Chile Verde

     Mmmmm, there's something so wonderful about sitting down at the end of the day, and diving into a meal that's been cooking all day long; very satisfying. The whole house smells like the delicious aroma of what's been simmering on the stove for hours, and it's intoxicating! The only thing is... you really have to plan out your day around the meal, b/c you have to make sure that you have enough time to do all the steps... especially when you have a little baby that is so demanding! geesh! :)

     Thankfully, said baby was extra wonderful on Saturday when I started this project. When she was down for her morning nap, around 9am, I thought I'd get started, and boy am I glad I did! While this Chile Verde is by no means hard at all, it can be considered a bit time consuming. Now, there are ways to get around this by buying canned tomatillos, jalapenos, garlic, chiles, etc. But, when you want the satisfaction of making things from scratch... you buy the ingredients and do the roasting yourself. Also, another way to cut time... a lot of time, is by buying your meat cut into chunks already... or at least asking your butcher to cut the meat up for you once you pick our your slab. I, however, did not do that... and cutting up the meat took the LONGEST time. I won't be doing that again, I don't care if the meat quality is slightly less. It got old after a half an hour of trying to cut chunks off a bone-y slab o' meat. Never again!

     This was pretty good! The husband liked it, and the guests enjoyed it as well. This is one of those meals that is a special occasion kinda meal. Enjoy!


Ingredients;
1 1/2 lb tomatillos
8 garlic cloves (3 finely chopped, 5 unpeeled for roasting)
2 jalapenos, chopped (I kept in the seeds and membranes, and it had a bit of a kick, but not too much)
2 Anaheim or Pablano chiles
1 bunch cilantro leaves, cleaned

3 1/2 - 4 lbs pork sholder (pork butt), trimmed of fat and cut into 1-2 in chunks
Flour
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp cumin
2 1/2 C chicken stock

Directions:


Here are your greens for the sauce:

onions, jalapenos, anaheim chiles, garlic, cilantro, and tomatillos

Get your broiler started, and place your 2 Anaheim chiles under the broiler and continue watching them closely, b/c you will need to turn them every so often to make sure they blacken on all sides. This took approximately 10 minutes; but SO much easier than putting them over an open flame on the stove and waiting as it blackens at a snails pace. 

Once the peppers are done, and completely black, place in a container and cover with plastic wrap to allow the skin to steam and come off easily. Let those chill and steam while you work on the tomatillos.

Take the husks off the tomatillos, and rinse. Be careful because they are quite sticky once you take the papery husks off. Slice the tomatillos in half and place on a foil-lined baking sheet, face down. Take your 3 unpeeled garlic and place on the pan with your tomatillos.

Here's the part where you can do one of two things, either broil or bake. I prefer broil b/c it takes a LOT less time. The only problem is... my broiler is under the oven, so I had to keep an eye out and continue bending over to check the tomatillos, which was a little irritating, but I prefer it to waiting for an hour or more for the tomatillos to roast in the oven. So go with your fancy. (If you roast in the oven, roast at about 350-400 for an hour or so). Otherwise... broil for 7-10 minutes. (B/c my broiler was under the stove, a pan wouldn't fit, so I had to place them on the broiler sheet individually with tongs, which was fine, just make sure those legs are bendy!)

Chop your jalapenos, and place in a blender, along with the tomatillos, cilantro leaves, the roasted garlic that you have now peeled, and the Anaheim chiles. (Once the tomatillos are done roasting, take your chiles out of the container and gently peal off the skin and chop. I kept the seeds) Pulse ingredients until smooth and all mixed together. It will smell wonderful!

The next step is a bit frustrating... only because the pork butt can be a little hard to cut if you get a whole chunk of it. Next time, I will definitely get the meat pre-cut, this step took up way too much time! While everything is roasting, begin cutting the meat into chunks. Pour a tbsp of oil into a hot skillet. Place some flour in a bowl, and put a few chunks into the bowl and roll 'em around to coat. Working in batches, so that the meat will brown evenly and get a nice crispy coating to it, put some of the meat into the skillet and cook for a minute on each side. Transfer the meat to a bowl and set aside.

You can do this next step at the same time as the meat, or wait until you are finished with the meat (I tried to save time so I did this step while the meat was cooking and then just transferred the meat right into the pot). In a large pot, add the chopped onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add the meat, oregano, and cumin. Let the seasonings cook into the meat for a minute before adding the tomatillo mixture. Then add the chicken stock and season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let cook for 2-3 hours.

Serve with white rice and tortillas. Mmmm starch and more starch!
And, those I served this dish to liked the addition of some sour cream.

Recipe Courtesy of: Simply Recipes

Rigatoni with Asparagus and Bacon

     Who doesn't love bacon? Right?! Everyone!

     I came across this recipe a few days ago and knew I had to try it! The husband doesn't care for asparagus much, but, with a little bacon mixed in, and cheese... I thought he'd forgive me.... and I think he did! He said he enjoyed this dish. We had the leftovers for lunch today, and we were not disappointed! This dish could not be easier and tastier! You won't be upset you tried it! Of course... I'd add more bacon... cause, more bacon never hurt anyone!

Ingredients:
1 box Rigatoni
1 lb asparagus, cut into roughly the same size as the rigatoni
8 Bacon strips... next time, I'll probably use the whole pkg. (I used thick cut bacon... so good!)
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2/3 C half and half
1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 C fresh parsley

Directions:
Bring water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook to al dente, 12 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, begin to cook the bacon (remember, low and slow!);
Remove and drain on paper towel.

Bring water to a boil in the same pot and add the chopped asparagus and boil for 3 minutes.
Drain and add to ice cold water.

In a large skillet, add the garlic, butter and oil (mmmmm, such a great combination!).
Add the half and half and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for another few minutes.

While the sauce is thickening, chop your bacon into pieces.

Here comes the good part: Stir the shredded mozzarella cheese into the sauce and stir until melted.
The sauce will become this at this point.

Add the rigatoni, salt, asparagus and bacon. Stir to combine all those yummy ingredients!

Grate the Parmesan cheese right onto each dish, and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
Enjoy this delicious concoction that I will be adding to my list of recipes now!
Tasty!

     And because I can't leave well enough alone, I added some sausage... also because I'm sure that no matter how tasty my husband thought this dish was, he would have been wondering where the meat was.

Recipe Courtesy of: The Daily Dish

Debbie's Chili Verde

     Chili Verde can be such an intense project! I remember when I made it a few years ago, and I went ALL OUT, I tried to find the most authentic recipe I could! I bought the tomatillos and roasted, peeled, and sliced every single one of those sticky monsters. I dredged the meat, seared it, and cooked it all good! It took forever to do, which normally I don't really care about, except for the fact that for some reason I decided to it would be no problem at all to start this great endeavor late at night. I don't know what I was thinking... clearly, it was a sign that I was still in college, cause it's only been a few years, and I already have a hard time staying up past 10pm.

     Now, I have some good friends that make some great Chili Verde, course they always used to prepare it at home and then bring it over, so I never actually got to see them prepare it. It took a LOT of begging and pleading to get the list of spices that they use in their Chili Verde in order to make mine... but finally Mike caved!

     Well, now I have the pleasure of enjoying lunch with my boss some days, and that sometimes includes eating the scrumptious food his wife makes. A few weeks ago, Grant had an appointment Thursday night, and I had a lot of work to get done, so I decided to stay at work late. At 7 my boss and his wife were ready to eat and forced to me eat with them... which wasn't really that hard to do, anyone who offers me food is not going to be denied! And what a feast she made, salad, chicken fajitas with all the toppings, AND chili verde! It was all so good, I asked for the recipe, and I could NOT believe my ears as I heard that this chili verde only had 4 ingredients! I made it last weekend to see if I could achieve the tastiness she had. Of course I spruced things up a bit by adding some extra ingredients, but with only 4 ingredients, it was still outstanding for an easy chili verde! So, without further ado, I will share this recipe with you!

Ingredients
-4 thick lean Pork Tenderloins (the ones I used were very thin, and didn't make enough)
-1 28oz can Las Palmas Green Chile Enchilada Sauce (the yellow can)
-1 tbsp crushed Garlic
-1 tsp Cumin

*1/2 c. Chicken Broth (optional, I was afraid I wouldn't have enough sauce, but I had A LOT, so this step is unnecessary)
*1 tsp powdered Coriander (which is Chinese parsley, or Cilantro, it has a different taste from the seed, with a citrus note. This is currently my favorite seasoning to use!)
*Salt and pepper (Alert: do NOT make the mistake I did by adding salt. While I only added 1 tsp, it was WAY too much. Pork is already salty, I don't know what I was thinking)
*Dash of Paprika and Cayenne

While Debbie used tortillas, I prefer my Chili Verde with white rice. I made extra when I made the Island Teriyaki Chicken Stir-fry, so I just heated that up.

The best part about this recipe: Crock Pot!

My Crock Pot is a scorcher... even on low. So while Debbie had her pork tenderloin cooking all day on low, I cooked mine for 4 hours on low instead.

Directions
     Pour the enchilada sauce, garlic, and desired seasonings in the Crock Pot. I probably wouldn't use the Chicken Broth again, simply b/c I had enough sauce and didn't to add extra liquid, but if you want. Mix the sauce together and add the tenderloins. Set your Crock for low for 8 hours, depending upon the heat of your pot.
     The pork was very tender, so use a large serving spoon to transfer the chops  from the Crock to a large bowl and shred the pork. (I retardedly used tongs and just smooshed the pork up before I could get it to the bowl). I used a serving fork to just smoosh the pork and it shredded perfectly. Add the desired amount of sauce to the bowl and mix together. Pour over rice, done!

So easy! So good! And for a dish with barely any ingredients and barely any time invested, it still manages to taste like Chili Verde.



Verdict: 4/5

Grant said it was too salty... which I agree. Do NOT add salt to this dish. I barely added any, and it was too late. Let people add salt on their own. Grant and I both like salt a lot, and it was overwhelming. The vegetables I cooked with this dish were super good. I forgot to start them when I was ready to serve the dish, so I quickly sliced the zucchini very thinly, and added them to a hot skillet with a tbsp of olive oil. I added an 8oz container of sliced mushrooms. I added a dash of Lemon Pepper, Garlic Powder, and salt and put the lid on to help them cook fast. I don't like my veggies to be mushy, so they were done cooking in about 10 minutes and dinner was served!