Appetizers

Chipotle Guacamole

All of my friends that love Chipotle love their guacamole.  I don't know a single person who doesn't.  Anytime my friends come over to my house they also love my homemade guacamole!  The first trick:  Never add raw tomatoes to a good guacamole....it ruins it every time.  The second trick: My guacamole recipe is the exact Chipotle guacamole recipe, handed directly down from the restaurant.

All, Chipotle has made their recipe available to the world right on their own website.  Most don't know about it.  So here I share!  

Recipe Credit:  Chipotle Mexican Grill at  

https://chipotle.com/guac-recipe

THIS IS ALL YOU’LL NEED:

2 ripe Hass avocados (In the restaurant, we use 48 per batch, multiple times per day)

2 tsp lime juice

2 tbsp cilantro (chopped)

1/4 cup red onion (finely chopped)

1/2 jalapeño, including seeds (finely chopped)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

HOW TO DO IT:

1. Choose the right avocado. It should feel squishy yet firm (like the palm of your hand), and be a nice dark green color on the inside.

2. Cut the avocado in half and the remove the pit (carefully!)

3. Scoop the avocados and place in a medium bowl.

4. Toss and coat with lime juice.

5. Add the salt and using a fork or potato masher, mash until a smooth consistency is achieved.

6. Fold in the remaining ingredients and mix well.

7. Taste the guacamole (over and over) and adjust seasoning if necessary.

**Disclaimer: So that you know I made zero mistakes in blogging and editing of the recipe, I have copy and pasted it directly from the Chipotle Mexican Grill website.  So if it doesn't taste right to you go back and reread their recipe and maybe add a little more of one of their ingredients.**

With Angela O'

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Raspberry Chipotle Cream Cheese Appetizer

Thanks Internet b/c I haven't ran to the store yet and didn't want to deprive my followers of this recipe before their weekend holiday grocery trip!!!

I would like to point out that I absolutely hate raspberries, I despise them.  Many people say they are too sweet but I really don't have any idea if they are sweet or not, I just can't get past the flavor of them.  However when I tried this by accident the other day I fell in love because the chipotle gives the raspberry a smokey flavor.  Delicious.  Thanks Brittany for serving this at your birthday party.  It will go over excellently with this New Year's cocktails.

Ingredients:

*One 8oz block of Philedelphia Cream Cheese
*One bottle of Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
*Keebler Club Crackers

Instructions:
Simply open the block of cream cheese and set onto plate.  Open bottle of sauce and pour over top.  Either lay crackers around on same plate or serve crackers on side plate. 

Heck you could even get fancy and sprinkle shaved almonds over the top.




Super Nachos & Fresh Guacamole





Super Nachos

1 large bag of tortilla chips
1 pound lean ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 15-oz. Can refried beans
1 15-oz. Can black olives, sliced
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 15-oz. Can black beans
1 8-oz. Jar pickled jalapeno pepper slices
One half head of lettuce shredded
2 fresh tomatoes chopped
1 onion chopped
8 oz. Sour cream
Fresh Guacamole (recipe follows) 

Brown lean ground beef in pan. Add taco seasoning and water per directions on taco seasoning mix. Cover and cook according to directions. Push taco meat to one side of pan. Add refried beans other side of pan and spread out over the bottom of the pan opposite the taco meat. Cover pan and warm on low heat until refried beans are warm. Cover very large casserole dish with layer of tortilla chips. Place a few spoonfuls of taco meat and refried beans over chips. Add one quarter of each cup of cheese over meat and beans. Sprinkle on a few black olive and jalapeno pepper slices and black beans. Add more chips and repeat process two or three more times with cheese as last ingredient reserving some of the black beans, olives and jalapeno pepper slices to sprinkle on the top of the nachos. Place casserole dish in 300 degree oven and heat until cheese melts throughout. Remove from oven and add shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions and remaining black beans, olives and jalapeno pickle slices. Add a few scoops of sour cream and Fresh Guacamole and serve.

Fresh Guacamole

2 ripe avocados
1 Tbsp. Fresh lime juice
1 small sweet onion chopped
One quarter cup chopped parsley or cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced

Peel avocados and remove pits, reserving one pit. Mash avocado meat in bowl. Add lime juice and mix. Add remaining ingredients, mix well, add avocado pit then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before using. Adding the avocado pit helps to prevent the Guacamole from turning brown.

The Skinny: Use low fat cheese, low fat tortilla chips,
the leanest ground beef you can find and low fat sour cream.