Chicken Burrito Bowl

5 chicken thighs, defrosted
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced onion
2 teaspoons garlic powder
3 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
Salt & Pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (14 oz) black beans, drained & rinsed
2 1/2 cups brown rice
Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
Sour Cream
Tortilla Chips
Avocado

Put the chicken into the crockpot. Add in the chicken broth, olive oil, minced onion, garlic powder, cumin, salt & pepper, tomatoes and brown rice. Cook on low for 3 1/2 hours. Add in the black beans and cook for 30 more minutes. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips and sliced avocado.

This was actually really good- I'm not a fan of cumin, but it wasn't super strong. Hey, um, make sure you cook your rice all the way through. I added mine in too late and it was super crunchy!

Zucchini & Black Bean Skillet

1 tablespoon oil
1 zucchini, sliced and chopped
1 squash, sliced and chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup rice cooked
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Warm up the oil in a skillet, then add zucchini, squash, bell pepper and onion; cook for about 5 minutes. Add the beans and tomatoes, increase heat and bring to a boil. Add the rice and then remove from the heat for about 7 minutes. Stir in the cheese and SERVE!

This has been an amazingly quick meal to make and an amazingly yummy meal to eat! Full of veggies and delicious! I also made this with orzo rather than rice and it was just as good. I wonder how it would be with quinoa???

Savory Italian Rice Bake

1 package Rice-A-Roni, chicken flavor
1 pound ground turkey
2 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Prepare the Rice-A-Roni according to the box's directions and brown the ground turkey. Add the chopped onion to the ground turkey, cover and cook on low for about 2 minutes. Add the prepared rice to the ground turkey/onion mixture, along with 1 1/2 cups of the spaghetti sauce and the dried basil. Spread into a casserole dish and top with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Add the remaining 1 cup of spaghetti sauce on top, then sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on top of that. Pop it in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes.

Yum, yum, yum...

As long as you do the rice beforehand, it really doesn't take that long to get together. I like it, Bryce likes it, the kids like it (mainly because of the awesome amount of cheese on top). Even with the four of us (and one of us eating for two), there are still plenty of left-overs!

Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl

1 cup of rice
Chicken, cooked and chopped (as much as you want)
1/2 golden onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
5 tbspn Teriyaki sauce, or similar
Feta cheese, crumbled
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook your rice; while that is cooking, add your chicken, onion, green bell pepper and sauce into a pan and cook on medium heat until chicken is warmed through and veggies are crispy-tender. Add just a little bit of Feta and continue cooking until Feta starts to melt. Stir the Feta through and remove chicken mixture from heat. Spoon a desired amount of rice into a bowl and top with some chicken mixture. Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top and eat.

I love rice bowls and this was a nice variation. I especially loved the hint of Feta. I think next time I would add some pineapple, but then again, this was a nice meal on its own. Even the girls ate it!