Let me apologize ahead of time for the lack of pictures. As I mentioned in my weekend post I was pretty busy in the kitchen on Sunday. At one point, both Nikon’s ended up upstairs and between my forgetfulness and a bit of laziness, pictures were kind of… not taken. I did manage to snap one with my phone right before we ate though. I PROMISE next time I do this I’ll add some great pictures. 🙂

So anyway, about a month ago I really wanted a burrito bowl from Chipotle but I had taken out a chuck roast the previous night and needed to cook it. I usually just make carnitas in the oven and we eat that with cheese and tortillas. But on this particular day I decided I would try to do some copycat Chipotle recipes. I searched the internet for recipes, edited to our tastes, and a few hours later we had ‘Chipotle’ burrito bowls for a fraction of the price! And they tasted identical.

Our bowls consisted of cilantro-lime rice, black or pinto beans (canned), carnitas, ‘roasted’ chili corn salsa, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, shredded mozzarella cheese, and salsa verde.

 

Carnitas Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2-3 pounds chuck roast
• 1 (4 ounce) can green chile peppers, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt to taste

Directions:

• Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl.
• Add green chili peppers and garlic.
• Rub all over roast.
• Put the meat in a crock pop for 4 hours on low then 1.5 hours on high or until you can easily pull it apart with a fork.

Notes:

• This isn’t the recipe for Chipotle carnitas but they taste very similar and they are so easy to make.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

• Heat the butter, add the rice and cook for about 3 minutes.
• Add water and bring to a boil.
• Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
• Stir the lime zest, lime juice, and cilantro into the cooked rice just before serving.

 

Roasted Chili Corn Salsa

Ingredients:

• 3 cups fresh corn, about 3 ears or 1 can corn
• 4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced separately
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 plum tomatoes, finely diced
• 1 to 2 fresh jalapeño chiles, finely diced, including seeds

Directions:

• Heat a dry large cast-iron skillet over moderately high heat until hot, then pan-roast corn, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Cook white part of scallions in butter with garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon each cumin and chili powder, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until scallions are tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in corn, tomatoes, and jalapeños.

(This recipe came from Yahoo! Answers)

 

Guacamole:

Ingredients:

• 2 Hass Avocados
• 1/2 of a Jalapeno pepper, seeded, and minced
• 1/4 of a red onion, finely chopped
• 2 heaping Tablespoons of Cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/4 of a lime, juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• Combine ingredients in a bowl, and mash together until smooth.
• Add additional lime juice or salt to taste.

Salsa Verde

• For every 2 tomatillos add 1 jalapeño. Rinse everything off. Chop off stems and blend until sauce forms. Add salt to taste.