chile verde

• • 3 lbs pork shouldershopping list
  • 28 oz can of green chili enchilada sauce
  • 7 oz can of diced green chili's
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of pepper
  • 2 chopped cloves of garlic
  • 1 medium onion
  • 8 oz chicken stock
  • 1 cup sour cream
• Chop the garlic and dice and brown the onion in a skillet with a little oil. Cut the pork into cubes. Add to skillet and cook until just brown on sides. Put into crock pot. Deglaze pan with chicken stock and pour into crock pot. Pour green enchilada sauce, green chilis, cumin, salt and pepper into crock pot. Stir, cook on low for 7 hours. Stir in sour cream just before serving. (I froze the stew at this point. To heat, defrost under running water, pour into microwave safe bowl and heat through in microwave.) Serve with rice and beans.
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White Chili with Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 cans corn

3 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed

2 4-oz cans chopped green chiles

4.5 c water

4 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon granules

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp basil

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter

juice from one lime

2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

3/4 c sour cream

Place all ingredients except lime juice, cilantro, and sour cream in a slow cooker. Cook 6-8 hours on low, shred chicken. Add lime juice and cilantro and cook one more hour. Stir in sour cream just before serving.

To heat from frozen, thaw under warm running water and heat through on the stove or microwave.

No Roll Enchiladas

For the frozen ones I gave you, spray an 8x8 baking dish and set aside. Heat oven to 350. Thaw rice mixture (maybe 1 in the microwave). Place mixture in the middle of the tortilla and add one TBSP of cheese (labeled for the inside). Fold tortilla in half and place in the baking dish, open side slanting up. Place all the filled tortillas in the dish and cover with enchilada sauce. Cover dish tightly with tin foil and cook 30-35 minutes (until sauce is just a little bubbly). Pull off tin foil cover in other package of cheese and bake 5 more minutes (until cheese is melted).

In case you like these enough to make them on your own, here is the recipe (it makes 10 enchiladas) :

Ingredients

1 box (6.4 oz) rice and vermicelli mix with Spanish seasonings
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 1/4 cups water
1 can (19 oz) Old El Paso® mild enchilada sauce
1 can (16 oz) pinto beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (11 oz) Green Giant® Southwestern style corn, drained
1 package (8.2 oz) Old El Paso® flour tortillas for soft tacos & fajitas (ten 6-inch tortillas)
2 cups finely shredded Mexican cheese blend (8 oz)

1. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook rice and vermicelli with butter over medium heat until rice mixture is golden brown, stirring frequently. Stir in water and seasoning mix from rice box. Heat to boiling. Cover; reduce heat to low. Cook 15 to 20 minutes or until rice mixture is tender. Stir in 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce, the pinto beans and corn.

2.Heat oven to 350°F. Place about 1/2 cup rice mixture on center of each tortilla; top rice mixture in each tortilla with about 1 tablespoon of the cheese. Fold each in half. Arrange tortillas in 2 rows of 5 in baking dish, placing tortillas open end up, slanting and overlapping. Pour remaining enchilada sauce evenly over enchiladas. Cover tightly with foil.

3.Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and sauce begins to bubble. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered about 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Sweet Salsa Chicken & Lime Cilantro Rice

I got these recipes from my sister-in-law Katie and they have become a favorite for both sides of our family.  It's dee-lish. The black type is the original recipe, the blue is my little tips.  Enjoy!

Sweet Salsa Chicken:
1 package Taco Seasoning
4 chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. oil
1 cup salsa (I use the Mango Salsa from Costco!)
1/4 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 (15 oz.) can Black beans, drained and rinsed

Cut chicken breasts into bite size pieces. In large skillet, heat oil; add chicken and taco seasoning. Cook until juices run clear. Add salsa, apricot jam, water, cilantro and lime juice. Bring to boil. Stir in beans, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

*I always cook it in the crockpot. I throw everything in but the black beans. Cook on HIGH until chicken is cooked through. Shred the chicken and add the black beans. Turn it to LO and cook another 30 minutes.

For our group I doubled the recipe for the chicken, but not the rice.

Lime Cilantro Rice:
2-4 Tbsp butter
2 green onions peeled and minced
2 cups jasmine rice or long grain rice
grated zest of 2 limes
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro washed
4 cups hot chicken stock/broth
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Saute green onion in butter then add to all the other things in a 9x13 pan. Cover with foil. Cook at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until all liquid is gone and rice is soft.

*I've just used lime juice, dried cilantro and no onions and it's still yummy. I also don't take the time to saute the onions, I just add them and the butter to the pan.

Sour Cream Salsa:  (This is the sauce to serve over the chicken and rice)
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp lime zest
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1/3 cup Cilantro, chopped
4 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 tsp salt
Mix all ingredients together and serve over chicken and rice

*I just supplied the sour cream to make this, but it is SUPER yummy for anyone that wants to try it.

Freezing Tips: I used Marci's idea to freeze it in portion sizes using muffin tins. I experimented with a few portion sizes, but figured out to do 1/4 cup rice and 1/4 cup chicken.  Freeze and bag. 

Cooking: Microwave individual portion sizes in bowl until thawed and heated to desired temp (about 2-2.5 minutes). Serve in fresh cooked tortilla with sour cream.

Barbacoa Pork Burritos

Okay, here are my recipes. I got the recipes here, but I didn't exactly follow them as written. The following are a few things I learned along the way:

1- Many different cuts of pork work well with this, just make sure it's a pretty fatty cut with lots of connective tissue (ie, boston butt or roast for pulled pork). Definitely trim the biggest chunks of fat first, unless you want a greasy sauce.
2- You do not need as much liquid as the rice recipe calls for. It was pretty sticky. A general ratio of liquid to rice is 2 to 1, and the ratio in the recipe is nearly 3 to 1.
3- You really do not need as much tomato juice as the black bean recipe calls for.
4- This is not an easy meal to prepare for a crowd. I spent a lot of time shredding meat, so I don't recommend preparing this for more than 4-6 people.
5- I froze my fillings in muffin tins for individual servings. I molded rice into the bottom of a greased muffin cup, then a scoop of beans, topped by a scoop of pork. It took about 90 minutes for the pork "muffins" to freeze solid enough to remove from the tin.
6- To heat, microwave a single serving in a bowl on 40% power for about 3-4 minutes. If you're going to microwave the tortillas, be sure to cover them with a wet paper towel so they don't dry out.

Sweet Barbacoa Pork

2 lbs. boneless pork ribs
1 12 oz.. can Coke (not diet – can use caffeine free)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic powder
1/4 c. water
Put the pork, Coke, water, garlic powder, and brown sugar in a Ziploc bag to marinate. Marinate for a few hours or overnight.
Pour meat and marinade into crock pot. Cook for 4 hours on high or 8 on low. Keep lid on to retain liquid. Drain liquid.
Shred meat with 2 forks when done.

Put shredded pork and Barbacoa Enchilada Sauce (recipe follows) in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours.

Barbacoa Enchilada Sauce

1 cup Coke
1 can diced green chilies
1 cup red enchilada sauce
1/2 c. brown sugar

In a food processor or blender, blend Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and brown sugar.

Cilantro Lime Rice
Favorite Family Recipes

1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

Black Beans
Favorite Family Recipes

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c. tomato juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.
(Next time I make the beans I’ll use less tomato juice.)