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Monday, June 17, 2019

Southwest Bowl

I'm not sure I've ever been as excited to share a recipe as I am this one today.  If you've followed me for any length of time you may know that I'm a BIG fan of the Southwest bowl at Moviehouse here in McKinney.  So much so that I've considered showing up to the theater, ordering the salad from the bar and taking it to-go to enjoy at home.  It's just that good.  WELL.... I figured out how to make it AT HOME and it's just as good (actually maybe even a little bit better!) than my beloved movie salad and has been on repeat for both me and Dave.




Step 1 - Grill your chicken breasts and some corn (you can use frozen corn... but grilled is always the way to go in my opinion), slice the corn off the cob and slice/dice up the chicken.




Step 2 - While the chicken is cooking, cook 1 1/2 cups basmati rice.  I'd follow your package directions, but here's what works for me...  I run water over the rice until it runs clear, then put the 1.5 cups of rice into a sauce pan with 3 cups water.  Heat it to boiling, then reduce it to low, cover and let it simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove it from the heat and let it sit for about 3 minutes, then fluff it with a fork.  

Step 3 - Chop up a BUNCH of cilantro until you have 1/2 cup.  Throw the 1/2 cup chopped cilantro into the rice with 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice and 1 teaspoon olive oil.












Step 4 - Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise with 4tablespoons of chopped cilantro, 3 teaspoons lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 4 teaspoons of water.  Whisk it all together and then throw in some salt and pepper to taste.  I know it sounds weird but it is SO SO SO GOOD!!!  TRUST ME!!!




Last step - make the bowl!!!  I put in a scoop or so of rice, grilled chicken, corn, cherry tomatoes, avocado and some cheese.  Top it off with the aioli and enjoy!



This is the cheese that we used and it was SO GOOD!!! Any cheese of your choice would work well.






I really can't explain how great these bowls are.  The aioli totally makes it and I love how customizable they are.  I prepped everything one day and have had multiple lunches from it which has been great.  You could easily make a double batch of the rice and then set out all of the toppings and let guests make their own bowls... I'd just make sure you had enough aioli for everyone.  Dave grilled the chicken  - but you could just as easily use fajita steak, those pre-cooked refrigerated chicken strips, seasoned grilled shrimp, etc.  You could also add in sliced diced red onion, sliced jalapenos, etc.  

I hope you enjoy the recipe and if you end up making it I'd love to know what you think!

PS - this post contained an affiliate link... thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog!

19 comments :

  1. Yay! I have all the ingredients and will be making this tomorrow night. Thank you!

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  2. This sounds delicious! I may have to save this for when I host Bunco!

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  3. This really looks amazing.. I will have to try this!

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  4. Looks so good and I love how easy it would be to customize it for individual family members ( meaning "picky") ;).

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  5. Looks delicious and definitely something we would eat in our house. Does Dave season the chicken when he grills it?

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  6. This looks delicious!! Thanks for sharing! Where is the cheese from? Trader Joe's?

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  7. I do something similar but I don't use rice. And also Trader Joes has that charred corn and that is what I buy and use! So good! I use the 0% greek yogurt and use chipotle sauce to mix it with and put on top. I follow Weight watchers so that is why I personally don't use rice and I use chopped cabbage instead. SO GOOD!

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  8. I want a Moviehouse!! Looks delish!

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  9. This sounds amazing -- I've already printed it up for tomorrow's lunch at work. I had already said I was doing Mexican but haven't been real clear about the exact menu -- I think everyone will love this!!

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  10. Made this for dinner last night and it was a hit! THANK YOU!

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  11. I tried this last night and it was so good ! Thanks so much for sharing !

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  12. I DID make it for my crew here at work and it was a HIT!!! Thank you :)

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  13. I just love when I figure out how to recreate a favorite meal at home and it comes out better than I had hoped. Looks delicious.

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  14. We’ve made this twice and it is amazing!! Thank you!❤️

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  15. I meant to write this comment a few weeks ago and forgot. We make these all the time. Love them. But this year they won me an "award"!!! LOL!! We do an annual beach vacation with the family, cousins, in-laws, etc. etc. It's a remote beach with not a lot of restaurant options, etc. so we always do our own cooking etc. There are about 11 of us and when all the kids were little it was...well...less than vacation-ey to be cooking for 11 every day. So as they have all gotten older (now the the oldest is 21 and the youngest is 15) we started making this more of a game. I believe this was the 4th or 5th year. They have to pick their partners, pick their recipes (no repeats), create their grocery lists and send to me about two weeks before we leave (most groceries are bought before we go). And then each team is assigned a night to cook dinner and at the end of the week, we anonymously vote at the end of the week for the winning dinner. Gift cards to Starbucks, Movies, now that they are almost all driving they want gas cards, etc. Plus, I only have to cook dinner once instead of all the days. Win Win! Anyway, this year my partner and I made these bowls and everyone LOVED them. They were fighting over the leftovers the next day for lunch. And at the end of the week we won!! Yay!!!

    Also, if you haven't tried the Cilantro Lime Creama sauce from Costco...it was PERFECT for these bowls.

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