I know what you are thinking….there are a 1000 recipes out there for green chile stew. BUT….this one is a little different and the flavor was just so yummy….(if Leanne Morgan can use yummy, so can I). Last night we had this and we both just looked at each other and said, “we have a winner”. Made a whole other batch of it today to take to some of our family tomorrow. Used pork instead of chicken. So here it is, yes it took a little more time, but after all, we are still in a mode of not too much to do other than going to pick up food and watch TV. So enjoy these couple of days of cooler weather and grab a bowl of this stew. You will be oh so glad you did.
In the morning put a small pork roast in the crockpot and pour about 1/2 jar of Herdez salsa Casera over the pork. (got it at Walmart or Kroger, comes in mild, medium or hot so get the one that you like). Add 1 cup of water to the crock pot and sprinkle ground black pepper, garlic powder to your liking and some dried parsley over the meat. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or until roast tests done. When meat is done, remove from crock pot and set on a platter to cool so you can cut it up into small pieces. In a heavy saucepan, combine the drippings that are left in the crockpot to a 2 cup measuring cup. If needed, add chicken broth to the drippings to make 2 cups. Should you have 2 cups of liquid from the drippings without adding water, only use one cup of drippings and 1 cup of chicken broth or water and save the rest for the soup.
In the heavy saucepan, add the 2 cups of the liquid and add 1 cup of rice. Bring to a boil and then stir and cover with close fitting lid. Turn heat to low and cook for 23-25 minutes. When rice is done, stir and remove lid so it doesn’t get sticky.
Cut up 1 cup of celery, 1 cup of onion, 2 carrots and one green or red bell pepper and 1 small can of diced green chiles. Saute this mixture in about 2 tables butter combined with 1 tables vegetable oil, until veggies are beginning to become tender. Place these in the an oven proof pan (I used my roaster that I use for roasts and spaghetti sauce and soups because it is heavy and makes the broth thick when you bake sauces in it), Add 2 cups of the cut up pork and 2 (15 oz) cans of chicken broth, 1 (15 oz) can of Hatch Green Chile Enchilada sauce (once again, pick your poison, mild or hot). If you had left over drippings left over from meat, you can also add that to the stew, as it will only add more great flavor. Add 1 cup up mexican squash or zucchini to this and bake in oven, covered, for about 2 to 3 hours on 325 or until veggies are all done.
To serve, spoon the desired amount of cooked rice to each bowl and spoon the green pork chile over the top. You can top with some fresh cilantro and sour cream if desired. We had ours with some great homemade corn bread that I added some green chiles to the batter and hd sprinkled a little light brown sugar over the top before baking. This sounds weird, but the sweetness of the sugar gives the cornbread such a wonderful flavor. Especially with the green chile stew.
Made this cake for a friend this week and it was such a hit. Several friends have ask for the recipe when they saw the picture on FB so here it is. It is easy and so yummy. Also, a friend of mine told me the other day that she didn’t understand how my cupcakes were always so soft and moist. The secret is, keep them in the refrigerator (covered) until about an hour before serving them.
1 Duncan Hines chocolate fudge cake mix
What a joy it was to visit my daughter and her family last week in Phoenix, AZ. Yes, it was very hot. But the times of laughter and just being with them after 5 months of not seeing them was such a delight. As we drove around with the younger boys (ages 8 & 11) in the back seat, they ask their mom, Jodi (my daughter) if we could listen to a couple of comedians who we have always enjoyed listening to. One is Brian Regan. He is one of those who just makes me laugh by looking at him when he is delivering his comedy routine. The boys also love listening to him. So as we drove around trying to find a restaurant that didn’t have an hour and a half wait, we listened and laughed. In fact, we were laughing so hard, we were almost crying. Our stomachs hurt, not from hunger, but from laughing. At dinner on Tues night with the whole family, we began to reminisce about when Caleb was born. We were there celebrating Calebs’ 11th birthday that night and as we began to think back about how we thought the first baby the nurse brought out was Caleb and we were all oohing and crying at how precious he was, only to find out that wasn’t Caleb at all, but someone else’s baby, we began to laugh, thinking back about that day. In fact, when the waiter came over several times, he told us, “every time I come back to your table, ya’ll are laughing hysterically” And we were. It was just one of those special times when everyone was in a joyful mood and everything seemed funny. Laughter is truly good for the soul. My last night there, I told Jodi, if laughter keeps a person from getting sick, I probably won’t be sick for the rest of my life, I had laughed so much. But this story is not complete until I tell about the river trip we made on Friday. It just was a reminder of what God wants from us….our trust.
We got home from church and since Randy is needing to work overtime on the weekend, I decided that I would bake, while he worked. When I ask him what he was in the mood for, he said anything but chocolate since sometimes eating chocolate in the evenings keeps him from sleeping well. We had talked today about him needing a phone because the hand me down he got from me last year (for me to get a new phone with more memory) is acting up, so between me looking at recipes and new phones on the internet, I also was looking at puppies, since we do want to get another doggie when we end up moving to a new place. I was on a web site that had teacup yorkies when Randy walked in to ask what I had decided to bake. Before answering him, I showed him the cutest little yorkie with a pink bow in her hair and looked at him with puppy dog eyes that immediately told him I found an adorable yorkie. He looked at it and said, “how much does that cute little thing cost?” When I responded that she cost about $3000, he looked at me and said, “$3000? I wouldn’t even pay that for you.” I think this sheltering in place is beginning to show its ugly face. And please don’t write and tell me I’m awful for spending that much money on a dog when they have so many in shelters. We would NEVER pay that much for a dog or anything close to that. I just have fun looking at pictures of cute puppies. So now back to the cake. Going to the pantry to see what I had, I discovered I had the necessary ingredients to make a coconut cake. It ended up so moist and yummy and will have it to snack on for a couple of days. I use a small bundt pan that allows me to make two so I can put one in the freezer for another time. Picture is of the two small cake pans I used
Saw this on Facebook one night and remembered that to take a picture of the recipe. Well, last night I made it. Oh my,where has this been all my life? It was simply delicious and so easy to make. Before leaving for the grocery store yesterday, I actually remembered to look at the recipe to see what i would need to buy to make it. That is unusual for me. Usually I get to the store and think, “what was I needing to get to make such and such?” Then I get home and see the recipe and then think, “ok, next time I will look at the recipe BEFORE going to the store so I won’t have to jump back in the car (well, actually it has been years since I was able to “jump” in anything) and run back to the store, or in most cases, plan on making the new recipe after the next trip to the store. And the cycle goes on and on. But this time, I did actually remember to look and see what I needed BEFORE going. I like to think it is the new Vitamins I am using called Smarty Pants. But, since I got home with the newly bought ingredients to make this simple recipe that made us feel so sophisticated knowing we were eating a French dessert, it just immediately became a favorite. Seriously, it is so good. A cross between a pudding and a cake or a thicker Dutch Baby. Don’t get me started on how much we love Dutch Babies for breakfast. After you have one in Chicago, well, let’s just say that we remember Chicago more than just it’s hot dogs now. So go to the store, buy some raspberries, blueberries or blackberries and make it this weekend. You can thank me later.
Chocolate Castles 