“Chipotle” Burrito Bowl

I’ve been proud of the fact that I’ve been working full time for a company for 5 months now and have only ordered take out for lunch a total of 2 times (compared to my co-workers who have probably brought a homemade meal 2 times since they’ve worked here).  BUT, last week my friends were ordering from one of my favorites, “Chipotle”, and I couldn’t help but take them up on the offer to pick me up a burrito.

SO, I easily chose the vegetarian bowl which consists of fresh ingredients like pinto beans, rice, corn, red onion, tomato and cilantro and it was DELICIOUS.  I devoured the whole thing in record time and stopped by Trader Joe’s on my way home from work to get everything to recreate this dish at home.

Last night, I whip up an almost identical version of the one from “Chipotle”, but for some reason the beans were different.  They still tasted great but didn’t look anything like the ones I’d that day.  I checked out their vegetarian options on their website and to my horror I discovered that their pinto beans are seasoned with BACON.

BACON!!! So did I cheat?  Did I inadvertently consume meat?!  Technically yes, and although I wasn’t happy about it, it wasn’t the end of the world.  But I learned a valuable lesson in doing some research BEFORE you order from a restaurant.

So here’s my own, BACON-FREE version of the infamous “Chipotle” burrito bowl!

4 cups cooked, white or basmati rice

1 ½ cups cooked pinto beans

1 tomato, chopped

1 cup frozen organic corn

¼ cup red onion, chopped

1/2 cup Monterey jack or nacho cheese

2 tsp fresh cilantro, minced

2 cayenne peppers, minced

½ of a lime, juiced

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

• In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook corn and cayenne pepper in oil for about 8 minutes or until corn is beginning to brown
• When it’s finished, combine vegetables, rice, cheese and beans in a bowl, then season with salt and pepper and squeeze lime juice over mixture