Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Tasty Tuesday: Chicken Veggie Avocado Rice Bowl

I feel a little embarrassed sharing this as a "recipe" because it's so ridiculously easy to throw together that instructions probably aren't required. We've been making it about once a week lately, and it's quickly becoming one of our favorite weeknight meals.

This bowl is filled with simple ingredients: rice, spiced grilled chicken, roasted vegetables, and fresh smashed avocado. There's obviously nothing fancy or intimidating about it. But, for whatever reason, this combination is amazing. I actually crave this meal now (which is probably why it keeps popping up on our weekly menu).

And, unlike many of the other delicious meals I share on this blog, this one is actually pretty healthy. It's not super low calorie, though, so if you're trying to cut back, you could always grill the veggies instead of roasting them in olive oil, reduce the amount of avocado, and/or substitute quinoa for the rice. I may try some of these substitutions at some point, but right now I'm happy to eat fewer calories at lunch and then chow down on this at dinner. It's so worth it!

 photo ChickenVeggieAvocadoRiceBowl_zpsv8rjfeeo.jpg

Chicken Veggie Avocado Rice Bowl

A Divulge and Indulge original recipe.

Ingredient List:
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 large red bell pepper, cut into slices and then halved
  • 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
  • 2 avocados
  • 1-2 cups cooked rice (I've been using long grain white rice, but any type of rice will work.)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp black pepper, divided
  • 2 tsp chipotle chili powder, divided
  • 2 tsp garlic salt, divided
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp Mexican oregano

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Preheat the grill. (We live in an apartment, so we just use a little George Foreman indoor grill. It doesn't take very long to heat up, so it's fine to start it up around the same time as the oven. I've never actually used a "real" grill, so I'm not sure how long it takes to heat up ... I'm guessing not more than 10-15 minutes, which should give you more than enough time to slice the veggies and add the spices to the chicken while you wait.)

3.  Place the chicken in a medium bowl and rub both sides of each breast with the following spice mixture: 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp chipotle chili powder, 1 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp chili powder, and 1 tsp Mexican oregano. (You can either mix all of the spices together beforehand in a small bowl, or add each one individually.)

4.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray.

5.  Place the sliced red bell pepper and grape tomatoes on the baking sheet. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with 1 tsp black pepper and 1 tsp sea salt.

6.  Allow the vegetables to roast in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. (The tomatoes should begin to burst a bit when they're ready, and the red pepper should soften while still retaining a bit of crunch.)

7.  While the vegetables are cooking, add the spiced chicken to the grill. Grill until completely cooked through. (This should take between 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken.)

8.  Once the chicken has finished cooking, dice it into smaller chunks. (Eric usually takes over the chicken portion of this meal, and he likes to cut the chicken up into really tiny pieces. It works well for a bowl like this because you'll get some chicken in each bite. It's obviously not necessary to cut the chicken so small, however, I would recommend cutting it up a bit so you don't just have a big piece of chicken sitting on top of your bowl.)

9.  Smash the avocados in a small bowl. Add 1 tsp chipotle chili powder and 1 tsp garlic salt, and mix well.

10.  Spoon rice into bowls and top with veggies, chicken, and smashed avocado.

This meal just screams summer to me, so make sure you try it before the season is over. Trust me, you'll be happy you did!

1 comment:

  1. this might be ridiculously simple, but I am always looking for simple and easy but still yummy recipes so I am totally going to try this :)

    ReplyDelete