Daniel and I helped coach our college softball team a few years back and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives. This is why at times, we over commit—because there is such a huge blessing when you invest your lives into other people. We still have friendships with those players to this day and I think that they have poured more into me than I have into them.
They are maybe, eight years younger than me, but I consider them “my girls.” They will always have a special place in my heart,and I am so proud of them when I hear that they are taking over the softball world or achieving great things academically.
Those precious girls!
A few weeks ago I had two of them over on a Friday night to have a nice little cry over the movie Titanic. I had to explain to them, culturally, what this movie meant to my generation. I had a big lecture before the movie started that went a little something like this:
“I had just gotten my second ear piercing at Claire’s earlier that day… You have to understand Leo was like Jake Gyllenhall back then—even though the special effects seem bad to you, they were top-of-the-line for 1997. I carried a picture of Leonardo Dicaprio in my pocket for months after this movie—this movie emotionally destroyed me.”
They loved the movie, obviously. This is not the first Leo flick I’ve had them over to watch. There were some girls that didn’t make the traveling roster one weekend so Daniel and I decided to have them over for Baja Bowls and Inception. These are some of my favorite memories. There is nothing I could make that they wouldn’t shamelessly devour. I love seeing the empty pots and pans of food as they left knowing they were filled with real food and not college cafeteria blech.
Feeding a large crowd is never easy, especially when some people are gluten free, some people hate onions and some people only eat pasta and butter (Yeah you, Alson). So a good default for me was Baja Bowls. You get to build your own bowl, so it’s easy and quick. All you have to do is throw some rice in the cooker, chop up some veggies, grate some cheese, make a dressing, and politely ask your husband to BBQ some chicken.
Whenever we BBQ chicken we, hands down, always use our Uncle Roland’s BBQ seasoning (AKA the BBQ king). I think he smuggles it here from Mexico or Texas? Es Magica. But you probably don’t have a spice-smuggling Uncle Roland. Therefore, I would venture to say it’s 3 parts paprika, 2 parts garlic powder, 2 parts salt, 1 part pepper, 1 part onion powder and possibly a few hits of dried lemon zest.
In addition to feeding a crowd, this meal is also just a perfect week-night meal that is healthy, easy and, can I just say without sounding like I’m bragging, insanely delicious.
Baja Bowls
Baja bowls were made to feed a crowd. Clean, simple, healthy and not to mention flavors that are out of this world. This recipe is a keeper.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
6 cups white rice, cooked
4 chicken breasts, seasoned, barbecued, and cubed
2 red peppers, barbecued
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups Monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 can of black beans
1 1/2 cups corn
1 red onion, large
2 Avocados
Cilantro Ranch Dressing
Instructions
Start the rice in the rice cooker first since this will take the longest.
Season the chicken breast in Uncle Roland’s seasoning, if you don’t have an Uncle Roland then some paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder should do. Grill the chicken and red peppers.
Chop up the veggies and chicken and heat the corn and the black beans. Grate the cheese then set all the toppings out in individual bowls (if you’re having company).
Make the 5 minute Cilantro Ranch Dressing and you are ready for a fiesta!
Keywords: baja bowls, cilantro ranch dressing, clean eating, easy, feeding a crowd, rice bowl, simple, tex-mex, leonardo dicaprio
