Chipotle Marinated Chicken with Black Bean Salsa

I love it when we can actually get our act together and marinade something longer than 20 minutes. The result is always worth the wait! If you haven't noticed, I definitely have developed a new special spot in my heart (and blog!) for canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (tends to be found with the mexican food).  I'm telling you, these chiles are so darn delicious and somehow very 'authentic' tasting. A chipotle chile is a smoked, ripe, jalapeno pepper. They're pretty spicy so you may want to taste the sauce first before loading it in to your food. This particular dish can be made with either pork or chicken. The black bean accompaniment is pretty tasty! Enjoy and ...   bon appétit!


Ingredients
For The Pork/chicken
1 canned chipotle chile, in adobo sauce
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup coarsely chopped white onion
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat

For The Salsa
1 can (19 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chile, in adobo sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch of vinegar

Directions
1. Make the meat marinade: Process chile, garlic, onion, lime juice, vinegar, and oregano in a blender until smooth. Rub marinade all over the pork/chicken. Transfer to a dish, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a grill pan over high heat. Grill meat until seared on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer pan to the oven; cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meat registers 145 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes. Let pork stand at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

3. Meanwhile, make the salsa: Stir together the black beans, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice, chile, and cumin in a small bowl. Serve with the yummy meat! Enjoy :)

- recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Tomato & Goat Cheese Salad

With the thermometer about to hit 32 (humidex 46!!!) this week, I was keen to find some no-cook, no-heat recipes. This turned out to be a nice, fresh,  kinda different little salad that was easy to put together. Believe it or not, Martha actually suggests cutting your goat cheese with a piece of dental floss - I decided that it was probably better that I simply didn't go down that road.  Bon appetit!

Ingredients: cherry tomatoes, cilantro, red/green onion, fresh goat cheese.