For those of you who have Facebook, have you seen those little videos that pop up from time to time from TipHero? You know, the ones that illustrate a recipe step by step? Yeah those…
Usually they are full of ingredients we will never use…..lots of oil, cheese, chicken, etc. But one day – I saw one that caught my eye – because it was pretty much Vegan already….
It was a Quinoa dish – and I thought – “Hey, that looks pretty good, and pretty easy to modify to be both Vegan and McDougall Compliant……
So that’s exactly what I did.
And let me tell you, it was just as easy to make as the video illustrated, and it was really good too! So here is my adaptation of a One Pot Mexican Couscous.
And yes – if you want to use Quinoa you can – I just happened to have some Couscous in my pantry so I used that. You will get a bigger nutritional bang for your buck using Quinoa – but use whatever you have. Couscous worked just fine. I even think Rice would work too.
Ready for a no muss, no fuss, one pot, easy cleanup recipe? I thought so….. here we go.
One Pot Mexican Couscous
In a large pan, saute a few cloves of minced garlic, about 1/2 a red bell pepper, and a 1/2 a green bell pepper until softened. I used a small bunch of green onions too. And – just to spice it up a bit – I minced about 1/4 cup of pickled jalapeños too. (The mild kind).
Once that has softened down, add a can of drained and rinsed black beans, and a can of fire roasted tomatoes. Give that a quick stir and add your spices. I used 2 Tbls of good quality salsa, about 1 tsp of chili powder, 1/2 tsp of ground cumin, and 1/4 tsp of Mexican oregano. Salt and pepper to taste.
Now add 3/4 cup of Couscous (or quinoa) and 1 cup of low sodium veggie broth. Stir and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to med-low and cover.
Let simmer 20 minutes and that’s it. Fluff with a fork and dinner’s ready.
See? Simple and quick, and all in one pan.
Salt and pepper to taste and season with additional salsa, cilantro, avocado, etc as desired. A tablespoon of Lime Juice adds a nice flavor too.
Happy Holidays everyone! See you next week!
- Small bunch of Green Onions, chopped
- ½ Red Bell Pepper, chopped
- ½ Green Bell Pepper, chopped
- 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
- Jalapeno to taste (I used pickled Nacho Jalapeños - about 8 rings)
- 15oz can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
- 15oz can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- 2 Tbls Salsa
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
- ½ tsp Ground Cumin
- ¼ tsp Mexican Oregano
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- ¾ cup Couscous (Quinoa would work too)
- 1 cup low sodium Vegetable Broth
- Saute vegetables in a small amount of veggie broth until softened
- Add beans, tomatoes, and spices and stir to combine
- Add Couscous and stir to mix thoroughly
- Add Veggie Broth and heat to boiling
- Reduce heat to med-low and cover
- Simmer 20 minutes
