Parmesan Couscous with Roasted Garlic, Toasted Pine Nuts and Caramelized Onions

So The Hubs sends me an email last week telling me that we've been invited to dinner with some friends, and can I make a salad. This was about 3, just before I was about to start making the dinner I had planned. Generally, The Hubs is better about checking with me first, but it turns out it was our friend's birthday, so I was happy to punt.

Since I didn't have any unaccounted for produce, I decided to make this side I found, of course, on Pinterest. I was super easy and quick to make and best of all, I had everything I needed on hand. Pine nuts are crazy expensive these days, so you can always substitute another nut to keep costs down.

Parmesan Couscous with Roasted Garlic, Toasted Pine Nuts and Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

• 1 box of plain couscous (about 6 oz)
• 1-2 tbsp toasted pine nuts 
• 1 tsp olive oil 1/4 yellow sweet onion, diced 
• 3-5 cloves of roasted garlic, chopped  
• 1-2 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese 
• 1 tbsp Italian parsley, chopped 

Instructions:

1. Prepare couscous per instructions.

2. In dry skillet, add pine nuts and cook until lightly golden brown, about 2 minutes (stirring frequently). 

In addition to sight, you can also tell when nuts are roasted because they'll be quite fragrant!

3. Remove from heat. In same skillet, add oil, once hot, add onions and cook until caramelized & tender. I had raw garlic, so I threw that in at the same time.

4. Once the couscous is done, stir in the onions, pine nuts, roasted garlic, cheese and parsley. Enjoy.