Chipotle Chicken Bowls

One day last month we had planned on taking Steven and Michelle to Chipotle for lunch, but the parking lot was too full and so we chose something else instead. However, we were in the mood for Mexican food, so we made our own for dinner the next night.

There are plenty of internet resources to guide you, but I'll go ahead and add one more. Here's how we adapted the recipes I found to make our own Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls. First you need to marinate the chicken. In a food processor, combine the following and process until smooth.

1 chipotle pepper in adobe sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried
6 cloves garlic
2 teasoons salt
1 red onion
1/4 cup oil

Pour over 6 chicken breasts and marinate for several hours or overnight. Just before serving, broil, grill or sauté and then slice and layer with the remaining ingredients in your individual bowl.

Here's what we used:

Lime-Cilantro Rice
Combine 2 cups basmati rice, 4 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until done, about 25 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoons lime juice and 1/2 cup chopped cilantro.

Seasoned Black Beans
Combine two cans black beans (one drained, one undrained), 1 teaspoons chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1 clove garlic, minced, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon sugar. Heat through.

Corn Relish
Combine 16 ounces frozen corn (thawed), 1/4 cup chopped red onion, 1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and minced), 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1/3 cup chopped cilantro and salt to taste.

Mild Salsa
Combine 5 Roma tomatoes, chopped, 1 clove garlic, minced, 1/4 cup chopped red onion and salt to taste.

Other condiments:
Chopped lettuce
Grated Jack cheese
Sliced black olives
Avocado cubes (or guacamole)
Sour cream
Picante sauce

This was a great dish for customizing for different tastes, and we'll definitely have it on the menu in the future!