Okay, first things first: thank you all so much for your waywayway too kind comments on yesterday’s post about the Navy 5 miler. Not only am I proud of myself for finishing, but you guys make me feel like Wonder Woman! Even though we all know it wasn’t the best race ever (um, I think I’ll try actually training next time.) Best. Readers. Ever. 🙂
So unfortunately, last night I had plans to meet up with some old friends for, you guessed it, sushi that didn’t end up happening. My dinner plans may have fallen through, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t do up something grand(é). It wasn’t long before our cucina was hustling and bustling with alimento mexicano!
Taylor suggested we make homemade Chipotle for dins, and I couldn’t say “sí” fast enough! I looooove me some Chipots, but I certainly don’t love dropping $8 per bowl (when did they make the switch from calling them burrito “bols” to “bowls”, by the way?) We got to save some dinero and ensure some clean, lower-sodium eating in one fell swoop! (How are you liking the remnants of my 8th grade Spanish peeking out here? De nada.)

More kitchen therapy for me! Mince, chop, slice!
Now, we’re no homemade Chipotle n00bs here, but our recipe is definitely still a work in progress. We get closer and closer every time we make it though! The only thing that I think we’re still unable to get a close match on is the chicken.
Not that our chicken isn’t mighty tasty, but it’s just not quite the same. We’ve been seasoning it with a chile powder blend + ground chipotle pepper. Anybody know the secret? Maybe a wet marinade?
I guess for now we’ll just have to keep taste-testing. Hey, it’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it!
One thing I do think we have down pat is the corn salsa. Muy delicioso. Who says salsa needs tomatoes?



Onion, jalapeño, corn, cilantro, salt, pepper, and just a squeeeeze of lime!
Making this kind of dinner at home can be time consuming, just because it has so many components. But if you have the time to commit, it’s totally worth it!
Variety is the spice of life, after all.
All together now:
In total, and from the bottom up, we have: cilantro-lime rice, black beans, peppers & onions, chicken, plain nonfat greek yogurt (a healthy, lower-cal sour cream substitution), corn salsa, and a pinch o’ cheese.
Salud!

Gretchen tested…
… and brother approved! Te gusta. Er, gusto? Okay, okay, I give up.
Let’s instead focus on the slightly disturbing fact that Ben and I essentially have the same haircut right now. Awk.
What’s your favorite at-home restaurant re-creation? You’d think that homemade sushi would top my list, but unfortunately the level of difficulty (I mean, if you think this was time consuming…) doesn’t exactly make it a feasible go-to. So homemade burrito bowls are definitely my #1, followed closely by home-baked pizza. Trader Joe’s ready-to-go pizza doughs just make it so easy!