Couscous Burrito Bowls

Recently, my boss was out of the office at a conference. Since we’re a two-person team, I found myself drowning in his work and mine for a week. It was stressful! I was all too glad when he came back, but even more excited when he took me to Chipotle for lunch. It’s no five star restaurant, but a free lunch is a free lunch and I really dig burrito bowls.

I’ve never tried to wrap my own burrito, but I imagine it would be a burritosaster. I can picture it falling apart the moment it hits the plate, with ingredients getting messy all over a new shirt. Terrible! But a burrito bowl? That I can handle. And it’s my go-to at Chipotle because it’s also a lot easier to eat and to save the leftovers.

Because we just ate rice the night before, I made my burrito bowls with couscous and it worked really well. Since there’s a lot going on with the dish, I didn’t add anything to the couscous, just cooked it the way the package says. For the ground turkey, I made my own burrito seasoning with what I have in the spice cabinet.

While shopping, I also remembered that Chipotle has a corn salsa that I always enjoy. In lieu of that I added corn kernels with my black beans. Because this already involved a lot of pots and pans, I bought some pre-made salsa and guac to go on top. And since Nick does all the dishes in exchange for me doing all the cooking – I didn’t even have to worry about all that clean up!

Couscous Burrito Bowls

• 2 15 oz cans black beans
• 1 12 oz package frozen corn
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 3 pounds ground turkey
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp garlic powder, divided
• 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp red pepper flake
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 cups couscous
• 1 tsp olive oil

You’ll also need all the fixings for a good burrito. We had:

• salsa
• guacamole
• shredded cheddar
• arugula

Combine the beans and corn in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add in half of the garlic powder, the teaspoon of oregano, the red pepper flake, and salt and pepper to taste. Give it a good stir and cover. Cook the beans for 15-20 minutes until they’re heated through and most of the liquid has reduced down.

Meanwhile, brown the onion in a large skillet Once they’re to your liking, remove from the pan and keep warm until it’s time to serve.

Add the ground turkey to the skillet, stirring occasionally until the meat is browned and crumbly. Add the remaining spices to the meat and mix to coat it evenly.

When everything is just about finished, cook up the couscous. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil with a pinch of salt and the olive oil. Once boiling, add the couscous, stir well, cover and remove from the heat. After five minutes, fluff it with a fork and it’s done.

Serve everything up by layering the couscous, meat, beans and all your fixings in a bowl. Give it a good stir and dig in!