Homemade Chipotle Burrito Bowls

One of my favorite "fast food" places to go to is Chipotle.  This follows the theory that I might be part-Mexican (not really, but I really do love Tex-Mex food), or it may just be because Chipotle food is quick and easy, and also somewhat healthy.

My favorite dish there is the Burrito Bowl, with brown rice, black beans, chicken, fresh tomato salsa, and guacamole.  Ideally, I really love it with cheese and sour cream, as well, however I reserve those for special days.  I love their burritos, as well, but I find the burrito bowl a less easier to eat, and a lot less messy.

Last night, for dinner, I decided that I wanted Chipotle for dinner, at home.  We live in Seekonk, MA, and while that is pretty much a central location for just about everything, the closest Chipotles are in Providence (on Thayer St, where you can never get a decent parking spot), Cranston RI (in Garden City, which is an easy enough location, but 25 minutes away and the food will be cold by the time I get home), and Raynham MA (which is right down the street from work, but will once again be cold by the time I get home).  Therefore, I decided to put together my own Chipotle at home!

The Layers of Camille's Chipotle Burrito Bowl:

• Brown Rice (just follow the package directions)
• Black Beans (open a can, dump it into a pan, and heat them up)
• Avocado (I smashed up a couple avocado with some lime juice)
• Tomatoes (I cut up a few plum tomatoes, and dressed them with salt and pepper)
• Chicken and Vegetables
• In a large frying pan, I sautéed 1 medium chopped onion, 1 red bell pepper, and 1 green bell pepper.  I let the vegetables get really soft, but not over-browned.
• From the market, I cleaned a small All-Natural Rotisserie Chicken of all the white breast meat, and as much of the leg and wing meat as possible.  I chopped the meat into cube that only a little bit bigger than the size of the onion and peppers.
• I added the meat to the onion/pepper mixture, then I added 1 cup of water, and 1 package of low sodium taco seasoning, and mixed until it all came together.

Then, get layering!!

A scoop of rice, black beans, chicken and vegetables, tomatoes, and avocado!

Delicious, nutritious, and under 600 calories!

Enjoy!!

Home-made "Burrito Bowl" from Chipotle - Brown Rice, Black Beans, Chicken with Onions & Peppers, Tomatoes, and Avocado

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Sausage Breakfast Burritos

Sometimes, there just nothing quite like breakfast for dinner.

Last week, we were very organized in taking either meats or prepared food out of the freezer and having delicious dinners throughout the week.  One of the dinners we decided on was Breakfast Burritos - to be made with some sausage that we had in the freezer.

The breakfast burrito ended up being a delicious mid-week treat, and I know my husband enjoyed them, since he went back for more!  This meal's "I tried something new" happen to work in our favor!!  My recipe is below, but this is really one of those things where you can make it however you want!

Sausage Breakfast Burritos
1 lb Sausage, taken out of the casings (I use Perri Sausage, 1/2 lb hot and 1/2 lb sweet)
5 eggs
Chopped onion
Chopped green bell pepper
Chopped red bell pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste
Soft Shell Tacos, or burritos
Shredded Mild Cheddar
Sour Cream
Chopped Tomatoes
Chopped Avocado

The Method

• Saute the onion and peppers in some olive oil on the stove, until translucent.
• Take the sausage out of the casings, and add the sausage into the onion and pepper mixture.  Break up the sausage as much as you want (I don't like huge chunks. so I tried to grind it up on the small side) and cook until everything is browned
• Drain the mixture of any excess fat
• Season with salt and pepper, not too much is needed as there are lots of seasonings in the sausage
• Add the beaten eggs and cook well
• Warm the burrito shells or taco shells in the oven so they are warm and pliable.

When the sausage and egg mixture is fully cooked, spoon the mixture into the shells, and top with whatever toppings you prefer!

I used a leftover package of soft shell tacos that came in a taco kit.  This only contains 6 shells, but there is plenty of stuffing for at least 10!  If you don't have enough shells, it's delicious on toasted bread, or even eaten plain!!

Enjoy!!

Lola's Tequila Bar & Cantina

It amazes me that even though I've lived on "The East Side of Providence" for almost 5 years now, I still manage to not only find new places, but also occasionally get lost.  A few weeks ago, I drove all the way down India Street and turned onto South Water Street (the little strip of South Water Street that is between India Street and Point Street).  My intention was to drive to Point Street and take a left so that I could get to an appointment over near the hospital.  In any case, I get to the end of South Water Street and realize that I can't take a left hand turn.  So I went around the block again, and got to the end of South Water street again, and was like, come on Pietros, you're better than that!  In any case, in my trips around the block, I found a little Mexican place that I decided I needed to try.

Lola's Tequila Bar & Cantina is tucked into South Water Street, with a beautiful Waterfront view.  On Tuesday, I went with my friend-cousin Suzie (our husbands are first cousins, but we were friends first!!!) and we really enjoyed everything about the place.  We sat outside where there are a number of painted picnic tables - the view was really great!

A view from our table

A view of the 195 bridge, all lit up!

For dinner, we both got burritos (Suzie had chicken, I had Al Pastor (basically pulled pork)) and they were both delicious and totally worth the $8 and $10 we paid for them.  

Also, the chips and salsa they served before the meal were amazing - the salsa was similar to Tortilla Flats, but had a hint of cilantro which really made it zing.

Chips and Salsa with a Corona on the side

Tuesdays are advertised as $2 Taco Tuesday ($4 for Fish Tacos), and Thursdays they have a Bluegrass band in the bar upstairs.  

I highly recommend it, you won't be sorry!!!

What to do with leftover Taco Stuffing???

I don't know about you, but I feel like there's always leftover taco stuffing...


But who wants leftover tacos?


Here's what I sometimes do...


Take the shredded lettuce, and whatever vegetables you have left over and mix them together in a bowl.


Top with the leftover beef and some crumbled goat cheese!


No dressing is needed, as the meat has lots of seasoning already on it!


ENJOY!

TACOS!!!

Tonight was a good dinner night. On Tuesday night I took a package of ground turkey out of the freezer, but was too tired last night to cook it (After eating a turkey sandwich and some popcorn, I fell asleep at 7:30, but only because I didn't fall asleep until 3:30am and got up at 6:30 am). In any case, after asking the opinions of my friends in the "Crossroads Command Center" (the room to which I am exiled every day at work), I decided on Tacos.  Turkey Tacos.

So, on the way home from the gym tonight (45 minutes on the Summit Trainer and some free weights), I stopped at Stop and Shop for a few extra ingredients.

Tonight's shopping list:

• 1 package "Carb Balance" tortillas (these taste just as goods as your regular tortillas but are only 2 points plus each, versus 4-6 points, depending on the brand)
• 1 bag of Tostito chips (which I didn't even end up opening...I compared the regular and the multigrain, they're the same point plus value, but the multigrain are more expensive...)
• 1 small tub of Light sour cream
• 1 head of Boston Lettuce (I usually don't buy Boston Lettuce, but it was delicious)
• 1 pkg of Skinny Cow garlic and herb cheese (for me - so good, not for tacos)
• 1 loaf of potato bread (for lunches, not for tacos)
• 1 bag of Cape Cod 40% reduced fat Salt and Vinegar chips (Scott's request, once again not for the tacos)

Total Price tag:  $20.56.  Not too bad....

At home, I already had the ground turkey (93% lean), taco seasoning, black beans, brown rice, tomatoes, scallions, and olives.

The method (super easy, by the way)

Get the rice on the stove first, as it takes the longest (2 servings - 1/2 cup rice and 1 1/3 cup water, boil and then reduce for 30 minutes).

Open the can of black beans, heat on the stove.  I didn't drain and rinse...I just put the entire can in.

Brown up the ground Turkey, once it's browned, drain it (there was hardly any fat to drain), put back on the stove, add 3/4 cup of water and some taco seasoning (didn't put the whole package, because I find it to be too strong).  Once it gets thick, lower the heat to keep it warm.

Clean and chop the lettuce, tomato, olives, and scallions

Seriously, that's it. I set everything up on the counter in a "helpy selfy" (As my mother would say) manner, and there you have it!  

Total time to cook dinner:  30 minutes...(Literally a 30 minutes meal.  The rice took the longest to cook).  Total Points Plus for the taco pictured above:  6.  And, I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!!!!!  How awesome is that??