Carnitas with Cilantro Lime Rice and Corn Salsa - A Chipotle Fake Out

It's like bringing your favorite burrito joint home to your own kitchen!

There's a Chipotle right across the street from work. It's really one of the only restaurants close and quick enough to hit up during my 30 minute lunch break. I can usually be in and out and back to the breakroom, food in hand, in under 10 minutes. Most days it's actually quicker than getting food in the cafe downstairs, yet I rarely venture over.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I'm not one of those Chipotle addicts. I like it, don't get me wrong. I just don't love it. It's always delicious and I enjoy eating it, but I don't make a habit of having it on a regular basis, even though it's readily available. Maybe I'm weird. Maybe I'm poor. Maybe I'm just ashamed of my Hobbit-sized single soft taco/kids' chip meal.

But making my own Chipotle fake out meal at home? Now that's a different story.

While hitting up Chipotle might be quicker and more convenient, making this kind of deliciousness with your own hands, in your own kitchen is a thousand times more satisfying. And you don't even have to do a ton of work. It's mostly a crockpot meal.

Take a little time before you head to bed the night before to sear your pork on the stovetop to give it a nice flavorful exterior before marinating it in the fridge overnight. (Put together your corn salsa the night before too, for an extra head start.) Turn your crockpot on in the morning and let it do all the hard work while you're working hard. When you get home, the only thing left to do is shred up the pork and throw it under the broiler to give it it's signature carnita crispiness while you boil some rice.

Serve it all up with your favorite fixings and you've got yourself a delicious fake out meal to feed an army for a fraction of the cost of the real thing.

Now this I could make a habit of.

Chicken Ropa Vieja

So I have this brilliant idea that I’m going to lose some weight this summer. I made a plan to work out and eat right. By my self-imposed deadline of September, I’ll totally be skinny. Well… Not skinny exactly. Let’s be reasonable. “Less fat” is the more realistic goal.

I’ve broken out my Biggest Loser DVDs. I’ve looked up strength exercises online. I bought weights. I vowed to stop eating crap from the café at work and cook healthy meals instead. (Saving money and calories!) But that’s about as far as I’ve gotten. Plans. Nothing more than plans. And one healthy-ish meal.

Honest truth—I can stand in the kitchen all day long and bake up a storm. But when it comes to cooking dinner, I lack patience. I just want something to eat right now. I don’t want to stand around chopping and stirring and flipping, all for a meal that’ll take me less than 5 minutes to eat. It just doesn’t seem worth the effort. Which is why I find myself eating PB&J way too often.

But this was a recipe I could actually manage. Nothing too taxing. Nothing too time consuming (because the crockpot does all the hard work). Nothing too far out of my comfort zone, or my skill set. I got this! Piece of cake! Err. Chicken!

Chicken gets tender in the crockpot with some homemade stock (bonus! Strain it and save it for tomorrow’s dinner.) It gets shredded in the stand mixer. (Seriously. 20 seconds = perfectly shredded chicken with no fuss.) Then it gets thrown together with the broth, tomato sauce, some veggies, and seasonings. Boom. You’ve got yourself a flavorful dinner that won’t break the bank or your waistline.

I thought the chicken was delicious on it's own, but my tastebuds wanted a little more of a kick. So I added a little sriracha, and it immediately went from yum to heck yeah. If you're not a spice fan, leave it out--no harm done. I served it over rice, but have since eaten some of the leftovers as tacos, which was equally delicious! Now if only I could motivate myself to actually workout, we might be in business.

PS - I just Google translated the name of this dish and apparently "ropa vieja" means old clothes? Um. What? I'm confused.

Crispy Oven Fries

I believe there should be balance in everything. Everything should have a counterpart to complete it. Like yin and yang. Peanut butter and jelly. Macaroni and cheese. Abbott and Costello. One without the other just seems strange. Lacking. I get the same feeling about my dinner plate. My meal feels unbalanced if I don’t have some sort of accompaniment to my main course. Even if it’s just a slice of garlic bread with a pasta meal, I need something else on my plate. The problem is, my hatred of all things veggie leaves me with few options to balance the plate scales.

Which is why most times you’ll find me with some form of potatoes on my plate. Mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, French fries. Oh French fries, how I love you. Crunchy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside—there’s nothing better than a hot fry. But for all my love of fries, I’d much rather they come from a bag (fast food or frozen) than actually attempt to make them myself.

Google “French fry recipe” and you’ll come up with nearly 2.8 million results. And nothing within the first few pages is anything I wish to try in my kitchen. Soaking the potatoes in ice water for hours before dropping them in hot oil? No thanks. Sacrificing that crunchy exterior by throwing them into the oven instead? I want none of it. I just want a crunchy/creamy fry that I don’t have to spend 3 hours on a splattered kitchen and a burnt hand to make. Which is why I now think of Shawn at I Wash You Dry as a complete and utter genius.

Potatoes coated in breadcrumbs, parmesan, and seasonings, baked in the oven until golden brown—the perfect crunchy/creamy scenario without all the hassle! Okay, so maybe they’re not McDonalds or Ore-Ida, but they’re dang good. And so easy. You don’t even have to get your hands dirty. Throw the potatoes in a ziptop bag, drizzle in some oil and swish it around, then dump in the coating ingredients, seal it up and shake. Couldn’t be any easier! And you can customize it with any seasonings you want--from hot and spicy to italian flavors, it's completely up to you.

I’ve made these 3 times in the past week and a half, and I see these becoming my new go-to dinner companion. I may never eat French fries from a bag again. Or at least a frozen bag. Cause, let’s be real. I wouldn’t give up fast food French fries for anything. No matter how good these oven fries are.

Southwestern Potato Skins

I seriously contemplated calling this post "The Great Jalapeno Hunt" but that would have just confused everyone.

This post was the hardest recipe I've made in a long time. Not skill wise. No, actually it was really easy. But frustration level? That's a different story. It jumped out at me and screamed, "Make me NOW!" So of course I obliged. It's the perfect timely Superbowl snack. I went to the grocery store that night and gathered the ingredients, anxious to make these delicious little treats. Except I forgot corn. And then my onion was moldy. And then.. I lost my jalapeno.

How exactly do you lose a jalapeno? Well, that's a very good question. I'm still wondering that myself. I swear it was there hanging out with my tomato on the counter when I went back to the store for the fourth time in a week to replace my moldy onion. When I came back not even 20 minutes later, the jalapeno was gone. GONE.

I tore this place apart looking for it. I mean, a jalapeno doesn't just disappear. I looked in the sink. In the trash. Under the stove, the dishwasher, the fridge. Every place I've ever found a cat toy before. Under the couch. Behind the couch. Every place I could think the cat might have knocked it off and batted it to. For over a half an hour I searched every inch of my house. Laying on the floor shining a flashlight under things. Moving furniture. I even looked in my PURSE for goodness sake. (Because it was the only place left I hadn't looked.) And what did I find? A whole lot of cat toys, but no jalapeno. It's gone. My jalapeno just vanished into thin air.

But finally after trip #5 to replace my Houdini pepper, I was able to pull these out of my oven and snap a few pictures to share with you before I shoved them into my face. Here's the thing--truthfully, I don't like half the ingredients in these. I hate onions, loathe beans, despise tomatoes, and don't care for cilantro. But I can guarantee you I ate every last bit destroyed these. It's definitely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

They're absolutely perfect for a Big Game party. They're super easy to put together, they can be made ahead of time to save yourself some hassle and stress, and they're utterly delicious. Best of all, unlike a lot of potato skins that are smothered in cheese and bacon, there's no meat in these, so vegetarians and meat eaters alike can nosh on tasty snacks while cheering for their favorite team (or favorite commercial). And since they're full of vegetables and come from Clean Eating magazine, we can pretend that they're reasonably healthy! Maybe?

Just be sure to keep a close eye on your ingredients so nobody makes a daring escape.

Hearty Chicken Chowder

Wait, what? Hearty Chicken Chowder? Am I in the right place? There's not a single ounce of sugar and absolutely no baking going on. That can't be right. What's happening? Oh yeah, that's right--it's January. The month where we all need a sugar detox from the Christmas cookies, we're still on our resolution kick to eat healthier, and it's freezing cold outside.

After a mild winter last year, a blazing hot summer, and a fall that lasted well through December, Winter has finally shown up. The last 2 weeks have already brought us more snow than all of last year. I'm not complaining--I think it's pretty. But after a long string of warm weather, it's downright COLD now. All I want to do is wrap up in a blanket on the couch with a book (or seven seasons of Supernatural) and a big bowl full of hearty soup.

Chicken, bacon, potatoes, and corn--it's a bowl filled with all my favorite savories. And I was surprised at how easy it was to put together. (Okay yes, I had to YouTube how to chop an onion.. but still totally simple) It's definitely going in the winter dinner rotation. And at roughly 250 calories a bowl (split into 4 servings), it's a dinner (with bacon! and heavy cream!) you don't have to feel guilty about.

Now if I could just keep somebody's hands off it long enough.. 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Who doesn’t love pizza? I certainly do! With pizza, there’s something for everyone, no matter what your tastes are. For me, I love a good traditional sausage pizza. Maybe some pepperoni on occasion, but it all depends on where it’s from. Some pepperoni is too wimpy, some too greasy, and some shrivels up into nothing but a tiny crunchy grease cup. But if I get to pick any pizza I want—anything my little heart desires, I’m always going to pick BBQ Chicken Pizza. Always. It’s my absolute favorite, pretty much no matter where it’s from. But going out for pizza tends to get expensive, and with Boyfriend and I trying to cut back on eating out, I’ve started making my own. And I have to say, while it’s a bit more work than just dialing the local pizza place, it’s every bit as delicious.

The dough is super simple—it’s Pioneer Woman’s basic pizza dough. I sweetened it up with a bit of honey because I’m a sucker for anything sweet. Throw the ingredients in the mixer and mix until it’s just combined. No kneading. No fuss. Just mix and let rise for about an hour. Or make it a couple days before and throw it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. It makes enough dough for 2 extra large pizzas, 3 large pizzas, or 4 medium sized pizzas. Cut the dough down even smaller for personal sized pizzas. I wrapped my leftover dough in plastic wrap, put it in a plastic bag and tossed it into the freezer, so I can make pizza whenever I want!

Pizza’s pretty self explanatory—throw whatever you want on top and bake. I made mine with some homemade Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce, some mozzarella cheese, and cooked chicken. Sometimes I toss some bacon crumbles on top too. It’s kind of amazing. Most places throw sliced red onions on it too, but I’m not a fan. After it comes out of the oven, top the pizza with a little (or a lot) of finely chopped cilantro for a pop of color and flavor.

I think I’ll be having pizza night about once a week now. 

What do you like on your pizza?

PS- I'm thinking about adding a little bit of nutritional info to my posts, like how many calories and how much fat are in each recipe. Is that something you'd like to see?

Homemade Honey Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Okay, so this isn't a baked good. It isn't even a dessert. I'm totally off the rails today! But trust me. It's well worth deviating from the baking norm just this once.

I don’t think there’s a meat on this planet that wouldn’t benefit from a little BBQ sauce. I could probably put BBQ sauce on nearly everything and be content. Meat, potatoes, pizza—all my favorite food groups. At this very moment, I have no less than 5 bottles of it in my pantry (no joke). But sadly, those bottles might just sit there forever, because I’ve found the ultimate, never-eat-bottled-stuff-again BBQ sauce. Sticky, sweet, and spicy—this Honey Chipotle BBQ is my new favorite use-on-everything sauce.

I made it for BBQ Chicken Pizza months ago, and Boyfriend nearly lost his mind (not really). He kept asking me to make more so he could use it on everything he cooked. I finally made him his very own jar and gave it to him as a Christmas gift. (See? Reigning supreme as the Queen of Lame Presents.) That pint of BBQ sauce was gone within about a week. I still have a tiny bit of my own jar hanging out in my fridge, but I’ve been craving BBQ Chicken Pizza again, and I knew there wouldn’t be enough. Time to whip up some more.

You probably have everything you need already in your kitchen.

Sauté the garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil for about 30 seconds until fragrant and lightly browned, and then add the rest of the ingredients. Bring it up to a simmer, turn the heat down to low and let everything get well acquainted for about 20 minutes. You’ll have yourself a beautiful dark spicy BBQ sauce in less time than it’d take to head to the store.

Fair warning: This sauce has kick to it. If spice isn’t your thing, go ahead and cut back on the chipotle and cayenne. It’ll still be amazing.

 Later in the week I'll show you my favorite way to use this yummy sauce, so check back!