New Meal Monday: Carne Asada Burrito Bowl

I typically feel like when I eat a really good burrito--like one that's really full of great ingredients and bursting with flavor--I end up eating about a third of it with a fork, after pieces fall out onto my plate.  So for this reason, the idea of a "burrito bowl" makes a lot of sense to me.  I know there's other reasons for this trend, but for me it just makes sense to start with the fork, since that's where I'm going to end up anyway.  It also reduces the potential that I'm going to end up wearing some part of my burrito.
So, I was interested in making a burrito bowl featuring carne asada.  If it was summer, I probably would have cooked the steak on the grill but instead I seared in a skillet.  I also used the same skillet to sauté the corn, beans and spinach to add a little flavor from the residual marinade that was in the pan.    Finally, I found brown rice is small packets (about 2 servings worth) that cooks in the microwave for about 2 minutes, which, with this dish means that the whole thing doesn't take very long to prepare once the meat has marinaded and can get on the table quickly!

What you'll need:

  • 2 Cups brown rice
  • 1 Avocado, chopped
  • 1 15oz Can Black Bean, rinsed and drained
  • 1 15oz Can Sweet Kernel Corn, rinsed and drained
  • 1 small tomato, chopped
  • 1/2 Red Onion, diced
  • 2 cup spinach
  • 1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese, grated
  • 1.5-2lbs flank or rib steak

for steak marinade

  • 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
  • 2Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 2Tbsp Cider Vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/3 bunch cilantro, finely chopped 

How you'll do it:

  1. Marinade steak at least 2 hours or overnight.
  2. Cook Rice to package instructions
  3. In a cast iron skillet, heat a little bit of oil over medium heat until hot.  Cook steak to desired temperature, (about 4 min per side to medium rare).  Once steak is cooked, cut into slices.
  4. Turn down heat on pan and let it come to slightly lower temperature and add corn, beans and spinach and sauté until spinach is cooked (about 2 min).
  5. Place 1/2 cup of rice in each bowl, and top with a quarter of available avocado, beans, corn, tomato, onion, spinach.
  6. Top with cheddar cheese and cilantro to taste.