It was my mom’s birthday today!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Unfortunately, I had to send her birthday wishes from afar since she lives a state away. But that didn’t stop me from celebrating in my own way… So how did I celebrate?

I ran 3.5 miles.

~

Why?

Because I have legs.

I have legs that work.

I don’t want to take them for granted.

Thank you, Mom, for giving me healthy legs!

I ran on the treadmill {thanks to Stacy} while watching an episode of Psych {thanks to Jen} in our basement room that houses a TV, DVD player and our workout equipment {thanks to my husband}.

Afterward, I didn’t cook. I wouldn’t make my mom cook on her birthday! Instead, I asked Rob to cook pick up some dinner. Truth be told, I haven’t eaten fast food very often in the past year. But recently, something has caught my eye. So I asked Rob to pick it up for me:

Yes, I asked my husband to pick me up some Taco Bell. It’s almost as if when they were putting together the commercial for this new product, that they had me in mind. They knewhow to market it just for me.

Fresh ingredients.

Fresh flavors.

Created by Celebrity Chef Lorena Garcia.

Yeah. The Marketing and Advertising Departments at Taco Bell know exactly what they are doing. They baited the hook and reeled me in. I first learned of Chef Lorena Garcia when I watched America’s Next Great Restaurant, a reality-style show where contestants competed to persuade judges to invest in their concept to open up the next great fast-casual restaurant. Chef Garcia judged the competition alongside Chef Bobby Flay and Chipotle Mexican Grill founder Steve Ells. Most recently, however, I’ve seen Garcia compete on the latest season of Top Chef Masters.

Here is the description of this menu item from the Taco Bell website:

“Experience our new citrus-herb marinated chicken, flavorful black beans, guacamole made from real Hass avocados, pico de gallo prepared fresh daily, roasted corn & pepper salsa and a creamy cilantro dressing, all served on a bed of cilantro rice.”

The flavors definitely sound like ones that I would enjoy. And If you’ve ever eaten at Chipotle, you’ll find that the description sounds oddly familiar, too.  I wonder how Steve Ells feels about this? Still, the “Next Great Restaurant” in which the trio invested failed within months, so Garcia and Ells are no longer partners.

Without even looking at the calorie/nutrition content, I asked Rob to pick up the Cantina Bowl.

And I enjoyed every bit of it.

Yes, this is definitely a step up from what you’d expect from Taco Bell. Actually, think Chipotle or Qdoba, but with a more manageable size. Of course, I’m not stupid. This is a mass produced item. The ingredients are not as fresh and natural as we’d love to believe. But you know what? It’s as good as it’s gonna get out there for fast food. And I’m glad I gave it a try.

But here’s a great sidebar:

And just in case you were wondering, the nutrition facts of the Cantina Bowl can be found at Fat Secret or on the Taco Bell website. It’s not too bad. Sure, I ate all of the calories that I just burned running. But it was tasty. And worth it.

But I have something else to look forward to:

My CSA box tomorrow is supposed to include both tomatillos and hot peppers! How can I not take advantage of this to find something wonderful to cook from The Homesick Texan? I have a feeling that these ingredients will be even better.

Have you cooked with tomatillos?

If so, what’s your favorite thing to make?

Cheers,

Carrie