Celebrate the Harvest with Chile's

I mentioned in a post a while back that I love collecting recipes from people I've met and fallen in love with; I get to think about them when I cook the meal, and add fun an interesting meals to my repertoire.

As Halloween approaches, and the weather is thinking about turning blustery, here are two recipes from two fabulous women that will allow you to celebrate the changing season Southwest style! Both women are talented clinicians who provide therapy to survivors of sexual trauma at two different organizations in Tucson. I had the opportunity to work with both of them professionally and had the pleasure of getting to know them personally.

Michelle and I bonded while watching our two girls grow up with one another (2 months a part), and now will get to enjoy (from afar!) watching our sons grow up (let's say a month a part to be safe). And then there is Norma - Norma told me once to learn to be a little more "ghetto" and a little less serious at work. I love that woman!

Both ladies hail from the Southwest (New Mexico and Arizona) and make delicious food!

Here are their fabulous chile-laden recipes for you to try; and I hope that you do!

Michelle's Chile Rellenos

Heat oven to 350, spray/grease a 9x12 pan with Pam (I don't have any, so I use butter)

Needed:
26oz can whole green chiles
12oz can can milk- low fat or no fat
4 eggs
4 tablespoons flour
8 oz chedder cheese (just buy the pre-grated stuff to make your life easy)
8 oz jack cheese

What to do:
Beat eggs, milk and flour until smooth. Pour a small amount to cover the bottom of the pan. Layer cheese and chiles beginning and ending with the cheese. Pour the remaining mixture over the top. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes. Let it set for 5 minutes prior to serving.


Norma's Enchiladas

Heat oven to 350 degrees, bake for 15-20 minutes

Needed:
1 Family-size Cream of Chicken
1 small can Cream of Mushroom
Boil a small whole chicken, use as much meat in this recipe as you'd prefer. You'll dice the chicken once it's cooled a bit. Save the broth.
1 can of Green Chile Enchilada Sauce (Hatch, if they have this brand at your store)
Sour Cream, I think the more the merrier
Medium onion, chopped
8 oz mixed Mexican blend grated cheese
Corn tortillas (the small, soft shell kind) - please don't use Mission unless that's all your store carries. Try a local brand or something that isn't so chewy.
1/2 cup milk
Optional - diced green chile's (I say go for it!)

What to do:
Fry your tortillas in cooking oil, or not (This is such a Norma instruction!)

Mix in a separate bowl, cream of chicken and mushroom, diced chicken, milk and broth (start with a cup of broth until you have a consistency you like)

Layer in a baking dish the tortilla shells, onion, cheese and sour cream. Pour some of the chicken mixture above over each layer, ending with the chicken mixture.

Cook and enjoy - maybe with some Tomatillo Salsa and chips!

Cute girl with bonnet and flowers optional but highly recommended!!

Welcome to the Hood, and 2 other posts

I am way behind on posts, so will apologize now for the 3 separate posts today...just thought I'd get them in before things get a little hectic around here. So - be sure to scroll down and peruse the 2 posts prior to this one, which chronicles our adventures in the kitchen and a trip to Maymont.

Sam and I went on a walk to the local school which has a playground open to the public. It's been an incredible Fall here; warm-ish days, but a super cool and satisfying breeze. The leaves are changing colors, and that combined with super old neighborhoods make living here this time of year just perfect.

The monument above (Richmond is apparently known as the "City of Monuments") is of Abrose Powell Hill, a confederate "lieutenant general" during the Civil War and native Virginian; Sam learned that he is the only person who was actually buried under their monument in the city. A.P. Hill's remains/monument are at the center of a round-about at the major intersection in our neighborhood.

Here are a few photos I took of our neighborhood, the "Rosedale" community to and from our walk to the playground...and it wouldn't be a fitting photo collection without a picture of Ada's awesome hair taken at our destination. It's very difficult to capture the beauty of the neighborhoods here with our little camera, but that just means you have to come and take a look at them yourself! Enjoy!






Our street


Our neighbors


Our house

Our kid and her glorious hair

A new cook in the house

Caught by surprise in her snazzy apron and Quentin's hat.


Helping Dad butter our bread for dinner




Ada loves, loves, loves helping in the kitchen, which I know is good, but you have to be insane to cook with kids...and have lots of patience! :)

...it's all worth it when you get to lick the batter off of the spoon


...and show Dad what you have "tooking" in the oven.

An unplanned day

We spent an impromptu and lovely day with our good friends Mike and Sarah (Seerah...as Ada calls her) yesterday at Maymont http://www.maymont.org, minus Ada's ridiculous tantrum at the petting zoo that meant the end of our outing. Aside from that, Maymont offered us beautiful gardens, old buildings, a modest petting zoo and a still somewhat vague history. The gist I got was that the Dooley's lived in a nice, beautiful mansion and owned the grounds, then donated it to the City. Don't know much more than that, but I'm sure we'll learn. There is much more for us to explore there, so plan on a trip to Maymont if you come to visit us - it will take us a while to get to see it all.










Later "Seerah" and Mike came over and actually cooked us dinner (!!!!), and we watched our mutual Alma mater, University of Tennessee. I have no idea if they won or not, which should tell you how much I enjoy football and how little of it I was actually paying attention to. It was fun to hear a few renditions of "Rocky Top" though. Doesn't matter - I enjoyed our company and these delicious oatmeal raisin cookies that we made for dessert http://lisasnumnum.blogspot.com/2010/10/oatmeal-raisin-cookies.html.

Anyway, there it is folks - finally a picture of the big belly. Let's just say I was waiting for the right spot to take a picture of it - and Maymont seemed as good a place as any!

Dancing pants

Taking a break from tormenting the squirrels


Taking command of the neighborhood


Playing out back with Dad

Thanks Sarabeth for the snazzy Jayna hand-me-down. We love this dress!

A new phase

A new big girl bed...



New big girl sheets...

and one tired girl.

Desert Preacher

When we moved to Tucson we met transplants from other areas of the US. Many of them were converts; they used to live in green, rainy, cold climates and now were avid lovers of the Sonoran desert. One woman was so bold to say that she had become a "desert preacher", which I assume means one who earnestly advocates for the beauty and unique setting that is the desert. We never thought we would become one.

On days when we hated the desert, it was to us an ugly, hot, pile of dirt. When we loved it, we loved it. Prickly Pears. Saguaros. Baby Quails. Lizards. Blue Sky. Awesome weather. Monsoons. Mountains and beautiful, beautiful sunsets.

And then there is the food...oh, the food!! So good! Well, we'll just have to learn to make it on our own now - and I hope you can join along with me.

After I finished my MA, I took several books and traded them in for one of our now favorite cookbooks. Sam has made a few signature dishes his own from the cookbook, one in particular is a favorite of mine called "Pollo en Escabeche de Cebollas Caramelizades, Zanahorias y Jalapenos" - roughly, Chicken with onions, carrots and jalapenos with a tangy sauce.

We made this dish the other night for our dear friends Sarah and Mike, but started it out with my new favorite salsa - Roasted Tomatillo. I think you should try it - it's easy and yummy. It makes us feel like we at least learned a thing or two when living in the desert, and now can preach about it's many, many wonderful attributes like, Roasted Tomatillo Salsa.

Try it. Then you can say you know how to make green salsa.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa - Makes 1 1/2 cups

4 medium (about 8oz total) tomatillos, husked, rinsed and halved. (should be about the size of a nectarine, smaller than an apple).

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

Hot green chiles to taste (either 2 serranos or 1 jalapeno), stemmed and roughly chopped.

1/3 cup loosley packed and roughly chopped cilantro

1/2 small white onion, finely chopped

salt

You should be able to get all ingredients at the grocery store, even the tomatillos.

(WARNING - be careful when working with fresh chilis. Do not touch the inside of them you seed and slice them. Use utensils. Rookie mistake means burning fingers for at least a day and NEVER touch your eyes! Wash hands after working with them. Trust me.)

Instructions: you don't have to roast the tomatillos. You can simply husk, rinse and quarter them before throwing in your blender/food processor. I like them roasted.

Roasting: over medium high heat in a non-stick skillet, lay the garlic and tomatillos, cut side down in the pan. I recommend using a layer of aluminum foil in the pan to prevent sticking. Allow the tomatillos to brown (about 3-4 minutes) then turn them over with a spatula and brown the other side.

Preparing the Salsa: scrape the tomatillos and garlic into a blender/food processor and let cool to room temperature (about 3 minutes). Add the chilis, cilantro and 1/4 cup water. Blend to a coarse puree. Pour into a salasa dish and thin with a little water, if necessary (I skip this step). Scoop chopped onion into a strainer and rinse under cold water. Stir into the salsa. TAste and season with salt (I use about 1/2 teaspoon). Put in fridge.

Serve with your fav tortilla chip. You may want to consider making a double batch if you have more than 2 people - it goes fast.