White Chicken Chili
Now that the weather is cooling off, I’m looking forward to using New Mexican chile in dishes like stews, cauldillo and chili. Hatch green chile goes great with chicken.
Adding white beans like Great Northern adds extra protein. Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 white onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno
* 1 (4 ounce) can chopped Hatch green chile
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 teaspoon ground New Mexican chile powder
* 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
* 1 pound skinless boneless chicken tenders
* 2 (15 ounce) cans white beans
* 1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
Method
1. Cut chicken tenders into bite sized pieces. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Saute chicken until no longer pink, pour off juices. Add onion and slowly cook and stir until tender. Mix in the garlic, jalapeno, Hatch green chile, cumin, oregano and New Mexican chili powder. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth and white beans. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove the mixture from heat. Slowly stir in the cheese until melted.
If you want to really kick up the heat, add a Bhut Jolokia pepper. (CAUTION-Bhut Jolokia is one of the world’s hottest peppers)
Serve warm with tortillas, chips and salsa on the side.
Harry’s Pork and New Mexican Chile
This recipe is from my father-in-law Harry who has been enjoying New Mexican chile for over 75 years. Besides the hatch chiles, this recipe is a good way to use country style pork ribs when you see them on sale.
You’ll need:
2 lbs country style pork ribs trimmed of bone and fat, cut to bite sized pieces
2 medium potatoes diced
1 small or 1/2 medium onion, white or yellow chopped
4 oz can of chopped Hatch green chile or New Mexican chile you’ve prepared
1 can green enchilada sauce preferably Hatch
1/2 tsp each garlic powder and cumin
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tbs olive or vegetable oil
In a large skillet over medium heat add oil and brown the pork, drain. Add onions, cook to soften. Add hatch chili, enchilada sauce, potatoes and seasonings. Cover and simmer until pork is done and the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve with warm tortillas and a salad or fresh fruit.
Ruth’s Squash and New Mexican Chile Casserole
This is a super easy casserole dish that my late mother-in-law Ruth Schneider used to make. It combines a common summer veggie with the zing of New Mexican chili. You may even have the veggie in your home garden. The list of ingredients is short:
2 good sized zucchini squash
1 cup or 2 4 oz cans of chopped hatch chile, green
1 cup of Colby or Cheddar cheese shredded
1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Peel, slice and boil until tender the zucchini. Drain well. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Olive oil would be good. Layer the squash, cheese and New Mexican chile, green. Add the seasoned bread crumbs to the top of the final layer. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and the top is a golden brown.
Cheesy Ham and New Mexican Chile Casserole
Here is a quick and easy way to use up some left-over ham and get your fix of New Mexican chili. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and fetch a 2 quart casserole dish. Here is what else you’ll need:
1 package of scalloped potatoes with sauce pack in the box
2 cups of hot water
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups of cooked diced ham (or chicken if that is what’s on hand)
1 cup of your favorite cheese shredded, about 4 ounces
1 4 oz can of of sliced mushrooms, drained
2 4 oz cans of chopped Hatch chile, green, or to taste.
Mix the potatoes, sauce mix and hot water in ungreased 2-quart casserole dish. Stir in remaining ingredients including the New Mexican chile. Bake uncovered 40 to 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Let casserole rest 5 minutes and serve.
New Mexican Chile Meets Southern New Year Tradition
My wife is among those who out of tradition want to have some black-eyed peas on New Year’s day. She likes them and wants to eat them for “good luck.” I’m less enthusiastic about the peas and believe that it is bad luck to be superstitious.
After seeing a recipe that suggested adding black-eyed peas to home made salsa to keep the New Year tradition alive I decided to try the same with Pico de Gallo and of course include New Mexican chili.
In a medium bowl, combine the following ingredients. The amount of each item to use is only a rough guide. Feel free to adjust the amounts to suite your own taste. For example, if you aren’t real familiar with cilantro, use it sparingly at first. It can be an acquired taste. It is best to mix it all up then cover and refrigerate overnight to let the flavors marinate. Chop everything fine.
5 Roma tomatoes or about 2 cups of your favorite tomato
2 fresh jalapeno peppers. De-seed and de-vein one of them to control heat. Or don’t, your call.
4 oz can or 1/2 cup chopped Hatch chile, green.
1/4 cup each white, red, and green onion. Include tops of green onion
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
Juice of one lime
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt plus a few grinds of fresh black pepper
1/2 cup of canned black-eyed peas rinsed
Mix well with a spoon to combine. Serve with tortilla chips. It can also be used to top hamburgers or sandwiches. Throw some on your eggs in the morning and give your day a zesty start.
Bhut Jolokia-The Hottest Chile Pepper?
jolokiaThere is a recurring bit in “The Simpsons” where Homer eats some kind of fiery spicy hot food, has a cartoonish physical reaction like flaming smoke rings flying out of his mouth while shrieking, then promptly and calmly says “more please.”
Not so when Dr. Paul Bosland of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University bit into a Bhut Jolokia, now considered the world’s hottest chile pepper. One bite was enough to convince him that this pepper packed some record setting heat and what he’d really like was a glass of milk and not another helping of that pod.
The Bhut Jolokia is indigenous to north eastern India and the name translates into “ghost pepper.” Seeds were sent to New Mexico by a colleague of Dr. Bosland. Plants were raised under controlled conditions and the heat levels tested in laboratories. Would you believe a pepper three times hotter than a habanero? Over a million Scoville Heat Units? Dude, that is hot!
Turkey Soup With New Mexican Chile
This recipe is less about the New Mexican chili and more about what the heck to do with all that turkey you have left over from the holiday dinners. More specifically, the bits and pieces of dark meat scattered about the platter. Sure, the breast meat will find its way into sandwiches and omelet’s faster than Uncle Purvis can scratch himself and ask for seconds, but what about the lowly chunks of wing and thigh meat?
Whack that dark meat into bite sized pieces then break out a big pot and a can opener. This one is easy but mighty tasty with green Hatch chile.
You’ll need:
2 14.5 oz cans of diced stewed tomatoes. Don’t drain.
1 or 2 cans of chicken broth
1 pound of left over turkey meat
1 green pepper cut into bite sized pieces
1 4 oz can of New Mexican chile preferably green Hatch chile
1 7 oz can of whole kernel corn, drained
1 small can of sliced black olives
3/4 cup of that weird salsa you got for Christmas. Now is the time to use it.
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried crushed basil
1 tsp granulated garlic
salt and pepper to taste
In your large pot, combine all ingredients, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. If you want to make it really hot, throw in a Bhut Jolokia. Serve in soup bowls with warm tortillas on the side. Optional toppings for the soup include chopped green onions with the green tops, fresh cilantro and shredded cheese.
Beef and New Mexican Chile Quesadillas
Quesadillas are a great way to enjoy the flavor of green New Mexican chile. Most people probably cook quesadillas in a large skillet but this recipe uses a hot oven to crisp up the otherwise floppy flour tortillas. It also uses ground beef as part of the filling but chicken, turkey, pork, veggies, or just cheese works well too. Just don’t forget the Hatch chile! Here’s what you’ll need…
1 lb of lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup of your favorite salsa
1 (4 oz) can of chopped green Hatch chile, drained or use New Mexican chile you’ve prepared
2 cups shredded cheese such as Cheddar, Colby or Colby Jack
salt and pepper to taste
10-12 medium flour tortillas.
Preheat the oven to 450 F. In a large skillet brown the ground beef and onion over medium heat until beef is no longer pink. Pour off drippings and season with salt and pepper. Add salsa and the chopped New Mexican chile, then stir in cheese.
Spoon about a 1/4 cup of beef mixture onto half of each tortilla. Fold over. Place quesadillas on baking sheets and lightly spray tops of the tortillas with cooking spray.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until tortillas are slightly brown. Serve them with rice and beans or a salad and guacamole.
New Mexican Chile Stew
I’m really looking forward to the end of the summer heat and some cool evenings now that the calendar says it is fall. Not that you would know it around these parts, but I digress.
Cooler weather calls for stews and the following recipe is a pretty classic one for New Mexican chili stew. So pull out the Dutch oven or a big ol’ stew pot…
Here is what you’ll need:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds beef or pork stew meat
1 medium onion diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 cups vegetable or beef broth
3-4 medium potatoes, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
2 teaspoons Kosher salt, to taste
3 cups roasted, peeled, chopped green New Mexican chile or to taste. If you want to supercharge the heat factor, add a Bhut Jolokia or two, but proceed with caution.
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat and brown the meat in
batches. Set aside. Saute the onions until golden.
Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Return the meat to the pan. Add the broth, potatoes,
salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for one hour, until the potatoes are tender. Add the green chile and cook 15 to 20 minutes more.
Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro if desired. Serve with warm tortillas
Chicken Chile Recipe
I’m thinking this recipe using green New Mexican chile has some Cajun influence somewhere in its history because it starts with a roux. Or maybe I’ve been watching too much Emeril Live.
Grab a big pot and a half cup of New Mexico green chili. Hatch chile would be excellent.
In a large pot, melt 1/2 cup butter. Add 3/4 cup all-purpose flour; stir the resulting paste over medium heat. Do this long enough to cook the flour a bit.Add 2 cups milk and 3 cups water, and stir to blend. If there are any lumps, use a whisk to stir them out. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Add 2 cups cooked, boneless and skinless chicken cut into bite-size pieces.Add 1/2 cup chopped green Hatch chile, salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of garlic powder. Stir well and cover. Simmer 30 minutes and serve. Makes 4 servings.
Source: DMN, allrecipes.com
Green chile and Swiss cheese hotdogs
Say that three times fast.
Here is a quick and easy recipe for New Mexican chile dogs with Swiss Cheese instead of the usual Cheddar. I really like the combination of Swiss Cheese and green chile. It’s an pleasing pairing of flavors and rather mild since dairy products put a damper on the heat of any kind of chiles.
Here is what you’ll need..
1 4 oz can of chopped green Hatch chile. Or use fresh New Mexican chili if you’ve got it.
1 package of hot dogs. I’m using turkey dogs to keep down the fat content.
1 package of hot dog buns. I use whole wheat for the grains and fiber.
Swiss Cheese slices. Real cheese please.
Table mustard, regular yellow or Dijon style (optional)
Zap the hot dogs in the microwave. Apply mustard to the inside of the buns if using,then add Swiss cheese forming a cradle for the dogs. Place the cooked hot dogs on the cheese and top with chopped Hatch green chile, about two tablespoons. Place in hot toaster oven or return to microwave long enough to melt cheese.
Remove and enjoy! This is an easy and quick way to make friends with New Mexico green chile.
Caldillo-Slow Cooked Green Chile Goodness
We were painting the utility closet where my Crock pot lives and moving it got me thinking about caldillo. It is a stew of sorts but with the flavors kicked way up through the use of New Mexico green chile and other Southwest seasonings.
I like to use a Crockpot so that the stew meat comes out fork tender. And this recipe from my wife’s side of the family has a surprise ingredient.
We always throw a cup of black coffee into the caldillo. Yup, a cup of coffee.
Into a Crockpot or slow cooker, add the following:
1 and 1/2 lbs of beef or pork stew meat cut into bite sized pieces
2 4 oz cans of chopped green chile, preferably Hatch
1 whole fresh jalapeo
1 medium white or yellow onion chopped
2-3 medium potatoes peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
1 14.5 oz can of diced stewed tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon each of ground cumin and coriander
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of black coffee, left over from breakfast is fine.
Get everything in the Crockpot and add enough water to cover ingredients. Add more jalapenos or a couple of Serrano peppers if you like your caldillo hotter. Cook on high 4to 5 hours until potatoes are tender. 8-10 hours on low.
Serve in bowls with warm tortillas on the side
Chile Beef Cake
Here’s a recipe that is dirt simple yet has plenty of New Mexico green chile goodness. You’ll need a large skillet (10-12 inch variety) and the following ingredients..
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 can 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
1 8 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans 4 oz of chopped green chile preferably Hatch
1 and 1/2 cups of cooked rice
1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese
Cook beef and onion in the skillet over medium heat until beef is brown and crumbled.Drain and return to skillet. Stir in all other ingredients except the cheese and cook until everything is heated through. Transfer to plates and sprinkle the cheese on top.