green chiles – Buen provecho…2022

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

I actually made this recipe several weeks ago, and although it tasted great, I was not all that happy with how it turned-out. Freezing the second half of the recipe turned out to really enhance it! It did not hurt to add more sauce to it the second time around! Go ahead and add the beans if you like them. My spouse does not, so I omitted them from the recipe. Rather than make a separate sauce, I opted for PACE Salsa MEDIUM. It simplified the recipe for me.

The photo below shows the second casserole, previously frozen, thawed and rebaked with generous dollops of sour cream when served! It certainly does not look great BUT the taste was awesome!

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into small bite sized pieces
1/2 red onion diced
4 ounce can of green chiles
1 pack taco seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 cups red enchilada sauce OR 1 jar of PACE Medium Salsa
8 large Mexican flour tortillas
15-ounce refried beans OPTIONAL
16 ounces shredded cheese sharp cheddar, Monterey jack, pepper jack.
diced onion, cilantro, sour cream for toppings.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees then add two tablespoons of oil to a large skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add the small chunks of chicken to the skillet and stirring often, cook until browned and no longer pink inside.

Add in the taco seasoning, spices, diced onion, 1/2 a cup of Pace salsa and green chiles. Stir to combine and simmer for 2-3 minutes then remove from heat.

Next, line up your Easy Chicken Enchiladas ingredients and grab a large 9×13 baking pan. Add a small amount of sauce at the bottom of the pan and spread out evenly.

To assemble the Easy Chicken Enchiladas, lay out a tortilla and spread a line of beans (OPTIONAL) down the middle of the tortilla along with a line of the chicken and some of the shredded cheese. Roll the tortilla and place in the baking pan. Repeat with the remaining ingredients and then top with more sauce and the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Salsa Verde (Mexican)

Where have I been? Since mid January we have had the fortune of having many guests with us here in Yucatan. Between touring, etc. there has been little time to add to the blog. As a matter of fact we just got back from 5 days in Mexico City… talk about great food!

For many years now I have been following Pati Jinich on PBS. She is originally from Mexico but now lives in Washington, D.C. Her TV program is called Pati’s Mexican Table. Her cookbook, available on Amazon, is incredible if you are interested in Mexican cooking.

Recently we were invited to a Canadian friend’s home her in Yucatan where we enjoyed some great chicken enchiladas. She was unable to find the real sauce but managed to prepare an adequate salsa verde to serve with her recipe. This led me to Pati’s cookbook to see how she prepared her sauce. FYI…this sauce is served on almost everything in Mexico in one version or another. Enchilada recipes are widely available, but take the time to serve it with Pati’s version of the salsa –

Pati Jinich’s Salsa Verde

Ingredients

1-pound tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed (little green tomatoes)
1 garlic clove
2 jalapeño or serrano chiles, or to taste
1/3 cup coarsely chopped white onion
1 cup cilantro leaves and top part of stems
1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt, or to taste
3 teaspoons vegetable oil

Place the tomatillos, garlic, and chiles in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the tomatillos change from bright green to pale green and are soft but not falling apart, about 10 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatillos, garlic, and one of the chiles to a blender or food processor. Add the onion, cilantro, and salt and purée until smooth. Taste for heat, and add more chile if necessary until you have the desired amount of heat.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Pour the salsa into the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

The sauce will keep a week in your refrigerator.

Slow Cooker Easy Pork Pozole

Thanks to all of you for getting me past the 14000 views this week! You are all awesome. In return is an awesome Aztec recipe for a soup/stew called pozole. Get out your slow cooker.

Pozole can be prepared in many ways. All variations include a base of cooked hominy in broth. Typically pork, or sometimes chicken, is included in the base.

Vegetarian recipes substitute beans for the meat.

The three main types of pozole are blanco/white, verde/green and rojo/red.

Red Pozole is usually made without the green sauce, instead adding a red sauce made from one or more chiles, such as guajillo, piquin, or ancho.

Slow Cooker Easy Pork Pozole

2 – 15 oz. cans hominy (white corn), rinsed and drained (fresh in the deli section) In our grocery store here, this is the brand I buy. I use 3/4 package.

1 – 16 oz. jar salsa
1 – litre reduced sodium chicken broth (I actually used almost 2 to get it less thick)
2 – 4 oz. cans diced green chile peppers undrained (to taste, truthfully, I used two thin slices)
1 – cup coarsely chopped onion
1 – T ground cumin
4 – cloves garlic minced
1 – tsp. dried oregano, crushed
¼ – tsp. red pepper
12 oz. – pork loin, cut into bite sized pieces
Fresh cilantro snipped

NIGHT BEFORE!!!

In the removable crock pot liner, combine the first 9 ingredients (through the red pepper). Stir in the pork pieces. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

NEXT DAY!!!

Let the liner stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Place in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours (depending on your slow cooker)…or on HIGH for 3 to 3.5 hours. Check frequently… mine was done in 5 hours on low!

Sprinkle cilantro onto each serving in large soup bowls. Serve with tortillas if desired.

OPTIONAL – In separate side bowls, provide a few sliced radishes, more chopped onion, oregano, chopped cabbage, avocado, cilantro. Let your guests choose what they want to add. I like to add some sour cream for smoothness.

Makes 6+ servings.