I know a lot of people don't care about this stuff, but man, the HIIT workouts in the TurboFire routine are outstanding. Like, I just want to do those and nothing else. Today was the 20 minute workout (and how great is that? Amazing exercise in 20 minutes and I'm done? Awesome.) and I was positively dripping with sweat, hands on my knees catching my breath, and then it was over. YAY. And I can already see my muscles responding, my metabolism is perking back up, whew. Good stuff.

Enough of that blather, I made a Chicken Chili Verde last night that was lick the pot good. Even my picky son (he looks at anything that resembles a tomato that's been cooked with an evil eye) cleaned his plate.



Dear Mexico: I love you. I love your food. I love your people. I love your food. Also, I love your booze. Your mountains, deserts, and coast lines are pretty great, too. Keep rolling them R's, it's sexy as hell.

Love, Me.


Chicken Chili Verde

1 1/2 pound of tomatillos, husked, washed, halved, and roasted under the broiler (cut side down)
4 - 5 cloves of garlic (peeled) tossed onto the baking sheet with the tomatillos, also roasted, obv.
2 poblanos cored, seeded, chopped (I also roasted them, but you don't have to)
1 - 2 jalapeños, ditto (I omitted because my kids aren't fans of super spicy)

Put all of this into a blender/processor and pulse to combine, and that includes the juice from the tomatillos and their roasted,lightly charred skins, set aside.

4 - 5 chicken breasts, cubed, seasoned with a lot of cumin, a few dashes of chili powder, cracked black pepper and a little salt.
2 yellow onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
chicken stock/broth

Brown the chicken in a big pot (I used my Le Crusett 5 qt. dutch oven) remove and set aside. Pour off most of the fat (if there is any) and saute the onion in the remaining fat, add garlic, cook until beginning to wilt, deglaze the pan with a splash of broth. Add the chicken back, pour the tomatillos sauce over this, mix it up, pour enough broth over this to cover the meat, simmer for at least an hour. This will concentrate, so be VERY SPARING with the salt until the end. You might find that a little deglazing done at the end, and add that rich, brown goodness to the finished product makes your toes curl, it did mine.

We scooped this up with corn tortillas and added a dollop of sour cream to our plates, but you could also serve this over rice. Holy crap, so easy, so flavorful, so nomtastic.

I have a secret ingredient that you may or may not want to use: a pinch of cloves to the last step (after broth.) Just adds a little extra oomph.

This would also be outstanding with pork shoulder in place of chicken breasts, wouldn't really need to change anything (but maybe add Adobo seasoning?)

Today is grocery day and it's 70 degrees again, and now I want light daishi broth and soba noodles and spring onions and veggie won tons YUM. It's wok weather, is what I'm saying. Also, lynnenne is in town, so hopefully we'll get to head out this week for delicious foods. IT IS A FINE WEEK, FOLKS. A fine week. Not to mention chocolates are more than half off, YAY!

[ETA] And this is how the Zombie Apocalypse starts, you heard it here first.