Chili Rellenos Con Guacamole: A Light, Delightful Summer Meal

So Will and I are back to trying to lose weight again and are looking at meals that are reasonably healthy. I've made this particular recipe before, but decided to make a few changes in order to get a better flavor profile going.

First, roast your poblano peppers. The way to do this is simple. Turn on your broiler, arrange your peppers on a baking sheet, and roast, turning until all sides are blistered. This should only take a total of five minutes. Next, stick them in a plastic bag and leave them alone until they are cool enough to handle. Warning: they will be steamy.

While waiting for your peppers to cool, make your guacamole. Mine is a pretty simple mixture of avocados, 1 clove of garlic per three avocados, salt, pepper, and some form of acid. Normally I use lemon or lime juice, but this time I had to use white wine vinegar. Because vinegar is more acidic than citrus juice, make sure to use a light hand with it.

Once your peppers are cool enough to handle, peel off the membrane, which should be easy since you blistered it in the broiler, and remove the seeds. If you don't, you will be in for a fiery mouth. Finally, spoon some of the guacamole into each pepper and serve.

Will thought these were awesome, but might be better with Anaheim peppers because they're spicier. I personally prefer to use poblanos because they are smokier tasting when roasted. This really is a fantastic summer dish and I look forward to making this in the future.

Machaca: Super Easy and So Tasty

When I thought that Will would still be in town, I decided to make as much stuff as I could in my slow cooker. He's out of town now, but I'm still cooking. Here is a fantastic recipe that takes a few minutes to prepare, but cooks all day without having to worry.

First, combine a beef roast, 8 oz of diced green chilies (I used jarred because they give better results), one sliced onion, garlic powder, seasoned salt, two teaspoons beef base, and pepper in a crock pot. Add just enough water to cover the roast (I used six cups); cover, and set your crock pot to cook for ten to twelve hours. When it's done, shred your beef with a pair of forks after draining it, reserving the liquid; the meat should just fall apart at a glance, so minimal effort will be required. Add salsa of your choice (I used 505 medium) and enough of the reserved liquid to achieve the desired consistency. Wrap in a warm burrito and you're done.

This was fantastic. I will definitely do this again, because we always have green chilies and salsa lying around, so all we would need is the beef. I've gotten requests from Will and our friend Erin to freeze it, so we will see if they share my opinion.

Chili Rellenos Casserole: A Staple at My House

As I said two posts ago, I had a lot of leftover green chilies. One of my favorite things to do with said chilies is to make this casserole. I still had a couple more left over, so I'll be making Spanish tortilla later this week to get rid of it.
First, take your drained green chilies and split them open so they lay flat in a casserole dish. Place a slice of mozzarella cheese in each chile and fold the other side over. Don't be afraid to pack them in. Mix together four eggs, seasoned salt and pepper to taste, and a quarter cup of milk; pour this over the chilies. Sprinkle chile powder and shredded colby jack cheese over the top. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the eggs set.
As always, Will loved it. He didn't eat too much of it, though, because if he did it would upset his ulcer, and nobody wants that.

Tamales With Cheese Crisp and Pico de Gallo

Will has been craving tamales for the last few months; while I would be willing to spend two or three days making tamales and my family has a recipe for them, I don't own a hard copy, so we settled with a package of frozen beef tamales from Deming, New Mexico. I was given two big things of tomatoes, too, and decided that, since Will also mentioned craving cheese crisps with pico de gallo, I would make some and satisfy that craving.
First, reheat your tamales; the microwave works best because trust me, there is no worse smell than burned corn husks. Next, make any sides you want with it; I had some leftover calabacitas that wound up freezing in my refrigerator, so we heated that on the stove, but rice, or refried beans would work really well.
To make a great cheese crisp, all you need is an oven heated to 350 degrees, a nice big tortilla, a baking stone that will accommodate said tortilla, and lots of cheese. Once your oven is preheated, pull out your baking stone; if it's brand new, season it by brushing it with olive oil the first few times you use it so it develops a patina; if it already has a patina on it, skip to the next step, which is putting the tortilla on the stone and placing it in the oven to crisp up, squishing any air bubbles with a turner as you see them. Once your tortilla is nice and crispy, cover the top with a mixture of cheddar and cotija cheeses and continue baking until the cheese is melted and the edges of the tortilla are golden brown.
While your cheese crisp is cooking, make your pico de gallo. This is a big batch, so if you want a smaller batch, just cut the portions down to size. I used both containers of tomatoes, diced, two diced onions, six seeded and chopped jalapenos, two handfuls of chopped fresh cilantro, salt to taste and the juice of one and a quarter large limes.
Will and I both loved the tamales, so we will definitely go with this company again the next time he craves tamales until I get my family's recipe. I will also have to keep an eye out for green corn tamales by the same company, since green corn ones are our favorites. For those of you who have never had tamales before, they are served in corn husks; these husks are inedible. Most Mexican restaurants in our area no longer serve them in the husks because tourists have eaten the husks and then complained about it, but there are a few places that serve them with the husks, so be on the lookout should you decide to eat them.
The cheese crisp and pico de gallo were both a huge success; I have some corn tortillas that will go stale if I don't do anything with them, so I may just make some homemade tortilla chips with them so we can continue to enjoy the pico de gallo.

Chicken Enchiladas Verdes: My Stand-by Pleaser

Since it's finally started cooling down, I decided to treat Will with my homemade enchiladas verdes. While Will prefers my enchiladas rojos, his stomach doesn't, so we went with using the green sauce instead.
First, cook a sliced onion, a diced clove of garlic and a diced jalapeno in a bit of grapeseed oil and cumin until the onions are tender and the jalapeno is fragrant; try to avoid using anything red like paprika or chili powder when using green sauce because the green sauce has a lighter flavor and can turn brown if you use too many red spices. Meanwhile, poach three chicken breasts in salted boiling water.
Once they're fully cooked, drain the water and shred them with two forks. Once they are shredded, add a fifteen ounce can of green enchilada sauce and your cooked onion mixture; I use Hatch brand because it's New Mexican style; it's from Hatch, so it's considered local; and it has no preservatives.
Now it's time to heat another can of green enchilada sauce in a bowl and some corn tortillas; make sure your corn tortillas are as fresh as possible because if they aren't they will fall apart. The reason you heat the tortillas and sauce is it prevents tearing on the part of the tortillas; the sauce doesn't have to be boiling or anything, but just warm. Dip each tortilla into the sauce and coat it; wipe of the excesses and place it in your baking dish. Scoop a bit of the chicken into the center and roll it up; make sure not to stuff too much in, otherwise the tortilla will rip no matter how fresh or well coated in sauce it is. Repeat until you have filled either one large or two small casserole dishes; don't feel bad if you have leftover chicken because it makes a fantastic enchilada soup. Pour any remaining enchilada sauce over the top of your enchiladas.
Sprinkle grated cheddar and cotija cheeses over; usually, I also put enchilado cheese in with my chicken to amp up the flavor, but I couldn't find any enchilado cheese at my grocery store, so we went without. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted. Take them out of the oven and let the set for around five minutes; this keeps them from falling apart when you serve them.
Will, as always, garnished his enchiladas with sour cream, but you could easily do this with olives, tomatoes, guacamole and lettuce, if you prefer. They were a little warmer, but we both love the warmth one gets from spicy Mexican food.

Chile Rellenos Con Guacamole: Easy and Tasty

This recipe marked a few firsts for me. It was my first time roasting and peeling chilies and also my first time making rellenos that weren't baked. All in all, this was a good experience and proof positive that homemade doesn't have to be back breaking labor; it can be pretty easy.
First, roast and peel four Anaheim chilies. This is as simple as heating your broiler, putting your chilies on a baking sheet, and leaving them under the broiler until the skins are blistered. Then stick them in a plastic bag and let them steam for fifteen minutes. Finally take them out and peel them. Once all of them are peeled, cut as small a slit as you can, leaving the stem on, and remove all the seeds. Stick them in a bowl of salted water and let them sit for half an hour.
Meanwhile, make your vinaigrette by combining four Tablespoons oil, two Tablespoons white vinegar, paprika, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley; mix well. Make your guacamole by slicing two or three peeled avocados, mashing them with a fork, and adding fresh diced tomatoes, cumin, lime or lemon juice, and salt to taste. Usually when I make guacamole I use lemon juice, but since I have a lime tree with fresh limes less than fifty feet from my back door, I used limes.
By this time your chilies should be ready. Drain them, rinse them, and drain them again. Stick two chilies on each plate, fill them with the guacamole, and drizzle the vinaigrette over the top. If desired, serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Will immediately smelled the vinaigrette, but said that the one bite he did try was not vinegary thanks to the guacamole. Sadly, his stomach was rather bilious from eating leftover curry so he decided not to chance it. I loved it, but forgot that the chilies I purchased were from Hatch, New Mexico. For the record, mild chilies from New Mexico are about the same as medium chilies from California. I am so glad my local supermarket had them due to the Hatch chili festival being this weekend, and that I didn't buy the hot ones!

Beans: Not As Difficult As You Think

I finally remembered to soak my beans and cooked them. This is one of the first times I've made them, and I have to say they didn't turn out half bad.
First, rinse, soak, and make sure you don't have any stones in among your beans. Next, just barely cover them with water, add a diced onion, some garlic powder, and some ground thyme; boil this mixture for three hours, stirring occasionally while also making sure the beans remain covered with water, until the beans are tender. If you want to add meat to your beans, add a couple ham hocks or, better yet, a smoked turkey leg, when you add the onion and spices to the beans. This time, I made it completely vegetarian, but to each his own.
This made a great accompaniment to leftover chilaquiles, and I plan on freezing the leftovers to use in soups, stews, and sides. All in all, it was a good experience.