I’ve been making couscous and beef for almost ten years now as a quick, healthy, easy, and tasty lunch or dinner. The idea actually came my way via a very old friend of mine from high school. At the time I was trying to count calories and eat healthier. But, I found I had a really hard time counting calories and staying full. I started looking for dishes that gave me the most bang for my calorie buck… that didn’t suck. My friend suggested couscous and beef.
- It’s super tasty, something I would want to eat even when I wasn’t counting calories.
- It’s super fast to make. Ground beef browns up pretty fast over medium high heat and couscous cooks up in 10 minutes or less!
- Almost everyone likes it.
- And for the calorie counters, you can dish up a fairly large plate of the stuff for under 500 calories.
Over the years I’ve tried all kind of seasonings in the beef and veggies. But today I’m going to share my current favorite. It’s fairly heavily spiced with cumin, cardamon, turmeric, garlic, and more. It really packs some flavor. I add stewed tomatoes and raisins or golden raisins because they both really compliment the spice profile. From there I always load it up with whatever veggies I have on hand to make it healthier and round everything out. Almost any veggies work fine. My favorite is actually green beans, but my photos show broccoli cause that’s what was floating around the house last night when I made dinner. Pick your favorite veggies. Toss it all over couscous (whole grain, plain, parmesan, they all work). Sprinkle it with a little shredded cheese if you like. The result is a tasty, satisfying, protein and vitamin packed dish. (And by the way, both my kids will eat this no problem!) Enjoy.
Couscous & Beef
A quick and easy weeknight meal.
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- splash of oil
- 1 small yellow or white onion diced
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamon
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 16oz can diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup golden or regular raisins
- any vegetable(s) of your choice, chopped into bite sized pieces, fresh or frozen is ok
To Serve
- prepared couscous (follow package directions to prepare)
Instructions
- 1. Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. When hot add a splash of oil and onion. Sauté onion until translucent.
- 2. Add the ground beef to the pan. Break the meat up using a spoon. Add the spices to the pan: garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, allspice, cardamon, red pepper, thyme, and salt. Stir the spices into the ground beef. Continue to cook the ground beef until fully browned string occasionally to prevent burning.
- 3. Add the can of diced tomatoes and their juices to the pan. Add the raisins to the pan. Add the vegetable(s) of your choice to the pan. Stir well to combine. Allow the mixture to cook until the tomato juice has evaporated (and water from the vegetables if using frozen). The vegetables should also be lightly cooked, softened but, not mushy.
- 4. Serve hot over prepared couscous.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
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