Having a family changed the way I cook in many ways. I used to scour through my favorite magazines or scroll through Epicurious online to find that inspiring, mouth watering image I wanted to create. No big deal if I didn’t have half the rare spices or ingredients on hand, I’d just do a quick trip to the grocery store where I’d also grab a bottle of wine and enjoy a glass while I explored my way through a new recipe.
While I still enjoy this relaxed discovery of a new recipe it happens much less often simply because I have 5 year old triplets who either need to be picked up from something or dropped off to something else. When home they most often are running around my feet or fighting for a solid hour (seriously) about who gets to play with a teeny, tiny sparkly bead despite the many cool toys they have. They are small, loud and wild.
Now a days I find myself just simply trying to get a meal on the table that has vegetables in it. It’s a simple goal but on days like the hour long sparkly bead fight day, it feels monumental. That’s why I love things like burrito bowls. I still get full flavor of recipes from the good old days but it’s simple and the kids can pick out what they enjoy. It’s also a great way to reuse leftovers. If I grill chicken or steak I always have burrito bowls the next night to get two meals out of one. I do the same with leftover Spanish rice as it makes a flavorful rice base for the bowls.
Here’s how this works. I typically set up a platter with our favorite toppings. In this example I used tomatoes, black beans, olives, yellow pepper, avocado and cilantro. I had leftover grilled chicken and this particular night I made Spanish rice but you can easily use white rice or brown rice. You can also go vegetarian with this meal as well. There’s no right or wrong to this dinner…simply putting fresh ingredients together over rice. An easy and flavorful way to get dinner on the table amidst all the noise.
- 2 grilled chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (optional)
- 2 cups white, brown or Spanish rice
- Toppings of choice:
- sliced spring onions
- chopped red onions
- olives
- chopped tomatoes
- chopped yellow or orange peppers
- black olives
- avocado
- cilantro
- salsa
- shredded cheese
- sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- Cook rice according to package directions or prepare Spanish rice (see link to Spanish rice above in this post)
- Spoon half a cup of rice into 4 bowls
- Set all ingredients on a platter and top rice as you like!
About the Blogger:
Meri Raffetto is the founder of Real Living Nutrition, triplet mom, dog butler and author of the Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies® and coauthor of Glycemic Index Cookbook for Dummies® and Mediterranean Diet Cookbook for Dummies®.
Ah, I can relate. The leisurely cooking is a thing of the past (but not the wine!) We are huge fans of burrito bowls in this house.
With baseball or music or something else several nights a week, dinner is fast. Sometimes the veg is just a salad, sometimes carrot sticks. Last night, burned kale chips (Mike made them and didn’t hear the timer…)
Yes…carrot sticks is another go to veggie around here. Burrito bowls are a good fix!