Spicy Chicken Fajitas

I adapted this recipe from Jaime's Food Revolution cookbook. Naturally, being from NM I like a little more spice than recipe calls for, so adjust the seasonings to your liking. 

                                                                     Chicken Fajitas
                                                                        (serves 3-4)
Ingredients:
1 red or orange bell pepper
1 yellow onion
1 portobello mushroom
2 small zucchini/ summer squash
2 skinless, boneless chicken bread fillets (preferably organic or free-range)
1 tsp smoked paprika
generous pinch of ground cumin

2 tsp red chile powder
2 limes
olive oil
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
corn tortillas
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 avocado
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

fresh salsa (homemade or store-bought)
fresh cilantro (optional)

Use a grill pan or large skillet on medium-high heat. Halve and seed your bell pepper and cut it into thin strips. Slice mushroom and squash into thin strips. Peel, halve, and finely slice your onion. Slice your chicken lengthways into long strips roughly the same size as your bell pepper strips.

Put the bell peppers, onion, mushrooms, squash and chicken into a bowl with the paprika, chile powder and cumin. Squeeze over the juice of half a lime, drizzle over a lug of olive oil, season with the salt and pepper and mix well. Set aside to marinate for 5-10 minutes.

Use a pair of tongs to put all the pieces of bell pepper, onion, and chicken into your preheated pan to cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the chicken is golden and cooked through. As the pan will be really hot, keep turning the pieces of chicken and vegetables over so they don’t burn – you just want them to lightly chargrill to give you a lovely flavor.

Halve the avocado, scoop out the flesh from both sides and slice. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime over the avocado slices.

Warm your tortillas up in a microwave or on a warm dry frying pan. Divide your warmed tortillas between your serving plates. At the table, carefully help yourselves to the chicken and vegetables straight from the hot grill pan.

Halve your remaining lime and squeeze the juices over the sizzling pan. Serve fajitas with bowls of plain yogurt/sour cream, avocado alongside your shredded cheddar and your fresh salsa. Garnish with cilantro. 

                                                                        Fajita Feast! 

Green Chile, Egg and Ham Crustless Quiche

This is definitely comfort food. Something to make with leftover ham, or a good dish for Sunday brunch. Make it healthier by serving some fresh fruit or fresh veggies on the side. 

 

Ingredients

1 sm yellow onion, diced

1 tbs olive oil

8 eggs

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup low-fat cottage cheese

1 cup chopped ham (use cooked ham or substitute with bacon)

1 cup chopped green chile (roasted and peeled)

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° F. Heat oil in small skillet and saute onion until softened. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. 

In a large bowl, whisk eggs together. Next add shredded cheese, cottage cheese, ham, green chile, pepper and sauteed onion to eggs. Mix well. 

Lightly oil a 8 or 9 inch baking dish and pour egg mixture into baking dish. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until eggs are set and the top is starting to brown. 

Serve with cherry tomatoes and avocado slices. Enjoy! 

a bowl full of ingredients  

ready to bake...

and the finished product! 

Posole Stew with Chicken

If you haven't noticed, I really miss New Mexican cuisine. There is nothing like it and unfortunately in many restaurants wheat flour is a very common hidden ingredient used to make red chile and green chile sauce. Fortunately, I grew up in a household where I watched enchiladas, tacos, tortillas, posole, and green chile stew being made on a regular basis. It's been very easy for me to adapt my favorite recipes because some of them are naturally gluten free (especially when made at home) and others only need slight tweaking.

Ingredients

12 oz dried white corn posole (click here  or here to buy)

6 red chile pods

1 lb skinless chicken breast, cut up in 1"pieces

3 cloves garlic

1 small onion, diced

1/2 tsp Mexican oregano

1 tsp salt

Garnish:

Red Chile Sauce, recipe here

fresh cilantro

lime wedges

avocado slices

Directions:

Put posole in glass bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight. 

In a large pot, boil posole in salted water for about 2 hours over medium heat. After about 2 hours, add chicken, chile pods, oregano, garlic and onion. Cover and simmer for about 1 more hour until posole is tender. Stir occasionally and add more water if needed. Season with salt. Spoon into bowls and garnish with cilantro,  avocado, lime, and extra red chile. 

This recipe can also be made in a slow-cooker, set on low for 6-7 hours.

New Mexico Green Chile Sauce

Red or Green? That is the token question at almost every restaurant in Santa Fe. Personally, I like "christmas". I like to have my food drenched in red and green chile. This green chile recipe is a smothering sauce. Smother your eggs, smother your burrito, smother your potatoes,  smother your enchiladas. You get the point.

                                                       New Mexico Green Chile Sauce
Ingredients
2 tbs oil (olive or grapeseed oil)
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup cold water
2 tbs cornstarch
1.5 to 2 cups chicken broth
~16oz chopped green chile (roasted)

Directions
Dissolve cornstarch in cold water, and set aside. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft, over medium heat. About 8 minutes.
Whisk cornstarch mixture into onions, immediately add 1 cup chicken broth. Sauce should be thickening slightly. Stir and then add remaining chicken broth. Next add the green chile and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

                                                 Tacos topped with NM Green Chile Sauce

**Why do New Mexican's spell chile with an "e" and not and "i"? Read this article from the New York Times

New Mexico Red Chile Sauce

I've been experimenting with red chile recipes for the last couple months and nothing seemed to satisfy my tastes or cravings for spicy, traditional red chile sauce. On Christmas Eve, I went to my uncles house for a holiday party. I was prepared to have to eat my own food, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that the red chile, posole soup and tortilla soup dinner were all gluten-free! I have finally found the perfect red chile sauce. After eating this red chile, it boggles my mind that anyone would continue to make red chile with wheat flour or cornstarch. My experimentation has happily ended thanks to my Uncle Wally!

                                                          New Mexico Red Chile Sauce
                                                                    (Chile Caribe)
Ingredients:
20 dried red chile pods (mild, medium or hot)
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of salt
pinch of mexican oregano
chicken broth (roughly 3/4 of a quart depending on the consistency of the sauce)

Directions:
Rinse chile pods, remove stems, clean out seeds and put in a blender. Add minced garlic, oregano and salt. Set aside. Warm chicken broth in microwave or on stove top until just boiling. In 1/2 cup increments add broth to blender. Puree until smooth. Continue adding broth until consistency is similar to that of tomato sauce. When finished, pour through a strainer to remove any large pieces that were not blended well. Pour into sauce pan on stove and simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste for salt.
Enjoy with all your favorite foods from scrambled eggs to tortilla soup. This is the good stuff. It's everything I've been looking for.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I've been in the soup mood lately. Although it has been a really mild winter in Colorado, soup always reminds me of cold winter days.  This tortilla soup is the perfect soup for a crowd because it's full of flavor, very pleasing to the eye and easy to make! It would be great for a Christmas Eve supper.

                                                                         Serves 6
Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast
1.5 cups cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 quart chicken broth
3 cups water
1 tbs canola oil
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp sea salt
1 large onion
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 cup corn
2 cups pinto beans, cooked if using fresh, or if using canned, rinsed well.
4 or 5 corn tortillas, sprinkled with a little olive oil and cut into 1/2 in strips
1 avocado, sliced
1 lime, sliced
3 -4 scallions, chopped, green parts only
6 tsp sour cream

Directions
Heat 1 tbs oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Add tomatoes, onions, garlic and jalapeno. Sautee vegetables for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a soup pot, add broth, water, sea salt, cilantro, corn and chicken, bring to a boil. Turn down heat, add in tomato-onion mixture and pinto beans. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile,  preheat oven to 375° F. Place tortilla strips on a baking sheet and sprinkle with a little salt. Bake until lightly golden and crisp, turning every few minutes. (baking time ~10-12 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool.

Ladle soup in to bowls, garnish with avocado, scallions, sour cream, a squeeze of lime, cilantro and crispy tortilla strips. Enjoy!

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Tortilla Soup

Butternut Squash Soup with Tart Apples

It’s definitely squash season. The varieties are abundant at most farmers markets and grocery stores. My favorites these days are butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash, but all are delicious and pretty simple to prepare. This recipe was inspired by Dr. Weil’s squash soup recipe featured on the NY Times. 

1 butternut squash, peeled, cut in half, seeded and chopped into about 2” pieces

2 tart apples, peeled, cored and cut into about 2” pieces

2 Tbs good olive oil

2 sweet yellow onions, peeled and chopped into large pieces

1/2 to 1 tsp sea salt

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 tsp red chile powder

4 cups GF vegetable or chicken broth

Pesto for serving (you can make your own or use a store-bought version. I used Trader Joe’s jarred Basil Pesto)

Preheat oven to 400°F. 

In a large roasting pan, add squash, garlic, apples, and onion together. Drizzle with olive oil and mix well to coat. Sprinkle with salt and red chile powder and stir again. Bake for 40 minutes, tossing the mixture about every 10 minutes to ensure even roasting. 

Working in batches, add roasted veggies and 1 cup of broth at a time to blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and add to a large pot. Continue until all veggies and broth have been blended together. Simmer the soup on low heat for about 20 minutes to warm through. Serve with a dollop of pesto in each serving bowl. 

Spicy Turkey & Bean Chili

In 20 minutes, I made this delicious stew. It is very simple and perfect for a cool, fall day using many ingredients already on hand in the pantry. If you have extra time, homemade corn muffins would be a great accompaniment to the spiciness of the dish.

Ingredients
1-2 Tbs olive oil
1 med red onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped, seeded
3 garlic cloves, minced
1lb ground turkey or ground chicken breast
1 Tbs red chile powder
2 Tbs tomato paste
2 tsp dried oregano 
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
Garnish-fresh cilantro and lime wedges

Directions
Heat olive oil in dutch oven and add onion, poblano, garlic and turkey. Saute for about 6-8 minutes or until turkey is cooked through, stirring frequently in order to crumble the meat. 
Add tomato paste, the remaining seasonings, beans, diced tomatoes, and broth. Bring to boil. 
Reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Ladle stew into bowls and serve with lime and fresh cilantro.  

Red Chile Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

As the children (and adults) in the neighborhood dress up in frightful costumes and head outside into the cold, I tend to retreat into the kitchen where it is warm. Carving a pumpkin can be fun, however what's inside the pumpkin can be just as exciting. Homemade pumpkin seeds far out way the store bought kind, especially when spiced with your favorite flavors. I used two of my favorite seasonings to pack a bold kick. One cannot go wrong with red chile and sea salt toasted pumpkin seeds. 

Directions:

Rinse pumpkin seeds under cold water and pick out the pulp and strings. This is easiest after you've removed the seeds from the pumpkin and before the pulp has dried.

Place the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet, stirring to coat. Season with your preferred spices/seasonings. I used roughly 1/4 tsp of red chile powder and 1/2 tsp sea salt for 1 cup seeds. 

Bake at 350 degrees F until toasted, about 15 to 20 minutes, checking and stirring after 10 minutes. 

Happy Halloween!

Roasted Green Chile Stew

With the changing of the leaves and the crisp air what better way to spend an afternoon cooking than making an autumn soup?! I have always loved the beauty and bounty of autumn, but there is a sadness about it too. It means winter is fast-approaching and the farmers markets will be closing down and nightfall will come early. Soup is a warm, comforting food and roasted green chile reminds me of Santa Fe, both of which make me smile!  

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin cut into 1-inch cubes

1 1/2 cups diced onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon red chile powder

1 cup corn (fresh, or if frozen thawed)

6 cups chicken broth

1 pound red or white potatoes, cut in 1/2 cubes

2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

2 cups roasted, peeled, chopped green chile or to taste

3 tablespoons diced red bell pepper

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, to taste

Shredded cheddar cheese to garnish

Directions 
Heat the oil in a 6-quart pot over high heat and brown the meat in
batches. Set aside. In the same oil, saute the onions until golden.

Add the garlic and saute 1 minute. Return the meat to the pan along with any juices that may have accumulated. Add the broth, potatoes, salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for one hour, until the potatoes are tender. 

While the potatoes are boiling, add the green chile, red bell-pepper, and corn to a lightly oiled skillet and saute for 2-3 min. Sprinkle in red chile powder and stir. Add the green chile mixture to the potatoes and cook about 15 minutes more. Top with cilantro and shredded cheese to serve.