Earlier this year I had Chipotle Mexican Grill for the first time in California.  Needless to say I loved it.  I especially loved the guacamole and chips.  After a bit of research, I realized that the recipes for their food items were published online so you can try them at home.

If you have never heard of Chipotle Mexican Grill or have never tried the food there… you must!  Their food with integrity philosophy is really eye catching and hits close to home when you think of prepared food in a restaurant setting.

Chipotle’s Story

“Food with Integrity” is our commitment to always look closer, dig deeper, and work harder to ensure that our actions are making things better, not worse. It’s our promise to run our business in a way that doesn’t exploit animals, people or the environment. It is the philosophy that guides every decision we make at Chipotle.

Well of course I had to try it out.  I did this a while ago and just never posted it for you to enjoy.  Here is the low down on what I feel is one of the top 5 guacamole I have ever had.

Ingredients

• 2 Hass Avocados
• 1/2 of a Jalapeno pepper, seeded, and minced
• 1/4 of a red onion, finely chopped
• 2 heaping Tablespoons of Cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/4 of a lime, juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Combine all of the ingredients into a bowl, and mash together until smooth.
2. Add additional lime juice or salt to taste. For extra spicy guacamole, you can leave in the jalapeno seeds!

Zesty Tip: This recipe is an approximation based on the original Chipotle recipe. Please use it as a base for your guacamole creation, and feel free to make improvements based on your own personal preferences.

Ok, I have to get to work…. 3 million things to do after being away last week and away all weekend.  Have a great start to your week and I cannot wait to hear your favorite guacamole recipe in the comments.  You know you have to tell me them so don’t be shy.

Take care

zesty

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Holy Friday!  This week flew by for sure which is surprising after vacation - normally I find the first week drags.  Not the case at all for me which is nice.  I got a good amount of work done this week as well which makes me feel good.  I got a pretty decent response from people interested in the “Help the Student Event” I will be running next month.  I cannot wait!  I have so many fun ideas on how to be frugal yet creative in the kitchen.

Guess what is in store for today…. well you already know if you read the title but I thought I would ask the question anyhow.  I know, lame isn’t it?  Oh well that’s me.  Alright, so let’s begin.  Mexican Beef and Bean wrap.  Sound exciting?  Yeah I thought so.

This is super easy and tasty.  I like the cumin in the beef… I find it smells like sweat but I love the flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans
• 1/2 Cup salsa
• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 1/2 Tsp. chili powder
• 1 Tsp Cumin
• Sliced Bell peppers
• 6 (8- to 10-inch) flour tortillas
• 1 Cup shredded lettuce
• 1/2 Cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
• Cherry tomatoes, quartered (optional)

Method

1. Mix beans, salsa and chili powder in 1-quart saucepan.
2. Heat over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until warm.
3. In another sauce pan, brown the beef with the cumin until cooked through, toss in peppers and let cook for 3 minutes. Add the bean and salsa mixture to the pan and mix thoroughly.
4. Spoon about 1/4 cup bean mixture onto center of each tortilla; spread slightly.
5. Top with lettuce, cheese and tomatoes.
6. Fold over sides of tortillas.
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Let’s avoid drying out the meat.  I always use lean ground beef so you have to be careful not to over cook it but at the same time cook it through.  Once it turns from pink to brown you are good to go.  Add the moisture from the beans and peppers and you will be set.

I am off to the dentist today… oh how I love that visit.  Do you find your teeth feel weird after the cleaning… almost loose? But I love rubbing my tongue over them when they are clean.  Do you get your teeth cleaned bi annually or annually.  I am every 6 months.  Enough about the dentist – Have a super Friday and send me a note if you want to participate in Help the Student event!!

Take care

zesty

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Happy Friday!!  WHOOOOO HOOOOOO.  As I type this post I am stranded in the house as the driveway is completely filled in from a snow drift.  No big deal as our snow removal guy is en route.  This gives me just enough time to share this delicious, quick and easy chicken recipe with you and kick off Friday with a bang.

Ingredients

• 2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Cup of Mushrooms ( sliced)
• 1 1/2 Cups Salsa
• Mozzarella cheese
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• Black Pepper

Method

1. Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees
2. In a preheated sauce pan add the olive oil and begin to brown the chicken.



3. Add the mushrooms and let cook down for about 3 minutes.



4. Turn the chicken and brown the other side and then transfer to baking pan.



5. Top the chicken and mushrooms with the salsa and top with the cheese.







6. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and cooked through.



7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Over cooking a boneless chicken breast can really turn into a bad experience.  Make sure to just cook it through until no longer pink.  Remember that boneless does not take as long as bone in too cook.

Do you Remember

Remember back when I baked homemade beer bread.  It was very good but had a funny after taste and many of you tried the recipe and some suggested the same problem with the amount of baking powder.  Well I was concerned about that so I made the recipe again last night and tweaked the 4 1/2 Teaspoons of baking powder to 3 Teaspoons.  It was much better.  I also halved the amount of melted butter on top and it was still delicious.

Here are a couple of snapshots of the finished product.

I hope you have a great Friday and I will talk to you on Monday.

Take care

zesty

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Wow!  What a weekend… Just to let everyone know – I am addicted to Zestycook and usually spend every waking minute either thinking about what to post, cooking in the kitchen, writing down ideas or checking out all the amazing food blogs around.  I love it!

My focus while working all weekend on Zesty was trying to come up with new and exciting, yet simple meal ideas for everyone out there.  It is a well known fact that a lot of people are busy and have little time to prepare meals for themselves or their families.  It is also a known fact that more and more people are adopting healthy eating habits and engaging themselves in a healthy lifestyle.

I am practicing some new techniques with the camera and lighting – what do you think?

With that being said, I thought I would share with you a chicken salad with a taste of Mexico that has a good balance of greens, protein and complex carbohydrates.  This salad is super easy to make but does not lack in flavour.  Roll up your sleeves and prepare this dish the next time you want some Mexican flare.

Ingredients

• 2 boneless chicken breast
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 low-carb tortilla
• 1 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup canned red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 8 cup mixed greens – (approx 5 oz)
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 small tomato, coarsely chopped
• 2 cobs corn cooked (slice the corn off the cob)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp grated lime peel
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce

Method

1. For Salad: Prepare a medium grill or preheat broiler. Brush grill with oil. Season chicken breast with salt and pepper.
2. Grill 15 minutes, or until cooked through, turning once halfway through cooking time. (Chicken
   may be made up to 1 day ahead. Cool before wrapping and refrigerating.)
3. Let chicken cool to room temperature, then thinly slice on the diagonal.
4. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush tortilla with olive oil place on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes, until golden. Set aside to cool.
5. In a large bowl toss kidney beans, onion, greens, cilantro and until evenly mixed.
6. For Dressing: Whisk olive oil, lime juice, grated lime peel, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, taco seasoning and hot sauce.
7. To assemble salad: Toss greens mixture with dressing until evenly coated.
8. For each portion,place one-quarter of the greens mixture on each of four plates. Top with
   one-quarter of the chicken slices, and drizzle a little more dressing.



9. If desired, serve with lime wedges.

Yield:4 Servings

Zesty Note: The highly seasoned lime vinaigrette dressing is also terrific over grilled fish.

So there you have it, a little taste of Mexico in less than 30 minutes. You can’t beat that! My question to everyone is – what is your favorite Mexican dish? Let me know in the comments.  If we have an overwhelming response, we might have a Mexican Zesty Week!

Can’t wait to hear from you.  Happy Monday everyone… keep smiling.

Zesty

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Nachos are a fun appetizer, or a perfect first course for a Mexica-themed party or like at our house – the main course! Nachos are easy to customize with a variety of toppings.

These chicken nachos are absolutely delicious – don’t count on having any leftovers!

Really, there are three serious ingredients to consider when creating the perfect plate of nachos and those are chips, cheese, and the toppings.

The Chips

I prefer to go with the white corn tortillia and I often get the triangle shaped chips because there is more surface area for the cheese and toppings. Some thing to consider when choosing your chips are the level of salt and the thickness of the chip. You do not want the chip too salty that you cannot taste all the other ingredients and have it over power your experience. As for the thickness, you don’t want the chip to thin where it gets all soggy…. that is a shame! And also you do not want the opposite where it is so very thick that all you have are dry chips.

The Cheese

I like to get a high end cheddar, monterey jack or pepper jack cheese and shred it myself with the coarse grater. Some of the pre packaged cheese is often grated too thin. I also found that buying the cheap no name brand cheeses – they are alot greasier than the others so for that reason I steer clear of the no name cheeses for my nachos.

The Toppings

I am pretty sure I vary slightly from the average nacho guru. I prefer chicken on my nachos as you can tell by the title. To prepare the chicken, you can use left over chicken breast, thighs, or use boneless skinless ( really whatever you have on hand – but i like to use white meat again just for the moisture content). I like to also use a combination of jalepeno peppers or chilies, green peppers and red onion and then once out of the oven top with fresh tomatoes.

As you can see, moisture content for me is huge when making nachos. The last thing you want is a soggy nahco without any CRUNCH! Next time you are craving nachos, try this technique.

Ingredients

• 2 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons taco or burrito seasoning
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons mild or hot salsa
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 small can/jar chopped green chiles (hot), drained
• 1/4 cup green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup of chopped green peppers
• 1/4 cup of chopped red onion
• 1 bag white corn tortilla chips
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack or Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup tomato, seeded and chopped
• bowls of salsa, sour cream, and guacamole for dipping

Method:

1. Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. In a medium saucepan, combine chicken, taco seasoning, water, and salsa over mdium heat. Cook mixture until chicken is heated through and sauce is well-blended.
2. Remove mixture from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Often times I do this ahead of time just to be ready.
3. To cook the nachos, I use a pizza stone and I usually preheat the stone for about 15 minutes on 400 degrees. Then I take out the pizza stone with an oven mitt ( cause it will be hot… ) and start to place the nachos on the stone. I try and get the nachos close together but not overlap them. Once placed on the stone, I sprinkle a little cheese over the chips and then place the chicken mixture on( making sure not to place an extra liquid on the chips ). After the chicken, I go with the peppers, chilies, and onions spreading a liberal amount over the chips. Once complete I add the cheese. Another tip I try to follow is not to make the chips disappear with the cheese ( I spread a nice amount but don’t over do it ). If your having a large crowd I tend to make multiple batches because I don’t like to layer the chips due to the soggy possibility.
4. I then bake them on the middle rack at 400 degrees until cheese is melted through and the chips start to crisp around the edges. I then top with tomatoes, and green onions and serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Enjoy!

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