Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto

Oh, dudes.

Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto / Bev Cooks

Is it okay if I call you dude? I know I’m almost 70 years old and it’s not exactly age appropriate, but the cyclone of my heart pump leads me down a path of juvenility unstoppable to even myself.

Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto / Bev Cooks  Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto / Bev Cooks

I wish I could Brady-Bunch-opening-credit myself into the center of these photos and look around at them all proudly. Like Alice does, ya know?

Oh hey there, diced chicken being dowsed with Mexican spices. Good to see ya!

Oh wowza, there you are all seared and sautéed and scrumptious. Noice jorb.

Oooooo, black rice. I’ve never seen such black rice-y-ness.

Oh golly gosh, Sam did you put bacon in that guacamole? Oh, Saaaaam.

(Remember Sam? Sam the butcher?)

Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto / Bev Cooks  Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto / Bev Cooks

Well my lands, look at all those scallions in that food processor. This will only hurt for a minute! Haha! Oh.

And don’t even tell me that’s jalapeno in those beans and corn. Jeeeeepers.

Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto / Bev Cooks  Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto / Bev Cooks

Is it bad form to beg?

Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto / Bev Cooks

Because I’m about to come undone. Dudes.

Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto / Bev Cooks

m-a-k-e-t-h-i-s.

Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto:

What it took for 4 bowls:

* 2 chicken breasts, diced into small cubes
* 1 Tbs. ground cumin
* 1 Tbs. chili powder
* 1 tsp ground coriander
* 1/2 tsp garlic salt
* 1 pinch crushed red pepper
* 2 slices bacon
* 1 cup uncooked black rice
* 1 avocado
* 3 Tbs. fresh lime juice, divided
* 1 bunch scallions, white ends trimmed and discarded
* 3 Tbs. toasted pepitas
* 2 cloves garlic
* 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tsp
* 1 jalapeno pepper, minced (and seeded for less heat)
* 1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 (10 oz) can Mexi-corn, drained
* 1/2 cup crumbed cotija cheese
* chives for garnish (optional)
* 2 cups baby spinach leaves
* coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Cook the black rice in a rice cooker, or your favorite stove-top method.

In a small bowl, mix together the cumin, chili powder, coriander, garlic salt, crushed red pepper, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sprinkle the spice mix over the diced chicken until coated all over. Set aside.

Render the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. When crispy, remove the bacon and place on paper towels to drain. Crumble with fingers. Taste one to make sure the pigs did it right.

Back in the skillet, drain all but about 2 Tbs. bacon fat. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat and add the chicken. Sear the chicken until browned all over and cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from pan and cover to keep warm.

In a small sauce pan, bring the tsp oil to a medium heat. Add the jalapeno and sizzle for a minute. Add the black beans and corn; toss. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low while you finish the rest of the meal. Stir once in a while.

In a food processor, combine the scallions, garlic, toasted pepitas, 2 Tbs. lime juice and a pinch of salt. With the motor running, add the remaining 3 Tbs. oil in a thin stream until you get a nice pesto consistency.

In a small bowl, combine the avocado, bacon crumbles, the remaining Tbs. of lime juice and a small pinch of salt. Mash until you get a guacamole of the most unearthly caliber.

FINALLY, place a small heaping of black rice in the bottom of each bowl. Top with baby spinach leaves, cooked chicken, a few spoonfuls of the black bean/corn mixture, a healthy dollop of the bacon guacamole and the scallion pesto. I’m starting to lose it just thinking about it.

Now just garnish with a little bit of the crumbled cotija cheese. Someone has GOT to tell me how to pronounce this word. And maybe a chive or two for prettiness?

Aaaand go.

Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto / Bev Cooks

Don’t you want to just nestle your whole head right in that?

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27 Responses to Chicken Burrito Bowls with Bacon Guacamole and Scallion Pesto

  1. Blog is the New Black December 12, 2012 at 5:28 am #
    Ohhhh yes, burrito bowls! These look fantastic!
  2. Ashley December 12, 2012 at 6:36 am #
    Dudeeeeee! These burrito bowls just made my miserable morning face perk up.
  3. Elizabeth@ Food Ramblings December 12, 2012 at 7:25 am #
    bacon guacamole.....done!
  4. Living The Sweet Life December 12, 2012 at 8:01 am #
    DUDE - when you're making stuff like this, call me whatever you want! Mmmm... this is my perfect meal!! DELICIOUS
  5. Kathryn December 12, 2012 at 8:23 am #
    There's too many good things in there for me to be able to comprehend it. Must make!
  6. Kelly Senyei (Just a Taste) December 12, 2012 at 8:30 am #
    I'd like all of these things in one giant bowl and on my desk for lunch at around 12:17 p.m. Can you make it happen?
  7. Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie December 12, 2012 at 9:09 am #
    Ooo a scallion pesto. That's one way to use up the scallions I have
  8. Katie December 12, 2012 at 9:13 am #
    BA-UTIFUL. Only you could make a big bowl of burrito innards look this good.
  9. Loretta | A Finn In The Kitchen December 12, 2012 at 9:22 am #
    I think I just died...
  10. Heather @ Heather's Dish December 12, 2012 at 10:02 am #
    O.MA.GOSH. Bacon guac? Can I come live with you?
  11. carly {carlyklock} December 12, 2012 at 10:37 am #
    Love this, Bev - sounds so tasty. The black rice is such a good idea!
  12. Liz @ The Lemon Bowl December 12, 2012 at 11:35 am #
    I want to cry. This is the perfect recipe.
  13. Marina {YummyMummyKitchen.com} December 12, 2012 at 11:40 am #
    Gorgeous! Burrito bowls are my favorite. mmmmm
  14. Cooks_Books December 12, 2012 at 12:42 pm #
    I cannot even express how badly I want this in front of me, now!
  15. Rachel Cooks December 12, 2012 at 1:51 pm #
    Yes---I do want to dive right in! YUM!
  16. Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out December 12, 2012 at 2:02 pm #
    Cotija = Coh-tee-ha :-) The words "bacon guacamole" made my heart stop beating. I'm swooning.
  17. Katie @ Blonde Ambition December 12, 2012 at 3:00 pm #
    Wuuuuut. Guacamole AND pesto in the same bowl? And bacon in the guacamole? And jalapeno in the beans? My little heart can't take all these wonderful surprises!
  18. Rachael {SimplyFreshCooking} December 12, 2012 at 3:17 pm #
    Thanks for this crazy amazing recipe, DUDE. :) I call everyone that on FB, but I spell it DOOD. It's become this whole big thang.
  19. Tracey @ Cooking with Love December 12, 2012 at 6:55 pm #
    Looks very yummy! I love mexican food!!
  20. Julie @ Table for Two December 12, 2012 at 6:57 pm #
    holy mother of everything. i want this asap!!
  21. Iris December 13, 2012 at 11:30 am #
    Drool. I need to start making this all the time. I never make burritos because I can't get any quality tortillas for them in my neighborhood, but who needs tortillas when the filling is the best part?! And yes, I was just thinking I wanted to put my whole face in that! :D
  22. Ross | TheFaceBaby December 16, 2012 at 2:35 am #
    I thought my guacamole was pretty good ... until I read the words "bacon guacamole." My guacamole is no longer good. Luckily, there's always more bacon.
  23. Tony B December 16, 2012 at 1:55 pm #
    Bacon Guac. That's hardcore awesome. Looking forward to giving this a whirl.
  24. Kevin (Closet Cooking) December 17, 2012 at 7:36 am #
    What tasty looking burrito bowls!
  25. Amber February 11, 2013 at 8:35 pm #
    Cotija...(K, long O, tee, h short u sound) is how you pronounce it. I've seen them use it on a few Food Network shows and that's how Aaron Sanchez pronounces it so I believe him :) Your recipes are amazing btw. I found you through Pinterest, and we made your smoky corn, shrimp, bacon chowder last night and it was unbelievably good. So now I'm surfing through the rest of your blog to find more delicious morsels. Thank you for all you do! I can't wait to try more. My entire family (even my 8 and 12 year old kids) devoured the soup. We will be making it again and again!
  26. Cody March 16, 2014 at 5:34 pm #
    Great recipe and I think it was perfect. I made dinner today to help my wife have time to work on some genealogy. Of course my family has been watching these Iron Chef sort of things, and instead of simply saying, "This is good," I get 3 Chef Ramsey's picking apart my meal. They don't do that for my wife, it's a dad thing. Admittedly, when I cook, it gets complicated and takes a while, so when they are hungry after church they're a tough crowd. So here's the panel's report: 16 year old daughter: "More bacon, more chicken, but tastes great! Oh, and more bacon.....and chicken..." (Never enough bacon for her) 17 year old son: "Tastes good to me. More chicken... wait, was there bacon in this? Oh, and how 'bout a tortilla with it, so it's a burrito in a burrito, instead of a bowl" --year old wife: (Looking at it VERY suspiciously "Maybe more chicken, but really good.....but your soup had the texture of that carrot/pineapple smoothie you made this morning (not a compliment)" Me: "Perfect. Wouldn't change a thing." Okay, correction to my wife's comments, she DID say how nicely the flavors complimented everything, and she liked the pesto. She also liked the black rice. I didn't have pepitas. Hard to find here in Virginia. Also, instead of the fancy cheese I used queso fresco, which worked fine and fit in very well. Thank you for the great recipe. I will be making it again. Perhaps the best compliment is that there wasn't morsel left in anyone's bowl. We finished the meal with salted caramel pôt de crême, which ended any tendency to complain.

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