Burrito bowls for a family of 4 costs $50? Might as well just order Chipotle next time, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m trying to figure out where people are buying such expensive chicken. I’ve never paid over $1.99/ pound for chicken leg quarters.

Serving street meat to your kids to save a couple of dollars. No thanks.

Agree. I will pay for Bell & Evans chicken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the ingredients list for the restaurant food. The stuff you made is a lot healthier.

This.

Why do you make this assumption? Where do you believe that Chipotle is unhealthy (except perhaps with salt)?
https://www.chipotle.com/ingredients

Chipotle should put out a press release that they’re avoiding seed oils to make the stock soar. Olive oil and/or some other healthier natural oil is the way forward. We’d absolutely go more often if they would.

You should know that your media diet is really, really slanted. What you are watching and reading is not representative. I never hear, read, or think about seed oils. Honestly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the ingredients list for the restaurant food. The stuff you made is a lot healthier.

This.

Why do you make this assumption? Where do you believe that Chipotle is unhealthy (except perhaps with salt)?
https://www.chipotle.com/ingredients

Chipotle should put out a press release that they’re avoiding seed oils to make the stock soar. Olive oil and/or some other healthier natural oil is the way forward. We’d absolutely go more often if they would.

You should know that your media diet is really, really slanted. What you are watching and reading is not representative. I never hear, read, or think about seed oils. Honestly.

You should. And when companies move away from them, it generates tons of excitement, see Steak n Shake now cooking fries in beef tallow:

https://www.steaknshake.com/seed-oils/

[Anonymous]

did you use up everything you bought?

likely you still have some of that 50 dollar purchase left.

if i was making at home i would probably only offer one meat, not two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids love Chipotle so I figured I could easily whip up burrito bowls last night. Family of 4. Steak and chicken. Whole Foods guac. Good salsas. Corn. Rice. Beans. Herbs and spices. Cheese, which I shredded. Onions and peppers. Leafy lettuce. It was over $50, took me well over an hour to prep and cook everything, tons of cleanup, and tasted fine but nothing special. Everyone finished their plates but no rave reviews.

Chipotle is $9-12 per person. And the kids and my husband would prefer it over what I served. Did I do something wrong or does everyone sort of know this and when the family craves burritos or burrito bowls you all order out?

When we do burrito bowls at home it's rice, chicken, frozen corn, sale salsa, guac I make myself if avocados are on sale or no guac otherwise, sour cream, canned beans, cheese, onions, peppers, and lettuce. 2 lb of chicken will set us back about $8, the beans will be about $1.50, guac will cost about $3 to make, salsa about $3.50, onion about $1, peppers about $2-3, frozen corn about $2, lettuce about $4 and we'll hopefully use the rest of it on salads the rest of the week. Rice, sour cream, and cheese are things we always have on hand, but we typically buy the sour cream at $2.50, cheese at $2.50, and a big thing of rice at $10. That's still only setting me back $40 and I've got rice, lettuce, sour cream, and cheese to use for other things still when I'm done.

But yes, burrito bowls are a pain to make because it's a ton of frying pans or a ton of time layering flavors in the same pan. Plus you have to assemble them at the table.

You don’t use fresh lime juice or cilantro in your guacamole? That makes it more than $3.50. And avocados are only 2 for $3.50 if they’re on sale.

No fresh lime juice (refrigerated bottle) and you're right that I forgot the cilantro.

As mentioned, we skip guac entirely when the avocados aren't on sale.

DP you do not put lime juice in fresh guacamole. It is added to guacamole that is not served right an away to prevent browning but changes the taste. Guacamole without lime juice taste much better.

I would say that this is definitely your personal taste.

No guacamole with lime juice adds acid and you lose a lot of flavor. All the subtleties of the guacamole are destroyed and it tastes stale.

[Anonymous]

Why You Should Leave the Lime Out of Your Guacamole
Lime is an integral part of a great guacamole—or so we thought. Turns out, American cooks put the lime in. And now it's time to take it out.

Twenty years ago, I asked a server at Mexico City’s legendary El Bajío if there was lime in their exceptionally rich, deep guacamole. She tsk-tsked me with her finger. “No, no," she said. "Lime masks the avocado.”

In retrospect, it seems so obvious. But at the time, I, like most Americans, ceremoniously squeezed fresh lime juice into my guacamole, a finishing touch that I believed accentuated or balanced the flavors. It wasn't until I started spending time in Mexico that I found guacs that, in whatever form they took—drizzled over empanadas, slathered as a base for ceviche tostadas, served chunky-style piled alongside thin grilled steaks—tasted like avocado concentrate, with only a wisp of citrus acidity, if any.
.. . As a dip with chips, the richness of limeless guacamole can be revelatory,

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/why-you-should-leave-the-lime-out-of-your-guacamole-article

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m trying to figure out where people are buying such expensive chicken. I’ve never paid over $1.99/ pound for chicken leg quarters.

We aren’t buying chicken leg quarters; that’s gotta be the worst possible cut of a chicken to deal with or eat

Oh yes, so difficult to season and throw it in the oven and cook it on low all day. That’s the hardest thing ever. Much worse than chicken breasts that dry out in an hour.

Who has all day to be cooking legs in an oven, we work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m trying to figure out where people are buying such expensive chicken. I’ve never paid over $1.99/ pound for chicken leg quarters.

Serving street meat to your kids to save a couple dollars. No thanks.

"Street meat?" My god quit the hysterics, Harris Teeter sells chicken breasts for $1.99/lb all the time and it's the exact same stuff in the $7.99/lb Tyson package.

Nobody on DCUM eats Tyson chicken. Have you ever seen what goes on at Tyson factories??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the ingredients list for the restaurant food. The stuff you made is a lot healthier.

This.

Why do you make this assumption? Where do you believe that Chipotle is unhealthy (except perhaps with salt)?
https://www.chipotle.com/ingredients

Chipotle should put out a press release that they’re avoiding seed oils to make the stock soar. Olive oil and/or some other healthier natural oil is the way forward. We’d absolutely go more often if they would.

You should know that your media diet is really, really slanted. What you are watching and reading is not representative. I never hear, read, or think about seed oils. Honestly.

You should. And when companies move away from them, it generates tons of excitement, see Steak n Shake now cooking fries in beef tallow:

https://www.steaknshake.com/seed-oils/

So dumb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids love Chipotle so I figured I could easily whip up burrito bowls last night. Family of 4. Steak and chicken. Whole Foods guac. Good salsas. Corn. Rice. Beans. Herbs and spices. Cheese, which I shredded. Onions and peppers. Leafy lettuce. It was over $50, took me well over an hour to prep and cook everything, tons of cleanup, and tasted fine but nothing special. Everyone finished their plates but no rave reviews.

Chipotle is $9-12 per person. And the kids and my husband would prefer it over what I served. Did I do something wrong or does everyone sort of know this and when the family craves burritos or burrito bowls you all order out?

When we do burrito bowls at home it's rice, chicken, frozen corn, sale salsa, guac I make myself if avocados are on sale or no guac otherwise, sour cream, canned beans, cheese, onions, peppers, and lettuce. 2 lb of chicken will set us back about $8, the beans will be about $1.50, guac will cost about $3 to make, salsa about $3.50, onion about $1, peppers about $2-3, frozen corn about $2, lettuce about $4 and we'll hopefully use the rest of it on salads the rest of the week. Rice, sour cream, and cheese are things we always have on hand, but we typically buy the sour cream at $2.50, cheese at $2.50, and a big thing of rice at $10. That's still only setting me back $40 and I've got rice, lettuce, sour cream, and cheese to use for other things still when I'm done.

But yes, burrito bowls are a pain to make because it's a ton of frying pans or a ton of time layering flavors in the same pan. Plus you have to assemble them at the table.

You don’t use fresh lime juice or cilantro in your guacamole? That makes it more than $3.50. And avocados are only 2 for $3.50 if they’re on sale.

No fresh lime juice (refrigerated bottle) and you're right that I forgot the cilantro.

As mentioned, we skip guac entirely when the avocados aren't on sale.

DP you do not put lime juice in fresh guacamole. It is added to guacamole that is not served right an away to prevent browning but changes the taste. Guacamole without lime juice taste much better.

I would say that this is definitely your personal taste.

No guacamole with lime juice adds acid and you lose a lot of flavor. All the subtleties of the guacamole are destroyed and it tastes stale.

I will not stop putting lime in my guacamole. Your preference does not mean it’s the right answer

[Anonymous]

I make copycat bowls for my family of 4 frequently and they do like them better than Chipotle. I spend about half what you did. You must have bought expensive steak. I'll admit, I only do steak if a good skirt steak is on sale. Otherwise I still with chicken and I would never buy $10 guac at WF when I can make it at home in 4 minutes. As I said, it can be done for about $25, not $50. Plus, we do usually have leftovers for one of us for lunch the next day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the ingredients list for the restaurant food. The stuff you made is a lot healthier.

This.

Why do you make this assumption? Where do you believe that Chipotle is unhealthy (except perhaps with salt)?
https://www.chipotle.com/ingredients

In addition to the salt, they use a ton of canola oil.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids love Chipotle so I figured I could easily whip up burrito bowls last night. Family of 4. Steak and chicken. Whole Foods guac. Good salsas. Corn. Rice. Beans. Herbs and spices. Cheese, which I shredded. Onions and peppers. Leafy lettuce. It was over $50, took me well over an hour to prep and cook everything, tons of cleanup, and tasted fine but nothing special. Everyone finished their plates but no rave reviews.

Chipotle is $9-12 per person. And the kids and my husband would prefer it over what I served. Did I do something wrong or does everyone sort of know this and when the family craves burritos or burrito bowls you all order out?

When we do burrito bowls at home it's rice, chicken, frozen corn, sale salsa, guac I make myself if avocados are on sale or no guac otherwise, sour cream, canned beans, cheese, onions, peppers, and lettuce. 2 lb of chicken will set us back about $8, the beans will be about $1.50, guac will cost about $3 to make, salsa about $3.50, onion about $1, peppers about $2-3, frozen corn about $2, lettuce about $4 and we'll hopefully use the rest of it on salads the rest of the week. Rice, sour cream, and cheese are things we always have on hand, but we typically buy the sour cream at $2.50, cheese at $2.50, and a big thing of rice at $10. That's still only setting me back $40 and I've got rice, lettuce, sour cream, and cheese to use for other things still when I'm done.

But yes, burrito bowls are a pain to make because it's a ton of frying pans or a ton of time layering flavors in the same pan. Plus you have to assemble them at the table.

You don’t use fresh lime juice or cilantro in your guacamole? That makes it more than $3.50. And avocados are only 2 for $3.50 if they’re on sale.

No fresh lime juice (refrigerated bottle) and you're right that I forgot the cilantro.

As mentioned, we skip guac entirely when the avocados aren't on sale.

DP you do not put lime juice in fresh guacamole. It is added to guacamole that is not served right an away to prevent browning but changes the taste. Guacamole without lime juice taste much better.

I would say that this is definitely your personal taste.

No guacamole with lime juice adds acid and you lose a lot of flavor. All the subtleties of the guacamole are destroyed and it tastes stale.

I will not stop putting lime in my guacamole. Your preference does not mean it’s the right answer

It's also an extremely unusual preference. Lime is a standard ingredient in guacamole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I generally make burrito bowls or rice bowls when I already have leftover cooked chicken or steak. It’s a great way to re-package random leftovers with some fun accouterments.

+1 this is the way for a quick and nutritious meal.

when I make bowls from scratch I know it’s going to be labor intensive. I usually go a more middle eastern route - hummus from scratch, roasted veggies, a couple of different fresh salads.

If I don’t have leftovers and don’t have hours to spend chopping, I just do … wait for it … rice and beans!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m trying to figure out where people are buying such expensive chicken. I’ve never paid over $1.99/ pound for chicken leg quarters.

No one is using chicken leg quarters for a quick family Mexican bowl.

And many don’t like dark meat.

OP is not going a “quick family mexican bowl.” a quick bowl would be: make rice, shred rotisserie chicken or other left over protein, heat up a can of beans with some chopped onion, top with jar of salsa and whatever else is on hand.