frozen white corn, thawed

2 lbs. cooked shrimp, rinsed and set aside

Cut all vegetables and set aside until you combine the shrimp..

Follow the cooking instructions on the package of the frozen shrimp.  I bought frozen, uncooked to save a few bucks and boil shrimp for the first time.  : )

While shrimp is coming to a boil, in a separate sauce pan, stir couscous into boiling water.  Blend in butter and bouillon, cover and set aside.  It was a labor of love to peel two pounds of shrimp but worth it as I enjoyed a few tastings during the process.  

In a large bowl, combine vegetables, cooked shrimp & couscous.  I ended up using half of the mixing bowls in my kitchen trying to figure out how all of this would fit in one dish.  This salad makes enough for an army.  

Spicy Ranch Dressing

1 Ranch dressing packet

1 c. milk

1 c. mayonnaise

2 fresh jalapenos, minced

1 tbsp. ketchup

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. pepper

Whisk together milk, mayo and dressing packet.  Fold in remaining ingredients and chill.  Next time I might double the recipe as the dressing did not last long through two helpings per person. 

Serve Couscous Shrimp Salad over bed of greens and top with cilantro & Spicy Ranch Dressing.

This recipe came from a beautiful cookbook from Aunt Chee Chee - check out the cookbooks at http://thegatheringoffriends.com/.