Sparks from the Kitchen

I admit I’ve never had a burrito bowl.  I hear a lot about them but never actually ate one.  I mean I guess, essentially, it is just really a salad of sorts but with the contents of a burrito without the actual burrito.  Ok. 

So for this month’s swap with the Mexican theme hosted by Sarah at http://tasteofhomecooking.blogspot.com I was given the burrito bowl from Jenni’s blog doughseedough I was pretty excited. It looked delicious and I love burritos! It didn’t disappoint. What a great recipe. It came together pretty quickly (it took less than an hour including all prep and rice cooking from start to finish on a weeknight) and was just good all around.  Jenni’s recipe called for brown rice but since I’m not really a fan I used white. I also added some green chilies and corn. That’s what was so nice about her recipe-the ability to add or remove something to taste easily. So go make one to your taste!!!

Burrito Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white rice, cooked
• 1/2 lime, zested and juiced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped small
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast trimmed of fat and cut into evenly sized strips about 1 inch thick
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp granulated dried onion
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
• 1 tsp olive oil
• Goya Salsita Chipotle sauce (optional)
• 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped small, guts removed
• 1/4 red onion chopped very small
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can yellow corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 small can green chiles, drained and rinsed

Topping ideas:

• Fat free sour cream
• Freshly grated cheddar or monterey jack cheese
• Sliced avocado
• Hot sauce (same as  above or different)
• Jalapenos

Instructions:

1. Cook rice according to package instructions.  When cooked stir in half of the cilantro, half of the lime juice and half of the lime zest.  Set aside.
2. In a small bowl mix the chili powder and other spices through the italian seasoning and set aside.
3. In a skillet set over medium/high heat warm the oil. When hot add the chicken and cook until cooked through.  Place the chicken on a cutting board and chop into small pieces. Put it back into the same pan.
4. Into that pan add the spices from step #2 and stir to combine for a minute until spices are fragrant.  Into the same pan add the beans, corn and chiles and lower heat to medium/low to heat the new ingredients and stir to evenly distribute the spices.  If desired add a few splashes of salsita for a kick. 
5. In another small bowl mix the tomatoes, the remaining cilantro, zest and juice of the lime and the onion and stir. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
6. Assemble your bowl! Start with some rice on the bottom, some chicken and bean mixture, some of the tomato mixture and top with whatever you’d like!

I made mine this way: rice then chicken mixture then grated cheese (so it would melt-YUM), tomato mixture, sour cream. I sliced half of an avocado and put the pieces around the plate.

This recipe makes about 2 medium sized soup bowl’s worth.

Check out the other great swap recipes here: