Chile Relleno Casserole

So being from Texas, I love some good Mexican food, or Tex-Mex. LOVE IT. Well, the part of Georgia that I live in doesn't exactly have any amazing Mexican food to offer. It makes me so sad. Great for the diet, but not so great when you're craving something authentic. Well, I learned a trick or two and I can produce some pretty authentic tasting yummies.

With that being said, I have had a hankering something fierce for a good chile relleno. Well, when I was in the grocery store the other day, I decided to remedy this. Now, while I will usually go all out with my authentic dishes, I didn't so much feel like it this week. There's a lot going on, and I wanted flavor AND convenience. So my solution was a casserole. Of course it was... I'm surprised I didn't try to come up with something crock pot related (stay tuned, and I just might).

The result?

Oh my goodness. Oh. My. Goodness. OHMYGOODNESS. I felt like I was eating a chile relleno. The real thing. Straight from Texas and all. Now, this may be that I have been out of state for so long, but this may be my best casserole recipe yet.... even better than my Fiesta Casserole. Oh yes. Is it possible to have a mouthgasm? I think it happened.

So here's how to create this amazingness...

Ingredients:

1tsp chipotle chile powder
1tsp cumin
6 eggs
1/4 cup masa flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk

4 poblano peppers, roasted and seeded
8oz canned diced green chiles (2, 4oz cans)
1 yellow onion, chopped
16oz queso fresco (fresh mozzarella) sliced into 1/2 inch, or so, pieces... or shredded mozzarella
16oz CHORIZO (all caps, muy importante! I used Ole brand, see pic)

 Instructions:

Set oven to Broil, High. Roast poblano peppers on a piece of foil, about 3-4 minutes on each side until blistered. Turn broil off & set oven to 350 degrees.

Set aside.

Cut end off of chorizo casing and squeeze into medium sized skillet, repeat. Cook on medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, mashing with fork to mix together until fat is cooked to a liquid. Take off heat and set aside.

Going back to your poblanos, take thumbs and rub off "blistered" pepper skin. Discard. cut the top off of each pepper and remove stem/seeds. slice each pepper into 4 pieces.

Grease 8x11" pyrex dish (or pam), and place in oven for a few minute while completing the net step:

In a medium sized bowl, add flour and masa flour (Maseca), chile pepper, and cumin. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Mix in eggs. Take pyrex out of oven and pour in half of egg mixture. Layer poblano peppers, half of cheese, half of onion, and 4oz canned diced green chiles.

Layer in sausage using a large "colander spoon" to drain the fat, sprinkle over other half of onion, 4oz canned green chiles, and remaining cheese, layered somewhat evenly. Evenly pour in the remaining egg mixture.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Enjoy... immensely.

It's ok to drool a little :)

(Incredible) Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup

Well folks, this is easily the best soup I have ever eaten. Ever. One taste and I was pretty sure I done died and went to heaven. It is even, dare I say it, BETTER than Chili's... Okay, I can't officially claim that, but it is in my opinion, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

While making this, I asked Josh if I should put habaneros in it... Let's just say his answer was a definite yes & I doubt anyone wants to know what he actually said, but yes, I added habaneros. 3 in fact. I love them, Josh loves them... But not everyone loves them or the heat, so I will leave that out of the ingredients, but for those that want to know: 3 whole habaneros, minced in food processor, then added to other soup ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 cups maseca, or similar brand, instant corn masa flour (see pic below)
2 quart prepared chicken stock (made with 2oz,or two packets, concentrated stock; see pic below)

*you can also use 4 bullion cubes, or 2tbsp chicken base*

1tbsp chili powder
1.5 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
16oz enchilada sauce (you can use up to 20oz. The store I went to was out of the biggest cans)
8oz tomato sauce
4.5oz green chiles
2 medium yellow onions
16oz Mexican velveeta
About 2lbs shredded chicken

*I buy a whole rotisserie chicken take the skin off, and shred it. It's much easier (and cheaper) than buying raw chicken, boiling it & shredding it, but do as you wish*

In a 5qt crockpot:

Dump your two cups of masa flour in the crockpot. Add chicken stock one cup at a time while stirring into corn flour with a fork. This is very important because you don't want your corn flour to be lumpy. If you see lumps, not a big deal... Scoop them put with a fork and mush them on the side to get rid of them.

Add in your spices, then stir in enchilada sauce and tomato sauce. Finely chop onions and add to soup, along with green chiles. Cut velveeta in small cubes and add to soup. Cook on high for about 3 hours (stirring occasionally), add your shredded chicken and cook for another hour... 4 total, stirring (occasionally).

You can serve without toppings, or add a dollop of sour cream, avocado, pico, cheese, olives, jalapeños.... Anything really.

Enjoy :)

White Chicken Chili

When I think of chili, I think of the good ol' red meat chili with enough peppers to burn your face off. I love chili, and I'm sure it's a staple for most of us in the cold months.

On a whim, I decided to change it up, and it has quickly become a favorite in our house.

I know chicken chili isn't a new concept, but it was new to me the first time I made it, and I just went through the store picking up things that I figured would be good in it. Now the recipe is tweaked to our liking, and I thought it might be worth sharing.

In this recipe, I use canned green chiles, but I really prefer using a freshly chopped poblano pepper instead; however, they're not in season here, so I made do with green chiles. It was still wonderful.

You will need:

Jalapeños, sliced very thin

* I used 7 because that's what I had in my fridge. I probably would have used more because the hotter the better!!! This is definitely a "to taste" item, though. It had that fantastic slow burn and was enough to heat me up, but wasn't as hot as I usually make it*

Habaneros, ground in food processor

* Another "to taste" item. I used 2 small peppers*

2 bell peppers, chopped

*I used my favorite, yellow & orange*

1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 large can cream of chicken soup
4-6 cups chicken broth

*I used a combination of boxed broth and broth from boiled chicken*

2 cans white beans (drained)
8oz diced (or chopped) green chiles

*or one fresh chopped poblano*

2lbs shredded chicken
1pkg white chicken chili seasoning

* I boiled chicken breasts with rib meat for 20 minutes in seasoned water (cumin, red pepper, onion powder) then let it cool & shred with fork*

Mix ingredients, except for the chicken broth, in the crockpot. This mix will be thick, but it is important to incorporate all of the more solid ingredients (including cream of chicken soup) before adding the chicken broth. The cup difference (4-6) in the chicken broth will depend on how thick you like your chili and how big your crockpot is. I think I ended up using about 5 cups, stirred into other ingredients slowly, 1 cup at a time, until it was the desire consistency. Cook on high for 5 hours, or low for 8.

I made this on a football day, and once it was done, I left it on "keep warm" for the rest of the day for anyone that wanted to go grab a bowl.

I also love serving this with a dollop of sour cream, avocado, or sprinkle of cheese... Or all of the above.

Melt in Your Mouth Meatballs

I think I've mentioned before that I developed my love of cooking because of my Gran. He was an excellent cook and taught me a lot. This recipe started in my Gran's kitchen, and I have modified  and perfected it over time. That's right, perfected. I've never had a meatball that even compares to the melt in your mouth explosion of awesome that is my meatball. True story.

Ingredients
1.5 lb ground beef
half packet italian dressing seasoning
1/2 cup italian style bread crumbs
1 egg
1.5 heaping tbsp margarine
1 small can (1oz) El Patio hot tomato sauce
1/2 cup shiraz
** I eyeball the wine every time. I know what it is supposed to look like in the pan. You want the sauce to come up to about half the meatball, so the wine is roughly 1/2 - 3/4 cup. Also, it really does not matter what brand wine you use. I buy the cheapest wine they have, which usually turns out to be Turning Leaf or something. I have also used expensive wine, and there really is no difference.**

Directions
In a medium bowl, combine ground beef, italian dressing seasoning, bread crumbs, egg, and margarine. Mix well...I use my hands. It's faster. Section out and roll into at least 1" balls. Obviously mine aren't exactly uniform.

Place meatballs in large skillet. Pour tomato sauce and wine in skillet & bring sauce to boil. Continue cooking on high heat for about 15 minutes, turning frequently.  Drain excess fat from sauce. Serve with garlic bread or pasta!

Chocolate and Biscuits

Hi y'all (anyone still out there?) I am hoping this hiatus is coming to an end... Josh is coming home (IN TWO MONTHS YAY!!!!) and I have been tossing around a few recipe ideas that I want to have perfected. I may just have to find a substitute guinea pig, though.

Anyway, this recipe is not one of the ones I've been tossing around, but my momma sent me this recipe the other day and I thought I should share. It was passed down from my great grandma, and I remember my mom making this for me when I was growing up. I'm pretty sure my great grandma was a genius because these chocolate gravy covered biscuits are absolutely heavenly! I mean, chocolate for breakfast? Yes please.

For the biscuits, go with what you like. If you are so inclined to make them from scratch, then by all means, knock yourself out. Me? I'll just pop some Pillsbury Grands in the oven and save myself some trouble & time.

When it comes to measurements, it seems that my great grandma was like me... measurements smeasurements. I know how much of something I need when it tastes right. It makes complete sense, but alas, that just will not do for sharing! SO with some tweeking from my mom, I think we've got this correct:

Chocolate Gravy:

 1.5 cups of sugar
3 tablespoons of all purpose flour
1/3 cup of cocoa
2 cups of milk
2 tablespoons of butter

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, mix together sugar, flour, and cocoa. Melt butter in a cast iron skillet (on medium heat) then add your chocolate mix. Stir thoroughly until mixed with butter, then add in milk, stir. You may need to add a bit more milk if it is too thick. While still on medium heat, bring to boil, stirring often. Take off heat & serve over halved biscuits.

YUM!

Biscuit and Gravy Cups

I'm pretty much obsessed with this idea of making things into "cups," so when I discovered the boyfriend had never had good ol' sausage gravy with biscuits, I absolutely had to do something about this! I mean, how can you spend 28 years of your life with no biscuits and gravy?! Seriously, I almost cried for him. His excuse: "I'm a Yankee." It's ok dear, I don't fault you for it; I just let you in on what you've been missing.

Now instead of making it normal biscuits and sausage gravy, I went a step further and made biscuit and gravy cups... and to go the extra mile, I used a combination of smoked hog sausage and regular pork sausage. I know, I know, I'm pretty much amazing, but just in case you don't happen to have any hog around (I'm in a house full of hunters, what can I say?), pork sausage alone is perfectly wonderful.

Ingredients:

I realize I could have made homemade gravy, but seriously, why bother when Pioneer Brand gravy tastes amazing? No point. It's yum and easy... which works for me!

1 package Pioneer Brand peppered gravy
8oz cream cheese
1-2 cans regular biscuits (No grands or flaky biscuits! Buttermilk biscuits taste great with this too)
16oz pork sausage (I also used about 4oz hog sausage, which I didn't bother including in the picture)

I only used one can of biscuits, which obviously makes 8 cups, and there was left over gravy. This isn't a bad thing because it's awesome on toast, eggs, or whatever, but if you don't want leftover gravy, I suggest using 2 cans of biscuits

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375. Spray muffin tin with Pam.

Prepare gravy according to package. When done, add cream cheese and stir on medium heat until completely blended. Remove from heat.

Brown Sausage in bacon drippings, if possible. Lucky for me, I had to cook some bacon earlier for Texas Hashbrown Casserole, so I had plenty of bacon grease on hand. It won't make or break the dish, but it most definitely adds flavor, because as we all know, bacon makes EVERYTHING better.

Scoop sausage into gravy... making absolutely sure to get some grease in there (I think about 2 or so tablespoons ended up in mine), mix thoroughly. I know there's some people out there freaking out on me right now for suggesting that I add in some of the grease. Well I'm sorry y'all; some of the most amazing things in life aren't exactly good for you, and I promise I'm not trying to clog everyone's arteries... just adding some Southern flavor!

You'll want to take a biscuit out and somewhat flatten it in your hand, then press in bottom and up the sides of muffin tin cup, leaving a good open spot in the middle. Repeat with each biscuit. Spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons into each cup, slightly over the top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until biscuits are golden brown.

You see that hog sausage? MMMMMM...

Crockpot Chicken Curry

This is one of my all time favorites; I love love love the intense flavor provided by the spices.

Ingredients:

1/8 cup curry powder (I use a mix of hot madras curry and regular curry)
1tbs tumeric
1tsp cumin
1tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ginger
dash of white pepper
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup bell pepper (I use all red, orange, yellow), chopped
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
fingerling potatoes (about have the bag, or 2-3 golden potatoes), sliced
1 can coconut milk
1 can chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken
8oz sour cream (optional)
1 bay leaf
1.5lbs chicken (roughly)
rice

Instructions:


Add all ingredients (except bay leaf, sour cream, rice and chicken) to crockpot, stir until thoroughly mixed.

Boil chicken for 15 minutes, let cool, shred.

Add chicken to crockpot, top with bay leaf, cook on high 4 hours. At 4 hour mark, stir sour cream into curry. Cook rice.

Serve over bed of rice.... YUM!

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Bacon wrapped green beans.... *drool* oh yes, everything is better with bacon, and if there is a way to take something healthy and turn it into a sinful concoction of artery clogging goodness, I will find it. I've been making these for years, and I honestly cannot count how many people I've had to give this recipe to. They're great for an appetizer at a party or a side dish for ANY meal. Really. Bacon goes with everything. Today happens to be the AFC Championship game, (GO PATS!!) so I made bacon wrapped green beans, salsa, and a roast is in the crockpot....

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Ingredients:

4 cans WHOLE green beans

16oz bacon (I always use black label regular bacon)

1 pkg. Italian dressing seasoning

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350

Open cans of green beans and drain, pour out onto plate. Slice bacon in half. on another plate, take one piece of the halved bacon and run finger over it to smooth it out. Bundle about 6-8 green beans onto bacon and wrap; place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining green beans and bacon. Sprinkle Italian dressing seasoning over green beans. Bake on middle rack for 25-30 minutes. 

Sausage & Shrimp Jumbalaya

This has to be one of my favorite crockpot meals ever. We went to the store this morning so I could get the fixins for mexican lasagna because I have been testing the waters for the perfect recipe. It isn't perfected yet, so you won't find it on here until I'm satisfied, but apparently Josh wasn't in the mood for mexican... which has to be a first... so he asked me if I would make him some jumbalaya. Ok, twist my arm...

Sausage & Shrimp Jumbalaya

Ingredients:
2 cups celery, sliced (about half a bunch)
1.5 cups sweet yellow onion, chopped (small onion)
2-3 cloves elephant garlic, sliced
1 cup okra (frozen or fresh)
16oz red beans & rice (Mahatma package)
8oz. hot links, sliced
8oz. shrimp (small, peeled, deveined, tails off)
6oz. tomato paste
14oz beef broth
4.5 cups water
4oz. Louisiana hot sauce
1 Tbs Cajun seasoning (I used everglades heat, Tony's will be just fine too)



Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in 5qt crockpot (yes, it will all fit) & cook on high for 4-5 hours. Stir Occasionally.

It's so dang good, I'm glad I don't know how to make anything in small quantities. This is great for Josh to take to lunch during the week... and maybe me too, even though I try to keep my indulgences to the weekend... the jumbalaya is just that good.