Portabello and Pasilla Tacos with Lime Rice

I love Rubio's Mexican Grill; my favorite thing to order there is the shrimp burrito. It's so creamy and shrimpy and tasty, but now that restaurants are providing nutritional information, I've been informed that it is over 700 calories. SEVEN HUNDRED CALORIES for a burrito!!!! These new nutritional guides are both a blessing and a curse. I can't NOT read them, so now I know how much my favorite foods cost me in caloric intake, which in turn forces me to decide: eat it anyway, or find a healthier option.

Well, I can't complain about being fat if I don't do anything about it. So faced with the news that my fav Rubios option is pretty much half of what should be my daily caloric intake, I perused the nutritional guide for a better option. Mmmm, taquitos were only 270, but they're deep-fried. Salads are unsatisfying and still in the 500-800 calorie range. Then I spotted the new "gourmet" taco menu. The portobello and poblano tacos are only 170 calories each. I seriously heart me some portobello mushrooms and I am a big fan of poblanos as well, so I promptly ordered 3 tacos. Hmmm, let's do the math here: 170 x 3 = 510 calories. Not exactly a lite lunch, but I stayed away from the chips, rice, beans, and was satisfied.

Here is my homemade version.



Portobello and Pasilla Tacos
This makes enough for about 3-4 tacos.
Printable recipe

Ingredients
3 large portabello mushrooms, stems removed, caps washed
1 large pasilla pepper (I couldn't find a poblano or I would have used that)
3 cloves garlic, diced
corn tortillas
shredded reduced fat Mexican-blend cheese
2 tablespoons crema
3 tablespoons fire roasted tomato salsa
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 lime

Directions
Combine the crema and salsa together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Roast the pasilla pepper until charred, either in the oven or over an open flame. Scrape the blackened skin off the pepper and discard. Chop the pasilla into large chunks, removing the seeds if you don't like a lot of heat, and set aside.

Cut the portobellos into thin slices. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until soft and garlic is fragrant. Season with a sprinkle of salt, a generous dash of pepper, and the juice of one lime.

Heat the tortillas, sprinkle with a small amount of cheese and top with mushrooms and peppers. Spoon a drizzle of the crema salsa on top and serve with lime rice (see below).




Lime Rice

Ingredients
1 cup rice
2 cups water
2 limes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions
If you have a rice cooker, throw the rice and water in the cooker, put the lid on, and turn it on.
If you don't have a rice cooker, go get one. Okay, fine. Bring the water to a boil, then add the rice. Continue cooking and stirring, over medium-low heat, until the water has nearly evaporated. Cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat off. Leave the lid on to trap the steam for at least 10 minutes.

Once the rice is cooked, squeeze the juice of one lime over the rice. Sprinkle the garlic powder over the rice. Stir the rice to coat all grains with garlic and lime juice. Taste. Decide what you think....add the juice of another lime if you want a stronger citrus taste, or don't. It's your food, you decide.

Nutritional Information (Tacos Only)
Note: This is edited from the original posting to include the cheese, which I previously omitted (accidentally!!).

Calories		168.6
Total Fat		6.1 g
	Saturated Fat	2.5 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.5 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	2.0 g
Cholesterol		11.2 mg
Sodium		1,072.2 mg
Potassium		901.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate		17.2 g
	Dietary Fiber	4.7 g
	Sugars	3.2 g
Protein		14.3 g