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You're the STAR Blog Hop & HOME Features

T his linky party is the perfect place to show off your creativity! Share your blog posts, for a chance to be featured next month!     WELCOME to the August 2022  " You're the Star " Blog Hop! Before we continue onto the Linky party I wanted to share from my blog: Keep cool during these last few weeks of summer with my delicious 3-Ingredient No Churn Ice Cream ! ___________________________ WELCOME to  HOME feature week of the August 2022  " You're the STAR " blog hop! Meet your HOME week Hosts   This week is HOME feature week Swing by the Home Hosts' Blogs: Bev from Eclectic Red Barn Cindy from Mom, the Lunch Lady Niki from Life as a LEO Wife This is a month long Linky party featuring YOU! There will be 4 different features each week and 4 different feature categories.  Just to be clear - this is NOT a themed party - you may link up ANY family-friendly blog posts any day of each month.   The "theme" occurs in our weekly features:

Tex Mex Chicken & Zucchini Rice Bowls

Tex Mex chicken and zucchini rice bowls are a hearty, colourful and healthy meal, that is quick to assemble. They are a perfect example of a healthy meal, without sacrificing taste!

Burrito Bowls

Last weekend was a long weekend here with Victoria Day being this Monday. Since it was a long weekend my SO decided to use up some vacation time to add a few days to our weekend. So we packed up the car and spent 3 nights at his family's cottage. It was a super fun weekend, but we all came back exhausted from staying up late and waking early. It's taken me all week to recover and add in my daily workouts, this mama is exhausted by 5pm.

I've always been a fan of simple dinners and if it is cooked in one pan, even better. These rice bowls came about when we needed to use up leftovers from earlier this week. On Tuesday I had made Tex Mex chicken, zucchini, corn and black beans; a recipe I had found on the Weight Watchers app. It seemed simple enough to make and my kids always love tacos, so I gave it a try. The original recipe is meant to be eaten without any carbs, but my kids and SO aren't big on no carb meals, so they enjoyed theirs with flour tortillas. This made a huge skillet full, which meant I had leftovers for later this week. That's when I decided to use leftovers to create Rice Bowls.

Burrito Bowls

What are Rice Bowls?

Rice bowls are also known as burrito bowls and have become all the rage thanks to several restaurants in Canada and the U.S. They consist of a base of rice, and topped with cooked meat, veggies, cheeses and spices. They are a healthy combination of carbs, protein and healthy fats.

What goes into a Rice Bowl?

A good rice bowl can contain anything you like. It's your time to get creative and a great way to get so much flavour packed into one bowl. For this recipe I used

  • Boneless skinless chicken breast
  • Zucchini
  • Red onion and garlic
  • Tomato
  • Spices- this is where you can boost the flavour. Use chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes (or cayenne), oregan. Any spice really
  • Brown rice- you can also use cooked white rice or cooked quinoa
  • Black beans- you can also use kidney beans, or chickpeas
  • Corn- Fresh, frozen or canned
  • Canned tomatoes- diced tomato and tomato sauce
How do I Make the Perfect Brown Rice?

Cooking brown rice is pretty tricky. Sometimes it comes out a gloopy mess, sometimes it is still crunchy. I've learned that the trick to cooking the perfect brown rice is to treat it like pasta.
  • Place the rice in a mesh sieve and rinse under cold water for at least 1 minute.
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rinsed rice, reduce heat to medium high and let boil for 20-30 minutes. 
  • Once rice is cooked to your desired taste, drain it in a mesh sieve and return to the hot pot. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
PIN IT!!!

Equipment needed to make this recipe
  • large skillet
  • sharp knife
  • cutting board
  • can opener
  • wooden spoon
  • measuring spoons
  • medium sized pot with lid
  • mesh sieve
  • small bowl
Tex Mex Chicken & Zucchini Rice Bowls

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
2 Tbs olive oil, divided
1 1/2 C zucchini, sliced into half moons
2 C red onion, diced
2 Tbs garlic, minced
1 Tbs oregano
1 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs cumin
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1- 15 oz can black beans
1 1/2 C frozen corn 
1- 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 C tomato sauce
2 C uncooked brown rice
1 avocado, sliced
1 lime cut into wedges

In a small bowl, combine the oregano, chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes and sea salt. Season the thinly sliced chicken breast with half the Tex Mex seasoning.

Bring a medium pot to a boil. Place the raw brown rice in a mesh sieve and rinse under cold water for 1 minute. Once water is boiling, add in a tsp of salt and the rinsed rice. Reduce heat to medium high, and boil rice for 20-30 minutes, depending on your desired taste. Drain the rice in the same mesh sieve, return to the hot pot, cover and let sit 5 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, heat 1 Tbs olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook sliced chicken breast in batches, until golden brown and cooked through. Once cooked transfer to a bowl and cover with foil.

In the same skillet, add the second Tbs of olive oil. Add in the red onion and zucchini and cooked until tender, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, remaining spices and corn and cook until the corn is heated through; 4 minutes. Stir in the cooked chicken, beans, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes; so the flavours can blend. 

To serve, place cooked rice in a bowl and top with the chicken and zucchini mixture. Garnish with sliced avocado and a squeeze of lime.

These rice bowls come to 2 Weight Watchers Points, on the purple plan, when served with 1 C of brown rice and 1 C of the chicken and zucchini.



 

Comments

  1. Yum! Love this recipe and can't wait to try it! We love rice bowls around here and have really been aiming for cleaner eating so this is perfect! Always grateful for new recipes. Pinned! Thanks so much for sharing! :)

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    Replies
    1. I really hope you try it. It is so flavorful and the zucchini adds a great contrast in textures.

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  2. Yummy!!! And so perfect for this long weekend. Love rice bowls as well as all your wonderful vegetables that you have assembled for this recipe. Cannot wait to make it. Thank you for sharing

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  3. I love tex mex food! thanks for sharing this. it looks healthy and delicious! i usually have a problem using up my zucchini!

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  4. My husband is going to love this recipe. He's a big tex mex fan. This recipe looks so delicious! I got some fresh zucchini from my garden so this is the perfect recipe for it.
    Thanks for the amazing recipe!

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  5. Yummy this dish looks and sounds so good. My kids have been loving corn and beans lately, so this will surely be a hit. I can't wait to try this. Thank you!

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  6. Yum! This tex-mex chicken looks amazing! And a great way to use up those zucchini who are waiting to get eaten! :D

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  7. I have been looking for a zucchini recipe. This looks perfect. Going to make it for dinner. Thanks for the recipe.

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  8. I love a good bowl meal and this one has all my favorite flavors! YUM!

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  9. This looks delicious, I love tex Mexican, and am always on the lookout for zucchini recipes. My Mum's garden produces so many huge zucchini it is always fun finding uses for it all. Thanks for sharing

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  10. This looks delicious! Will try it out this week, can’t wait! Thanks for sharing!

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  11. This looks delicious! Will try it out this week, can’t wait! Thanks for sharing!

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  12. I love tex mex food. Rice bowls are so delicious and your recipe is easy and all of the ingredients are in my pantry. Totoal yum in a bowl.

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  13. I love how packed of rich Mexican flavors this recipe is. Nourishing and delicious at the same time.

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  14. Haha, I'm with you on the daily routine and feeling knackered by 5pm; when you're up at 5 an, that feels like midnight! Super meal with my fave plant - courgette, and I'm glad you mentioned quinoa for substitute; it is such a great one!

    ReplyDelete

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