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. 



Spicy Breaded Pork Chops

I got this recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cook book except I did not follow it completely. The recipe in the cook book is for Spicy Pecan Pork sandwiches, which are probably very tasty, but my husband is kind of a picky eater so I had to change it to pork chops without the pecans. Still very delicious though and a quick dinner idea.

What you need:

4 pork chops, anykind

1 egg

2 tbs. Dijon-style mustard

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbs. olive oil

In a shallow dish beat together egg, mustard, and cayenne pepper just until combined. In a second dish put bread crumbs. Place flour in a third dish. Preheat skillet with olive oil and a little bit of butter to med-high temperature. Coat each pork chop with flour, dip in egg mixture, then coat with bread crumbs. Place each pork chop in skillet cook for about 10-13 minutes or until juices run clear, turning once.

Bean Dip

This is a recipe that my mom made all the time when I was growing up. She actually made up this recipe on her own after trying many different recipes. This is always a great appetizer for a party or even just a nice and easy dinner!

What you need:

2-3 14oz. cans Spicy Jalapeno Rosarita Refried Beans

2-3 Cans diced green chili peppers

1 8oz. package of cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 onion, diced

Cilantro, chopped

Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Mix all ingredients well in a large mixing bowl. I typically put almost all the cilantro in and probably a cup or more of cheese (it depends on what you like). Pour bean dip into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Cover the top of the bean dip with more cheese (as much as you would like). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with chips!

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.