Pork Chile Verde

• The original recipe can be found here. This was originally posted as a "to-try" recipe, but I've since tried it and tweaked a few ingredients.
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• 1 1/2 cups (or more) chicken broth, divided
• 1/2 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed, cut into 1/2-inch wedges, divided
• 1/2 bunch green onions, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cups (packed) fresh cilantro with tender stems (I'm not a big fan of cilantro, so this was a little too much for me. However, the longer this cooked, the less I could smell the intense cilantro)
• 3 garlic cloves (I used the jarred stuff)
• Olive oil
• 2 pounds pork shoulder cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup diced roasted peeled seeded mild green chiles (such as Hatch or Anaheim) (I didn't have this, so I used one small can of diced green chiles. It worked.)
• 1 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
• 1/2 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• Chopped fresh cilantro
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• *Ingredient info:

  Tomatillos are green, tomato-like fruits with papery husks. I found mine at Wal-Mart.

• Puree 1 cups chicken broth, 1/4 of tomatillos, green onions, cilantro with stems, and garlic in blender. Set salsa verde aside.
  
  
• Brush heavy large pot with oil; heat over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add pork to pot; cook until browned, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes per batch. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to bowl. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot (add oil if needed). Add onion to pot; sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle cumin seeds over; cook until onion is golden and cumin is toasted, about 2 minutes. Add remaining tomatillos; cook until tender and browned in spots, stirring occasionally and reducing heat to medium if browning too quickly, about 8 minutes. Return pork and any juices to pot. Add 2 cups reserved salsa verde, 1 cup broth, chiles, and oregano. Cover; simmer over medium-low heat until pork is tender, about 2 hours. 
• Add potatoes to pork. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in remaining salsa verde; bring to simmer. Thin with additional broth, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.
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  We ate this on warm flour tortillas with sour cream. It was really yummy, and the potatoes were a fun change of texture. I didn't take any pictures, but here's one from the website (mine looked pretty similar, but without the red chile salsa on top). Overall this was a good dish, but when it comes to "taco-style" night, it is not the quick, easy answer, so I'm not sure how often I will make this, but I was glad for the change.
  
  
  

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  *Recipe and photo from Bon Appetit magazine
  
  

Mexican rice

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/4 of a medium onion*
• 1 1/2 cups rice
• 3 cloves finely chopped garlic *
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup plain tomato sauce*
• 4 heaping tablespoons of finely chopped parsley (optional)

In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add in the fresh onion. Saute for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add dry rice and cook with the onions for about 5 minutes or until rice becomes a golden brown color. Add in the garlic to the rice and saute for one more minute.

Add in broth and tomato sauce (add slowly into the rice, not directly onto hot pan!) And then add in the parsley if you're using it. Stir it up and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for 20 minutes and fluff with a fork.

*Recipe from here. We love this as a side dish to all our Mexican recipes!

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

I make these quite frequently because they are so fast and we like to pretend we're Mexican. But mostly this meal is just about as Mexican as Taco Bell, but still delicious.

Ingredients:

1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom

1 small can diced green chiles
1 can black beans
1/2 - 1 can corn (optional)
1/2 cup mexican-blend cheese
1 can enchilada sauce (I have made this homemade before, but that'll have to be a different post...)


Mix the above ingredients everything together, leaving half the can of enchilada sauce to go on the top at the end.

2 Chicken breasts, thawed
1 tbsp oil (olive or vegetable)

1 tsp garlic from garlic jar
1/4 onion, diced small


Cut the chicken breasts into small, bite size pieces.  Throw the chicken, garlic, and onion together to cook in the oil. Add:

1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp chili powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
Garlic Salt/ Seasoning salt (to taste)
Pepper

Cook until white, and inside is still running with clear juices. You can either shred the chicken or keep it chunky. Add chicken to the bowl of creamy enchilada goodness.

Warm up 6-10 corn tortillas either in a pan with oil or butter, or just throw them in the micro for 30 seconds with a damp paper towel on top.
Place a heaping spoonful of the mixture in a tortilla, wrap it once, placing the tortilla seam-side down into an oiled baking pan. Continue with rest of the enchilada mix, smashing the tortillas in nice and tight. Cover the entire pan of tortillas with the remaining enchilada sauce, making sure to leave no pieces dry (or else they will get crunchy in the oven). Then top with lots of cheese!

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.
Serve topped with lettuce, tomato, salsa, and sour cream. A great meal for lots of people!





As always, I suck at taking pictures...