Blackberry Oatmeal Pancakes

These our traditional summer time treat made with wild blackberries we pick ourselves!

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs, beaten to blend
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
vegetable oil
2 cups fresh blackberries or frozen blackberries, thawed, drained
warm maple syrup

Mix oats and buttermilk in large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Whisk eggs and butter into oatmeal mixture. Mix in flour , sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Heat griddle or heavy large skillet over medium-high. Lightly brush with oil. Ladle batter by 1/2 cupfuls onto griddle. Sprinkle some berries over. Cook
until batter bubbles and bottom is deep golden brown, about 3 minutes. Turn pancakes and cook until second sides are deep golden brown. Transfer to plates. Repeat with remaining batter and berries. Serve with warm maple syrup.

Chipotle madness

My kids are unapologetic Chipotle addicts.  I, myself, have never been there.  Not even once.  I have heard that it's great, but it isn't exactly my idea of a family meal.  So I offered to make Chipotle's food at home.  "Aw, Mom," they all whined, "it's not the same." .  But I was determined to try.

First step - get their recipe for the chicken. 

There were two recipes that seemed like good candidates.  I combined them and came up with this:

2 whole dried ancho chilies
2 tsp ground cumin
2 T dried oregano
2 tsp salt
1/2 red onion, cut in quarters
1/4 c oil
8 chicken breast halves, cut through thick parts to make them uniform thickness

Place anchos in small measuring cup and cover with 1/2 c boiling water.  Let stand a few minutes .  Place remaining ingredients (not chicken, obviously) into blender, add softened anchos and blend until smooth.

Place chicken breasts in glass baking dish, and pour marinade over.  Cover chicken to coat evenly.  Let marinate at room temperature an hour, or overnight refrigerated.

While the chicken was marinating, I made the rice.  A batch of basmati rice in my rice cooker with a little salt.  When it was done, I stirred in cilantro and fresh lime juice.  Not sure how much, but enough so that it tasted right when Katie tasted it!

Grill chicken 4 minutes per side till done.

 

 
Set aside to cool slightly and shred or slice into  bite-sized pieces.

The mild salsa - kind of a pico de gallo, I chopped half a red onion, 4 small ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped, small bunch cilantro, juice of one lemon and one lime, and half teaspoon salt. For the guacamole, I made my favorite recipe from Rosa Mexicana - I mean it's hard to make bad guacamole.

 

Then I sauteed some green bell peppers and onions in a little olive oil.

 

Heat the giant tortilla in the microwave for 20 seconds under my plastic microwave dome.  Rice, meat, onions/peppers, shredded Mexican cheese (Kraft), guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and rolled it up. 

Verdict?  "Wow, Mom!  This is amazing - it tastes EXACTLY like Chipotle!"  We have this little rating scale at our house when I try a new dish:  1 is "I wouldn't eat it again if I were starving," 10 is, "I would eat this once a week for the rest of my life."  Everyone agreed it was a 10 and asked that it be our Sunday night tradition, much the way homemade pizza is our Friday night tradition.  I'm in.