Mexican {Real} Food Bar ~ Homemade Chipotle

Homemade Chipotle (the restaurant, not the pepper) Night is probably the happiest night of the week for many reasons.  It's the one meal where everyone gets to pick what they eat.  It's also the cheapest dinner and on top of that, it's leftovers span throughout the week.  Preparing all the items might take some time but really, it's just a lot of up-front cooking that we get to pick at for days to come.  This is a very versatile meal that can dance along with the seasons although I have to admit, along with most everything we eat, this concept shines in the summertime with all the variety of produce being harvested.  Everything offered to craft a personal dish on Chipotle Night is nourishing so the kids are allowed to choose what they eat and how much they eat.  The only stipulation is that they clear their plates.  Seconds are always an option, but I have this thing against waisted food.

Let's start with the foundation.  Pretend it's your turn in the Chipotle line to build your order.  You have the choice of a bowl, salad, burrito, or taco.  As the owner of this particular establishment, you also get to decide how many choices will be offered.  We always have the foundation of refried beans, brown rice cooked in stock (for added flavor and nutrition), and chopped lettuce.  Sometimes we have tortillas for the option of burritos or soft tacos, sometimes we don't.  Sometimes we have taco meat, shredded chicken, or fish, sometimes (especially when we're stretching things at the end of the month) it's a meatless meal.  There is always cultured raw dairy in the form of creme fraiche and grated cheese and for the sake of my husband, there is always a jar of salsa verde or in the summertime, fresh salsa of some sort.  I always use the salsa as a dressing when I choose to go the salad route.  We also enjoy some corn freshly off the cob when it's that time of year.  If you have it, fresh cilantro is always a winner.  If you're an olive-loving-family like us, those are usually the first thing to disappear.  I didn't even get a chance to shoot a picture of them.  It was like trying to capture a bolt of lightening.

So what happens next?  Every item is placed on our large square table and after we give thanks, everyone goes to town.  Sometimes I like to put everything in pleasant-looking dishes but most of the time the pots of hot rice and beans go straight to the table on top of a cooling rack and serving spoons are plunged inside.

Everyone's creations look different.  The children usually fill up mostly on beans, cheese, creme fraiche, and olives.  Maybe some rice thrown in.  Some of them also like a splash of salsa.  I like making a loaded salad, heavy on the veggies, light on the beans.  It all works out in the end.

Those leftovers I spoke of are used for lunches; be it salad, burritos, or bowls.  Throw any extra rice, meat, and veggies into some simmering stock and enjoy a delicious soup.  Maybe even sprinkle some cheese and plop a dollop of creme fraiche on top of each filled bowl to make it a yummy, tortilla soup-esque supper.

I hope you enjoy a Mexican food bar night very soon!

~ Browse more Riddlelove recipes here. ~

I'm sharing this at Simple Lives Thursday.