Chicken Burrito Bowls

Confession: I'm a little obsessed with all these smoothie bowls, burrito bowls, anything in bowls! It's so fun and I've enjoyed trying new combinations. Last night's dinner did not disappoint. You can eat it plain or just add cheese, or go all out and add all the fixings you can come up with. 

For the kids, we just added cheese and plain Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream). I topped my burrito bowl with lime, salsa, peppers, avocado, and plain Greek yogurt ( I skipped the cheese since I wanted avocado). We all went to bed with happy tummies. 

Then today, I made a salad out of the left overs. It was delicious that way too! 

Crock Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls

1-2 lb chicken breasts

1 16 oz can chicken stock

1 cup salsa 

1 tsp chili powder 

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cayenne pepper

(or Flavor God's Taco Tuesday Seasoning) 

pepper and sea salt to taste

1 16 oz can black beans, drained thoroughly

2 cups brown rice

3 cups water

Any toppings you may want to add 

In crockpot, pour chicken stock over chicken breasts. Cover with salsa and add seasonings. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken, add rice, water, and beans. Increase heat to high, replace lid, and cook for 40-60 minutes. In the mean time, shred the chicken and place in microwave or oven to keep warm. Return chicken to crockpot and let it reheat for 20 minutes. 

Add a scoop to a bowl and top how you desire. Makes 6-8 servings. Counts as 1 yellow, 1/2 red, and whatever other containers for your toppings. 

Cheddar and Broccoli stuffed Chicken

If you're not excited about the dinner you're about to make, you're probably not going to enjoy it. The best part about meal prep is going through and finding dinners you can't wait to make. I love that I am not dieting, I'm enjoying food! AND I've already lost two pounds since Saturday. It's probably all water weight, but I'm heading in the right direction.

Luckily this dinner didn't just sound good, it tasted soooooooo good! It's opened up a whole bunch of ideas for other things I can stuff chicken with! Spinach and mozzarella. With some marina sauce. Or bacon and cheese stuffed chicken. Pretty much anything with cheese....I'll get working on that!

A few things I would have done differently would be remembering to take the chicken out of the freezer (or use fresh chicken) to defrost rather than having to defrost in the microwave. Instead of slicing it open, the recipe I followed said to use a mallet and pound the chicken until it's thin, stuff, and then fold in half. I was just lazy. My way wasn't bad, but It could have been thinner. I use the giant frozen chicken breasts from Costco.

I could think of several different sides with this, brown rice and asparagus, or a delicious summer salad with fruit, but this is what sounded good last night. Boiled potatoes with a little coconut oil and Trader Joe's 22 salute. Green beans with sauteed with fresh ground pepper and seasoned with lemon zest and a little lemon juice.

The kids ate so well! And of course Jake and I enjoyed it, because who doesn't like broccoli, cheese and chicken!? Plus, it was super easy to make.

If you try this, be sure to leave a comment with what you had for a side/s! I am always looking for more ideas.

Cheddar and Broccoli stuffed Chicken
1 lb chicken breast
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
olive oil
pepper and sea salt
paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a pyrex pan with extra virgin olive oil.

Step 1-  Chop up broccoli into small pieces. Shred cheddar cheese. Set aside.

Step 2- Slice chicken in half parallel to your counter. OR pound until thin with a mallet.

Step 3- Stuff with broccoli and cheese. Drizzle with olive oil, season with sea salt, pepper, and paprika.

Step 4- Fold over or replace flap, drizzle a little more olive oil and sprinkle a little more pepper and sea salt on top. Secure toothpicks to keep chicken in place. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes,  or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove foil, add a little more cheese, and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

This made 4 servings and counts as a red, blue, and 1/2 green.