Chile Verde

This last week my husband and I thought it might be a good idea to finally buy a grill for our four year anniversary.  Well we have been shopping around, but have not bought one just yet.  No worries though because we will be getting one and when we do I will be making this lovely dish along with many others!  This recipe is actually my mother's.  It is very delicious!  Whenever we make fajitas this is something we make to put on top of them!

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What you need:

5 lbs. Anaheim chiles

1 lb. tomatillos (outer shell skin removed)

2 large onions, pureed

3 tbs. crushed garlic

3 large tomatoes, pureed

3-5 lb. pork roast

4 cans chicken broth

8 bay leaves

1/4 - 1/2  cup corn starch

5 jalapeno peppers

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

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Pork Roast:

If you have a pork loin roast, cut into cubes and brown in olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Transfer into chile pot and let finish cooking.  If you have a pork roast that has a lot of fat on it, first boil it in a pot of water until it falls apart.  Drain off water and remove meat, making sure to break into bite sized pieces and transfer to chile pot.  Pork loin is an easy, but more expensive option, so any pork roast is a great way to go and they tend to taste better than pork loin because the fat adds flavor.

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How Spicy???

Without jalapenos, this Chile Verde is not spicy at all; in fact it's rather sweet.  With each jalapeno you add to the chile verde, the sauce becomes progressivly spicier.  At 5 jalapenos, the chile verde has some pretty good kick and will make most people sweat.  But it's not too overwhelming and if added to other dishes like beans, the spicy hot mellows out.  You can put in as many or few peppers as you like:)

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Grilling and Chile Verde Recipe:

Grill all chiles until the skins are chard.  Once grilled, place in a plastic ziplock bag for 10 minutes or until cooled down.  By placing chiles in a plastic bag, they sweat their skins off and it makes removing skins easy. 

You can use rubber gloves to remove skins and seeds if you don't like the slight burning sensation on your skin.  One other reminder, if you choose to remove skins and seeds without gloves, DON'T rub your eyes with your hands afterwards.  The chile oil does not wash off and can be quite irritating to your eyes!!!

Once the skins and seeds have been removed either finaly chop or place in a food processor and puree.  Place in large pot on medium low heat or if you have a large crock pot, place on high heat.  Add all of the other ingredients to the chile pot and let cook for 3-4 hours.  

When nearing the end of the cooking time remove the bay leaves and mix 1/4 to 1/2 cup corn starch with cool water.  Add to the Verde to thicken the sauce.  The more corn starch you add, the thicker the sauce will become. 



Huevos Rancheros

My husband and I recently went on a little mini vacation, which means that we got to eat out for breakfast.  One of the things that we had for breakfast was huevos rancheros.  They were so delicious!  So I thought I would make them for breakfast at home and share it with all of you.

What you need:

Salsa (I used the tomatillo salsa that I make or you can make your own)

5 oz. Chorizo, casings removed, diced (it's kind of like bacon, but mexican style)

Vegetable oil

Cilantro (optional)

4 corn tortillas, plus more for serving (optional)

1 (16 oz.) can refried beans (optional) I use black refried beans

4 eggs

3/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or grated monterey jack cheese, for serving

sour cream, for serving

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook chorizo until browned. 

Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to a large skillet.  Place a tortilla in the skillet and cook until light golden but not crisp, about 30 seconds over medium-high heat.  Flip and cook for 30 seconds more.  Transfer to individual plate.  Cook the remaining tortillas, adding a bit more oil to the pan, if necessary.

Heat the refried beans in pan.  Spread the beans on the tortillas.

Add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet.  Working in batches, crack the eggs into the pan.  Cook until the bottoms are set and the edges are golden, about 1-2 minutes.  Turn the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until set, about 1 minute more.  Or you can make scrambled eggs with cheese, which is also very yummy.  Place one egg on each tortilla and put the chorizo and warm tomatillo salsa (or other salsa) over the eggs.  Sprinkle with cheese and cilantro.  Top with a dollop of sour cream!

Sopapillas

My mother in law makes some of the best mexican dishes. For an appetizer recently she made these little guys with just some mexican table cream, queso fresca, and some tomatillo salsa. They were to die for!

What you need:

5 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. shortening

8 cups cooking oil

Serving suggestions; honey (like a scone), beans, meat, and cheese

Mix flour, baking powder and salt well. Then add in the shortening and mix until well combined. Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups water and knead until you have a nice dough.

With a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a 1/4 inch to 1/3 inch thickness and cut 4 to 5 inch squares or triangles in the dough.

Heat the oil in a large pan to 375 degrees.

Put the dough squares into the oil caefully splash tops, which will make the squares puff up. Flip and do the same on the other side, until golden brown, about 1 minute per side.

Eat warm with honey or make stuffed sopapillas with beans or meat and enjoy!

Green Chicken Enchiladas

This is a favorite at my house! These enchiladas are so simple to make and are so delicious! My mother-in-law was so kind to show me how to make these! She really makes some of the best Mexican dishes I have ever had and I'm so happy she is so willing to teach me how to make them!

What you need:

Whole chicken, shredded ( I just buy a rotisserrie chicken from Costco)

White Corn Tortillas

Tomatillo Salsa

Crema Mexicana (Mexican table cream, its runnier than sour cream)

Queso Fresco (a crumbly white cheese)

Make the tomatillo salsa, which can be found under salsa in my blog. Take the shredded chicken and place in a pan with some of the salsa and some olive oil. On medium heat warm the chicken up and set aside. Warm tortillas up in a microwavable bag in the microwave, about 1 minute. Take the tortillas and fry them in vegetable oil in a skillet for about 10 seconds on each side.

To make the enchiladas place the semi-fried tortillas on a plate and place shredded chicken in the middle, fold tortilla. After there are like 2-4 folded tortillas on the plate cover with salsa, cream, and cheese. Serve with spanish rice and beans.

Fideo (Mexican Soup)

This is a soup that I learned to make from my cute mother-in-law! There are actually several ways that you can make this soup. Sometimes I add an extra can of tomatoe sauce to make it thicker and then eat grilled cheese sandwhiches with it!

What you need:

7 oz. package of Fideo noodles (found in the mexican isle of the grocery store)

8 oz. can Tomatoe Sauce (mexican style if possible)

15 oz. can Chicken Broth

2 Serrano Peppers, cut in half (only if you want soup to be spicy)

Chicken Boullion

1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Water

Mexican Table Cream (Optional)

Feta Cheese (Optional)

In a soup pan add olive oil, fideo noodles, serrano peppers, and garlic. Brown fideo noodles on medium high heat. Add Tomatoe sauce and using the tomatoe sauce can add 2 cans of water. Add chicken broth and 2 cans of water, add chicken boullion to taste (about 1 tablespoon). Boil for about 20 minutes or until noodles are tender. Serve plain or with the table cream and feta cheese.