Every morning when my alarm clock goes off, Cookie starts pouncing on me to wake up and I groan and ask her to make me some coffee. Every day, this happens, and would you believe that she has not once made me coffee? That dog. Yesterday morning, I woke up at the crack of dawn to finish my work by deadline. I made myself some extra-strong coffee, poured it to the tippity-top of my mug and promptly sloshed coffee onto my keyboard. I tried to sop it up with the nearest absorbent thing (a dirty sock!) but it was too late. I couldn’t even google “help, I spilled coffee on my MacBook” because typing in those words produced something like, “heeessssssp fffeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeebk.”
Fortunately, it’s all reparable. May my dumb mistake serve as a reminder to use caution when handling liquids near electronics and to backup computers as often as possible! All that aside, I’ve been amazed at the response to my post about avocado toast. It seems that you all appreciate simple ideas for quick meals, and believe me, I do, too. I’ve mentioned before that I dress up my meals for this blog for you all because you are my guests, but I have lots of go-to quick meals that I make for myself when I’m eating alone. Occasionally I stumble on particularly stellar combinations of leftovers and basic ingredients, and I want to share these ideas with you when I do.
So from here on, you’ll be able to recognize posts of this type because they will begin with the word simple. They will be recipes that you’ll be able to whip together in under ten minutes if you have the ingredients on hand. The recipes won’t require lenghty explanations of why the ingredients work together and the cooking methods will be those that you already know. They might call for short-cut ingredients like prepared salsas or sauces, but they are the kind of store-bought ingredients that don’t include noxious additives or preservatives.
In keeping with the concept of simple and quick, I’ll try to limit the length of these posts because these are the kind of recipes that speak for themselves. Furthermore, these posts will also be an exercise in photography and photo editing for me; I’m going to limit myself to ten shots of the finished product and I’ll only post the very best one. Hope you all are as excited about this concept as I am!
To kick off this new series, I’m sharing my favorite lunch meal as of late. I’ve never understood the concept of wrapping carbs within carbs, so I prefer to skip the tortilla and make burrito bowls instead. Enjoy!
PrintBlack Bean Burrito Bowls
- Author:
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 4 mins
- Total Time: 9 minutes
- Yield: 1 bowl
- Category: Entree
- Method: Mix by hand
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegan
Black beans, salsa verde, roasted red peppers and avocado make this simple burrito bowl taste extraordinary. Feel free to skip the rice and turn the other ingredients into a quesadilla filling. Shredded white cheese makes a nice addition.
Ingredients
- Cooked brown rice (mine was leftover from my Thai green curry)
- Roasted red peppers, chopped
- Cooked black beans (canned or frozen, liquid drained)
- Salsa verde
- Fresh cilantro
- Avocado, diced
- Lime wedge
- Red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a bowl, reheat the rice. Top with chopped red pepper.
- Mix together the black beans and salsa verde in a separate bowl, and heat them up together. Pour on top of the rice and red pepper.
- Top with avocado, cilantro, a big squeeze of lime and red pepper flakes.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Katrina
Fun! I like this idea of a simple and quick post. You picked a great photo for this recipe and I’m excited to see what you come up with in the future!
Jeanine
Coffee is always in my keyboard on the most inconvenient days possible :)
kate
Oof, tell me about it. My external hard drive saved the day.
Heather
I’m looking forward to more simple and quick meals! This one looks extra simple because I usually have all the ingredients on hand. Congratulations on the Saveur nomination! You should totally win.
marissa @ the boot
i so wish i could find all of these ingredients here in italy, but alas, we’re without black beans, cilantro, jalapenos and all the wonderful mexican goodness that i crave! consider this recipe bookmarked for when i’m back in the states. :)
kate
Sorry about that! ;) I live in Oklahoma so Mexican flavors are not hard to find. Enjoy that authentic Italian food while you can!
Emjay
I am late to the game, but here in Belgium we have the same problem as in Italy in terms of lack of black beans. However, I have always been able to find canned red beans and it is a great substitute for a burrito bowl.
Margarita
The idea for quick posts is great. I don’t know why I always seem to talk too much. I also like your idea of simple and quick coz really that’s what I do most of the time… especially if there’s too many leftovers. Sorry about your keyboard… I have this thing where I love my new gadgets so much until something traumatic happens, (i.e. dropping a cellphone for the very first time) and then my love for it begins to wane.
Courtney Rae Jones
I am making this for lunch tomorrow. What a fantastic idea :) Lovely photo too!
sweet road
Fail proof ingredient combination, and so easy too!
Kim
Dang this looks delicious and I just threw out about 1 1/2 cups of brown rice left over from something. Won’t ever have to do that again because now I have this great and simple idea. Why didn’t I think of it? Thanks!
kate
Burrito bowls are the best way to use up leftover rice, that’s for sure! I bet you could freeze leftover rice, then you could make burrito bowls any time!
Jacqui
I love that you’ll be posting quick everyday meals! I swear I make something pretty much spot on to your burrito in a bowl all the time! It’s funny how what gets thrown together on the fly can produce such delicious results.
Sarah
These look so delicious and easy!
★★★★★
Gina
Love this new “series” (if you can call it that). I think everybody enjoys simple stuff now & then b/c that’s just real life :) 10 shots & 1 picture is brave. I’m impressed!
Clare
Oh I can’t wait to try this! Looks sooo good :)
Ashlae
I recently moved 1/2 block away from one of my favorite burrito joints – which has proven to take a mighty toll on my pocketbook these past couple of weeks. This recipe, surely, will come in handy when my burrito bowl craving strikes.
PS – as I type this, I’m balancing my coffee cup, with my wrist, against the back cushion of my couch. I should probably not do that anymore. My Apple care protection JUST expired.
kate
Careful with that coffee cup! I hope you enjoy these homemade burrito bowls as much as the burrito place. They’re about as cheap as a meal can be!
Alissa
I’m wishing this was my lunch today. Womp womp.
Rachel
Wow! That looks so delicious! I love the idea of simple and quick meals when I’m crunched for time, but I also love leisurely cooking a meal on the weekends when there is nothing on the schedule.
Thanks for sharing!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
Hi Kate,
I’m new to your blog via your blogger spotlight at Taste and Tell. I love anything simple and quick, and I love a good burrito bowl so this sounds like a fantastic meal, especially on a hot summer night! (BTW, I can relate to your liquid on laptop story – except I spilled nail polish remover, yikes!)
kate
Hi Laura! So glad you found my blog. I’ll have more super simple meals for you soon. Nail polish on a laptop sounds like a real disaster! Eeks!
Debbie
If a person didn’t want to roast a red pepper, would sauteed work instead? I guess I should try roasting a red pepper, but I haven’t. I enjoy your recipes!!
kate
Hi Debbie! I actually skipped that step by buying jarred, roasted red peppers. They’re one of my favorite ingredients. I’m sure sautéed would work, but I think roasting really brings out the sweetness!
Kerry
This looks like the perfect lunch! I make something similar to this all the time, but your version looks even better! I love the simple and quick meal ideas – keep ’em coming!
EverydayMaven
I love this new series idea Kathryn! Burrito bowls are one of my staples as well!
Averie @ Averie Cook
This looks so good and I also loved your interview on Deborah’s site. I love the behind the scenes info!
kate
Thanks, Averie! So glad you enjoyed the interview. It was fun to share my tips and thoughts on blogging and photography!
Hilary
Totally diggin’ this new idea!!
Allie
Such a good recipe, looking forward to more simple and easy posts…
http://theurbanfeast.wordpress.com/
Sarah
Love this new post category! Cheers to simplicity, and cheers to less time you have to spend editing photos! :)
Sylvie @ GitK
Great idea for a series, I’m all about simple and quick!
Allison
Delish. You have the best photos.
erin @ yummy supper
Kathryn, So funny. I ate almost the same thing for lunch yesterday. Simple, Quick and delicious indeed!
Have a great week,
E
shelley
Ugh! You’re lucky nothing happened. One time, on an airplane going to NYC, I spilled red wine all over my computer. I was not as lucky as you. The logic board was fried. First day in NYC, spent 4 hours of it at Apple 5th Ave. Ended up getting a new computer. Most expensive weekend trip I have ever had!
Anyway… the recipe is wonderful and pretty much standard fare in this house! YUM!!
kate
That’s a sad story, Shelley. At first, the Apple geniuses thought it was just my keyboard ($90), then they said it was my logic board ($450) and it ended up just being some fried wires (back to $90). I was pretty happy to pay the lower amount by then!!!
Good Food Good Frien
What a great idea and yet so simple!
Jaycee
Another home run! I made it for lunch today and, as I was preparing it, I was worried it wouldn’t have enough flavour, but BAM! It’s soo good I can’t even put it down between bites.
Kate
Hooray! Glad you liked the burrito bowls. It’s my go-to homemade “fast food.”
Jaycee
Oops. Forgot to rate it!
★★★★★
Ofis Mobilyası
Ugh! You’re lucky nothing happened. One time, on an airplane going to NYC, I spilled red wine all over my computer.
Bursa Satılık Daire
Love this new post category! Cheers to simplicity, and cheers to less time you have to spend editing photos! :)