Mmmmm...Chipotle

I love the taste of Chipotle's chicken. I also love the way they put everything together. Why is it that food always tastes better when someone else does it? Well my friends, I have come up with the closest replica to Chipotle chicken bowl, black beans, tomato salsa, sour cream and lettuce that I could.

Start with this wonderful marinade so appropriately titled with the name chipotle pepper. Marinate your chicken breasts for a day. Yes, a day. This means put it in the fridge in the morning and cook that night. You can grill it or just cook it in your pan. Cook it with the marinade. You want that flavor!!! Chop up the chicken and the rest is relatively easy.

I get me some Romaine, chop it up. Next are some black beans {from a can...doesn't get much easier}, btw, I do rinse them fully.

Next your off to making salsa. Easy...chop up your roma tomatoes { I use about 6}, a jalapeno {sans the seeds}, some cilantro, a clove of garlic and onion, mix together, squeeze some lime juice on there and Voila...salsa. I also do this step in the morning so the flavors can marry together.

Finally you can put it all together however you want. Please don't forget the sour cream. I actually like to mix a little milk into mine, just to make it creamier. I know...strange. Hey to each his own.

My order is exactly like they do at Chipotle's. But since I mix up the whole thing it really doesn't matter. I just like playing mind games with myself.

Let me know if you try this delicious way to have Chipotle at your house. Enjoy!

Deer, Park...that's good pumpkin

The last few years I have taken to chopping up my Jack-o-lanterns, cooking, purreeing and freezing them. I grew up doing this and we always had wonderful pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread anytime we wanted. I cannot tell you the difference between canned pumpkin and fresh. Oh. My. Lord!! Once you have it you'll never go back! Just passing the cans in the grocery aisle make me a little queasy. I feel bad if I see someone buying it. I want to tell them "Hey, it's not too hard, try and do some fresh pumpkin."

If you want to try it and not spend a whole day in the kitchen, try cooking up just a quarter of your pumpkin. They hold a lot of water, so your yield will go down after it's cooked. But try it and see. Make some bread with your fresh pumpkin and tell me how wonderful it really is! One large pumpkin will usually give out about 8 quarts of puree.

This year, after speaking with my dad who informed me he broke a knife just cutting up his pumpkin, I decided not to do it. I checked my freezer and realized I still have enough to make pumpkin bread a number of times throughout the next year. Besides, if I run out I'll know where to go :)

So this year we played bowling with our pumpkins. We back to parkland so it was easy. We just rolled them out back so the deer could enjoy them. And they are!!