WELL....It's good to be back! Not that I've really been anywhere, just MIA when it comes to blogging! I actually think it was a good thing to take a break. I feel like I have a little more time and energy to devote to some new recipes and almost a renewed excitement for cooking!! After all of the holidays, baking cookies, eating cookies, and big heavy dinners, I'm ready to lighten things up a bit but without skimping on taste!! I'm going to try my best to put out some legit healthy & tasty recipes :)
I may add the occasional sweet treat, but hey, everything in moderation right?!?!
This dish was way too easy to prepare and honestly everyone in my family loved it! I guess you could call it a deconstructed burrito, but I almost enjoyed it better than a burrito. Give it a try!
MEXICAN CHICKEN BOWL - (recipe adapted from HERE )
INGREDIENTS: (Makes about 4-5 bowls)
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- chili powder, paprika & garlic salt to season chicken
- 1 jar (16 oz) salsa, your favorite kind!
- 4 cups cooked brown rice...I used 2 bags of Trader Joes Frozen Organic Brown Rice
- 1-2 cups frozen corn, heated
- 1 can black beans, heated & drained
- shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 avocados, mashed with fresh lemon juice, garlic powder & sea salt to taste
- sour cream, optional
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breasts in a baking dish and season with some chili powder, paprika and garlic salt. Pour the jar of salsa on top of chicken breasts, cover tightly with foil and bake in oven for 1 hour. Turn oven off and leave the chicken in the oven for another hour (or longer). The chicken will shred very easily this way. (You can alternately do the chicken in your crockpot, on high for 4 hours or low for 7 hours). I like the oven method the best :)
Leave the chicken in the baking dish when you shred it so it so you can mix it with the salsa that's left in the dish...you will want the chicken to be a little saucy!
Once the chicken is shredded, start prepping all of the other ingredients. When I don't have time or ingredients to make guacamole, I do more of a "avocado mash", which is avocados, lemon juice, garlic powder and sea salt. Mash it all together and it's a perfect condiment to any mexican dish!!
To assemble the bowl, place about 3/4 to 1 cup of the rice on the bottom of the bowl, a couple spoonfuls of chicken (with some of the salsa) on top, a scoop of black beans, some shredded cheese, the last but not least the mashed avocado and sour cream if you like.
I gobbled up the first bowl then went back for a little extra chicken and black beans! If you have some tortilla chips, you can definitely serve those on the side for scooping!
ENJOY!
