This pesto couscous is a simple side dish that comes together in 10 minutes flat. It’s a great way to jazz up regular couscous and goes perfectly with any meat or seafood.

When I think about family dinners growing up, the box of Far East couscous stands out vividly in my mind. I’m pretty sure we ate that stuff at least 3 meals a week and after awhile it would come with whines of “couscous? Agaaaaain, mom???” from the dinner table.

I get it though, it’s pretty much the simplest thing you can ever make, easier than rice and even pasta. The only thing is…it’s just boring.

Which is why we’re jazzing it up with pesto today and using it as a beautiful bed for this Bumble Bee SuperFresh Spicy Shrimp Romesco.

I’m completely impressed by these fresh frozen meals. From their ease of preparation, to their price, to their taste and most importantly to me, how the seafood is sourced. I’m a huge advocate of sustainably sourced seafood and had my doubts when I first heard about these meals.

I was proven wrong though. The ingredient list on all the meals is short, pronounceable, preservative free and is sourced from either wild fisheries or aquaculture farms that have earned official certification from strict third party organizations.

That’s the kind of frozen meal I can get behind.

Each meal is two servings and you can choose from different varieties of shrimp, scallops, salmon and tilapia. I decided to test out the spicy shrimp romesco. With tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, shallots and parsley, it sounded like the perfect accompaniment to the pesto couscous for an easy dinner option.

Considering I’d pay the same amount, if not more for shrimp that I’d have to peel and de-vein at home myself (something I absolutely loathe doing) and then have to make the sauce from scratch, this meal for two at $10.99 seems like quite the steal. The shrimp cook in a skillet, you drain the water off, pop the frozen sauce cubes into the pan and toss it all together. That’s it.

I loved the kick of heat to the shrimp and the freshness of the pesto couscous was the perfect balance to each bite.

They’d make a great date night (or even Valentine’s Day) dinner too when you want something impressive minus all the work. Bumble Bee’s website even has great menu ideas by season and wine pairings for each meal.

The entire meal, pesto couscous included, comes together in about 15 minutes. Seriously.

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Pesto Couscous with Spicy Shrimp Romesco

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

This pesto couscous is a simple side dish that comes together in 10 minutes flat. It's a great way to jazz up regular couscous and goes perfectly with any meat or seafood.

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Ingredients

• 5 cups packed baby spinach
• 1/2 cup packed fresh basil
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic
• salt and pepper
• 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1.5 cups plain couscous (or 10 ounce box)
• 2 cups broth or water

Instructions

1. Combine the spinach, basil, parmesan, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper in a food process and process until finely chopped.
2. With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil until smooth.
3. Bring the broth or water to a boil in a medium sauce pot.
4. Once boiling, add the couscous, stir, cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes.
5. Fluff the couscous with a fork, add the pesto and stir until well combined.

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This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Bumble Bee SuperFresh.