Chicken Fiesta Bowl ~ EASY to make, EASIER to eat

August 3, 2017 |

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I’ve been silent for the past month (or so) and haven’t really delivered on that whole “I’m motivated to write more!!” thing I was spouting about in my last post, but it’s summer, ya’ll, and as you can see, I’ve been busy.

So what’s motivated me to turn away from my book, my screen, my travels, my sitting and staring at the summer sky with a glass of wine* and update the blog, you ask?

This.

*For the record, I did not turn away from the glass of wine. I’m not a monster. #trustycompanion

This mixture of deliciousness that I copycatted on my own from a local restaurant.
This mixture of deliciousness that will make food snobs chuckle and mock and shake their heads in disgust at its lack of originality and complication.
This mixture of deliciousness that says suck it to food snobs.
This mixture of deliciousness that I shoveled in my mouth in under three minutes last night.
This mixture that didn’t take me much longer than that to make.
This mixture that was so easy and delicious that I immediately wanted to share it with you, my 5 closest friends.

I’m just kidding, there’s probably like 7 of you still sticking around.

If you’ve been hanging around here long enough, you know how I feel about cooking. You know that I only post easy recipes with very few ingredients that don’t take long to make and hopefully take even less time to clean up, so you can imagine how excited I am by this six ingredient bowl that took under 30 minutes from start to finish!

Here in the ‘burbs of Minneapolis we have a little hipster place called Crisp & Green that serves made-to-order bowls and salads full of healthy stuff like brown rice, kale, quinoa, vegetables, and raw tuna.
The kind of place that does not serve carbs.
The kind of place I usually avoid at all costs.

But since Crisp & Green is right down the street from where I (occasionally) work, and since you know how I feel about cooking dinner, my hand was forced a couple of months ago when I left work at 8:30 p.m.

At the suggestion of a coworker I tried the Fiesta Bowl, a concoction of brown rice (which, I’ll be honest, I’d never given a second glance — I like my carbs white #carbracist), chicken, peppers, black beans, avocados, Mexican cheese (not being a #cheeseracist, that’s really what kind of cheese it is but I forgot the name), and a mysterious yet delectable dressing, and since then I’ve devoured many more Fiesta Bowls after work.

Or before.

Possibly even during.

The other day when I was trolling the market in yet another vain attempt to find something easy, mildly healthy, and delicious to make for dinner, I stumbled upon a bag of brown rice. To be fair, I was in the aisle to pick up a back up bag of my favorite white sushi rice and saw they also make a brown version, which made me think of the only thing in my life I’ve eaten brown rice in: the Fiesta Bowl.

And I thought, homemade Fiesta Bowls?? I bet I could totally make those.
I quickly counted the number of ingredients I’d need, discovered it fell under my maximum of eight to ten, grabbed a few key ingredients — besides the brown rice, which I’ll be honest, I almost put back more than once because it seemed so out of character and made me more than a little bit uncomfortable — and was on my way.

On my way to NIRVANA.

Are you ready for this? Grab a fork, you guys, and try to refrain from attacking your computer screen with it, even though I know you’ll want to, and even though I may or may not already have.

Ingredients:
Cooked brown rice
Chicken breasts (cubed or shredded)
Black beans
Avocado – the more the better
Red Pepper
Green onion
Salsa — pick your favorite
Optional: corn, jalepenos, grilled onions (too much work for me but knock yourself out), cheese (not needed but always a good idea), etc.

*This is a perfect recipe to make if, like me, you’re trying to please picky eaters, or even vegetarians or vegans. Everyone can just throw in what they like!

Since it’s summer here in Minnesota, I grilled my chicken breasts outside on the grill. When I make this from about November to April I’ll have to bake them or used shredded rotisserie chicken, and try my best not to mix in too many tears.
While they were grilling I cooked the brown rice in my favorite favorite kitchen gadget, my Proctor Silex rice cooker, and chopped up the veggies.

Makes perfect, sticky rice every time.

After the chicken was done I cubed it, and then because I knew I’d be photographing it, plated it (bowled it?) real pretty, something I do not usually do and will probably never do again.
But it does look nice, doesn’t it?
Satisfies my slight OCD.

Note: If I have time and am feeling especially fancy I’ll sautee the peppers with some white onion strips until soft (instead of the green onion)

I know I’ve told you about my favorite salsa before, but if you missed that post (ahem) I’ll tell you again. This basic salsa from Trader Joe’s is amazing — and only like $1.20. I never have less than four jars in my pantry or it’s cause for panic.