For those of you who love to go to Freshii or Chopped Leaf but you just don’t want to spend $10+ per person, this is the recipe for you. Anyone with kids knows it’s next to impossible to please everyone every night with dinner and still put a healthy meal on the table.

The meals my family loves the most are the ones where I put out a bit of everything and let them create their own meal. Charcuterie, tacos, fajitas, souvlaki and southwest chicken bowls are all examples of these types of meals.

This recipe allows everyone to compose their very own bowl from a selection of toppings and it’s relatively quick to put together, the total time commitment is 1-1.5 hours.

This is a great meal for a crowd, people often shy away from having dinner parties because the anxiety of pleasing everyone and fitting inside their dietary restrictions can be daunting. These bowls can be customized and can be gluten free, vegetarian/vegan, substitute with seared steak, shrimp or tofu and kids absolutely love it.

The Rub

15g Chipotle Powder

10g Garlic Powder

10g Ancho Chili Powder (regular chili powder will do in a pinch)

4g Kosher or Sea Salt

2g Black Pepper, freshly ground

4g Cumin, ground

10g Paprika

10g Oil

Mix all ingredients together into a paste and set aside.

 

For the Rice

serves 4-5

2 Cups Long Grain White Rice, basmati will also work

4 Cups Water, boiling

30g Rub (approx. half)

Add rub and water to a medium sized pot whisk to distribute the rub, add rice and place on the stove on med/low heat covered with a tight fitting lid. Cook until all liquid is absorbed 12-15 minutes. Once finished, keep covered off the heat for an additional five minutes and then fluff the grains with a fork and set aside.

For the Chicken

Serves 4-5

2 Large Chicken Breasts or 5 chicken thighs, skinless/boneless

35g Rub (approx. half)

Dry the chicken off with a paper towel so rub will stick. Rub the spice mixture over the chicken and set aside until ready to grill. Grill chicken approx. 30 minutes prior to serving the dinner. Allow 5-10 minutes to rest once cooked and then slice.

For the Cilantro Lime Dressing

Serves 6-8

10g Green onions, chopped

20g Fresh Cilantro

20g Lime Juice (bottled is fine)

250g Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt (not low fat)

4g Cumin, ground

2g Kosher or Sea Salt

2g Black Pepper, freshly ground

4g Fresh Garlic, minced

4g Honey

Build this dressing in a bullet style blender, it’ll come together in less than 5 minutes. it makes enough for everyone to be generous.

 

The Toppings

There are endless possibilities with the toppings you can use here, below are some suggestions and I will start with what I used but feel free to customize it with what you have on hand and what your family likes.

• Roasted Corn (frozen corn roasted with a bit of oil, salt and pepper in a 450F oven for 10 minutes)
• Avocados (sprinkle cut pieces with lime juice to prevent browning)
• Diced tomatoes
• Diced Bell Peppers
• Shredded Red Cabbage
• Green Onion
• Black Beans

other options:

• Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
• Diced Mango
• Pinto Beans
• Jalapeno or Pablano Peppers
• Shredded lettuce