We have had a can of chipotle chilies in our pantry that we have been meaning to use for the last few weeks. I was a little hesitant to add it to anything because I thought it might be a little spicy for the girls. They are learning to appreciate some heat in food, but chipotles can be really spicy!
Jim said he wanted to put together some rice bowls one afternoon for lunch and I thought the best way to use the chipotles was to put them into a sauce so we could add them to our bowls only.
Wow, this sauce added so much flavor to this dish. The bowls are yummy by themselves, but with the smoky, spicy creamy sauce they were out of this world!
I didn’t always love brown rice and it is sometimes kind of a pain to make because it takes forever to cook. Definitely not your mom’s minute rice:-). However, I was visiting Beaverton, Oregon a few years ago for work and I tried the rice bowls at a place called Cafe Yumm! (holy good food) and the rice was absolutely amazing. I found out that it was brown Jasmine rice.
For a while I couldn’t find brown Jasmine rice near me, but now I think you can find it at many grocery stores. I buy it in large bags at my beloved Asian supermarket in Cary for about 9 bucks. It cooks quicker than normal brown rice and it honestly tastes very much like white rice. The girls don’t usually like brown rice and they will eat Jasmine brown rice without noticing. So there you have it:-) I know Jasmine rice is an Asian rice, but it still works A-OK with any type of dish.
These bowls are so flavorful and you can pack them with lots of nutrition. Be a little careful of putting too much rice in your bowl if you are watching calories. Brown rice is a good carb, but it still packs a ton of calories – 1/4 cup has 190 calories so try to stick to that. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, but just watch your portion sizes. It’s easy to pile a huge amount of rice in the bottom of a bowl – I know:-).
Enjoy these bowls and definitely make this sauce. If you have extra chipotles just throw them (along with the sauce) in a plastic bag and freeze for the next time a craving for this comes along….and it will come along, I promise!
- ¼ Cup Greek Yogurt
- ¼ Cup Light Mayonnaise
- 1-2 chipotle chilies with 2 teaspoons sauce (depending on how spicy you like things)
- juice of half a lime
- Dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder
- 2 Grilled Chicken Breasts
- 1 Avocado
- 2 Green Onions chopped
- ½ cup black beans
- Salsa
- Sea Salt
- Jasmine Brown Rice – enough for 4 servings
- Optional: Cilantro and shredded cheese, Baked Crumbled Tortilla Chips, chopped tomato
- In the bowl of a food processor mix the yogurt, mayo, chipotles with sauce, lime juice and salt and pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined. You can also throw a little of the cilantro in this sauce for some extra flavor.
- Between four bowls divide the rice, chicken avocado, onions and beans. Top with the salsa, chipotle cream sauce and any optional topping you may choose. I like to mash my avocado right in the bowl as I don’t like chunks and it coats the rice really well. Give each bowl a few cracks of sea salt.
- I personally don’t think you need any cheese in these bowls, but the kids like to have some and they can afford the calories:-).
