Older Bolder Life

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green chiles

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast 14 August: Green Chile Huevos Rancheros

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After making the astoundingly tasty and stupid-easy New Mexico Inspired Roasted Green Chile Sauce I posted last week, my lovely wife and I did a bit of experimenting in the kitchen to see how we could incorporate the sauce into our summer rotation.

I have to admit, one of our favorite preps has ended up being these Green Chile Huevos Rancheros, which we’ve now had for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner at various times during the past three weeks.

Like many of you, we’re big fans of a good huevos rancheros prep around our camp, and like many of you, we’ve eaten them in all sorts of configurations and with all sorts of ingredients thrown into the mix, and both “green” and “red” (with what some would argue is the more traditional red chile and tomato-based sauces).

And like many of you, we’ve learned to reach for some of the much better than just passable gluten-free tortilla subs available now; we’ve tried most of them and still find the Siete brand our favorite for taste and texture, even if they are a bit pricy. Hells bells, we’ll still make up a batch of these using a high quality, organic if possible, corn tortilla occasionally as well.

[An aside related to the comment above – training again at 61 for competitive track and field, also referred to by some as the geezer olympics, I find myself able to manage more carbs on the heaviest workout days than I’ve been able to tolerate over the past several years. This dish is a great “carb refeed day” treat when you need to refill glycogen stores or are just needing a bit more to make your day work…]

One of the great things about making huevos your way in your home kitchen is that you can build your huevos any way you want. These are so easy, and so intuitive to put together, what follows is really not even a formal recipe.

Most of the time, we’ll soften our Siete tortillas (or well-sourced corn tortillas) in a hot skillet with a splash of avocado oil or butter, then top with drained and spiced (typically heated with a bit of jalapeño or serrano pepper, minced garlic, cumin, and salt) organic black beans, soft-yolked fried eggs, and whatever sauce we’re using. My wife probably won’t be happy unless there’s some grated Monterrey Jack or cotija cheese on top, along with some fresh cilantro.

Don’t want to use a tortilla of any kind? Don’t, and just float the eggs in a puddle (or a bowl) of sauce. Think poached eggs are better? Go for it. This is a recipe that will let your creativity shine, and your allegiance to whatever huevos rancheros tradition you’ve built over the years to come through loud and proud.

Our catering guru buddy in Austin, Chef Libby, often adds a layer of crispy sweet potato chunks to hers, along with sautéed poblanos or Hatch chiles if she has fresh ones on hand (they’re in season now by the way). She also shared that when she occasionally makes these for a family meal for her catering team, she’ll thrown in some roasted or grilled chicken too…

The take home is that the sky is the limit in terms of ingredients, with the real flavor anchor being the sauce your using to tie everything together.

We’ll post a traditional red rancheros sauce at some point, but if you’ve not made a batch yet, you have to cook up a meal of these with the New Mexico Inspired Roasted Green Chile Sauce from last week, and dig around for fresh Hatch green chiles, they’re all over the DFW metro now, or order some right out of New Mexico here.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Bake for a Crowd

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Several weeks a good friend called asking for help with an event he was planning; turns out the matriarch of his clan (Estelle) was celebrating her 94th birthday on the 4th of July.

From the sounds of things, Estelle is fit as a fiddle and sharp as can be, walking 30 minutes or more every morning, and still living at home with minimal family assistance for household chores. Estelle also happens to be a long-time fan of the flavors of Santa Fe and the American Southwest, asking for chile ribs and Santa Fe style flat green enchiladas (that’s my kind of woman!) for her birthday event this year.

My buddy was in charge of the event cooking, and wanted some input on the best way to serve Estelle the great food she’d asked for, in a prep that he could parcel out over several hours as they worked to manage the relatively large family crowd anticipated, safely spaced out throughout the afternoon to pay honor to Estelle.

We just happened to have been putting the finishing touches on this Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Bake for a Crowd, adjusting a master recipe we’d pilfered from our catering genius friend Chef Libby in Austin, and spicing things up a bit to suit our own family palate. As an added bonus, it feature the stunningly good Roasted Green Chile Sauce we posted last week.

Recipes like this one have an established place in history; in the South this recipe would fall under the broad umbrella of a “covered dish”, and taken to church socials, block parties, socials, wakes, special events, and homes of friends and family under the weather.

Both my wife and I grew up in Texas, and even back then when the earth’s crust was still cooling it seems that every family had a recipe for a chicken tortilla enchilada casserole; it was often called King Ranch chicken where we grew up in Texas, and invariably included one or more flavors of Campbell’s soup (here’s one version of that very recipe we posted on a fly fishing blog years ago).

As my buddy has several in his clan who’re gluten free, I suggested he use one of the Siete tortillas available now (for some reason that isn’t entirely clear to me we like their cassava flour version better), though if you have room in your carb budget, an artisanal / organic corn tortilla works well here too.

This holds well once baked, and can be chilled down and reheated in the oven with ease.

1 medium-large sweet onion, medium dice
1 poblano pepper, stemmed, seeded, medium dice
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, medium dice
1-2 serrano or jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded, small dice/minced
1 generous tbsp olive or avocado oil
3-4 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
3 cups of this amazing Roasted Green Chile Sauce (or salsa verde)
12 grain free (ie Siete) or organic corn tortillas, cut in half
3 cups grated/shredded Monterrey Jack or Colby Jack cheese
1 to 1 and 1/2 cups grated/shredded Cotija cheese
Kosher salt

Optional
Jarred pimento peppers, drained
2 big handfuls of organic baby spinach
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
Other veg, you make the call

Toppings for service
Sliced or diced avocado
Fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems, chopped
Diced fresh or pickled red onion
Sliced fresh or pickled jalapeños
Sliced radishes
Green onion, thinly sliced

Preheat your trusty oven to 375 and lightly butter or oil a 9×13-inch baking dish, set aside.

Heat the tablespoon of oil in large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the onion, poblano, and bell peppers along with a pinch of good salt, sauté until they begin to soften, then add the serrano or jalapeños and cook for another couple of minutes.

Now add the prepped and cooked chicken and any of the other optional ingredients (we’d always use pimento peppers and black beans at least) along with 2 cups of the roasted green chile sauce and mix well. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Spread 1/2 cup (or a touch more) of the sauce in your pan, and layer in 8 tortilla halves to cover the bottom; now cover with roughly 1/3 of the chicken mixture then 1/3 of the Monterrey Jake or Colby cheese. The second layer over that one is identical: 8 tortilla halves, followed by 1/3 of the chicken mixture and 1/3 of the cheese.

The final layer is a little different: 8 tortilla halves, the remaining Monterrey Jack or Colby Jack cheese, the remaining chicken mixture, the remaining sauce, followed by the grated/shredded Cotija cheese.

Cover your masterpiece with foil and throw in the oven for 22 minutes, the remove the foil and bake for another 10-12 minutes until the edges are bubbling and the Cotija is beginning to brown in places.

When done, remove from the oven and let stand for 7-10 minutes, then serve warm with your toppings of choice.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Southwestern Hot Chicken Salad

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This Southwestern Hot Chicken Salad (great with turkey too) is based on one one that’s been part of our family food lexicon for years now; this version amps up the spice and flavor a bit with the addition of Mediterraneo Dulce and poblano peppers and (usually) 4 to 8 ounces of roasted, diced green chiles too. Packed with lots of crunchy vegetable goodness, we stir this one up now without digging the recipe out, typically throwing in whatever we have on hand.

The original recipe we were given for this dish was topped with cheese (by all means don’t add it if you’re not doing dairy – we’re happy and healthy Primal enthusiasts, so include it) and then crushed potato chips. As we’ve revamped all of the family favorite recipes to be healthier over the years, topping this dish with sliced almonds is far better than the potato-chip crowned version.

This is comfort food supreme, and not at all a complicated dish to stir together and slide into the oven on short notice. It reheats very well by the way, we never finish an entire recipe ourselves, and find it reheats best in the oven (350, 25-30 minutes) versus the microwave.

3 cups (+) cooked chicken, white and dark meat, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 medium Mediterraneo Dulce peppers, stemmed, seeded chopped
2 medium poblano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 medium bunch celery including leaves, trimmed, sliced on the diagonal
1 small sweet onion or 2 shallots, trimmed and chopped small
1/2 cup diced pimento
1/2 cup sliced green olives (or more)
1 cup avocado or olive oil mayo
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 cups medium Cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
1 cup sliced almonds (or more)
1-2 tbsp. paprika

Optional
Sliced water chestnuts
1 cup frozen peas
4-8 ounce can roasted, diced green chiles

Preheat the oven to 350.

Cut up the chicken and place in a large bowl. Add chopped peppers, celery, onion (or shallots), diced pimento, green olives, and if using – the water chestnuts, frozen peas, and green chiles. Now stir in the lemon juice and mayo, then season to taste with good salt and pepper.

Spoon into a 13 x 9 baking dish, sprinkle with the grated cheese then the sliced almonds. Top it all off with a healthy shake of a good paprika.

Now into the oven for 30-40 minutes until the cheese is gooey and melted, the almonds are toasty, and it’s bubbling around the edges.

Serve hot with a generous splash of your favorite hot sauce; reheat on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet for 20-25 minutes if there’s any left over.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday: Green Chile Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

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Having spent a fair amount of our respective childhoods and later married life wandering around the Southwest, particularly New Mexico and Colorado early on, my wife and I developed a genuine love for green chiles, particularly those grown in abundance in New Mexico.

We’ve accumulated a host of recipes over the years featuring those chiles, and often work them into other recipes where you might not expect to find them, like this Green Chile Cauliflower Mac and Cheese inspired casserole.

There are host of similar recipes floating around, and we’ve come to appreciate this one in particular for several reasons. Roasting the cauliflower (instead of microwaving as is commonly done) adds a layer of caramelized flavor (we opt for shorter roasting times to give the cauliflower a bit more tooth), the coconut milk adds just a hint of tropical undertones and a load of healthy fats, and the green chiles bring their magic to the dish.

You can of course vary the cheese to suit you, add bacon (we almost always do), and we’ll even caramelize onions to throw on top too. Try a batch with the chopped pickled jalapenos sprinkled on as well…

8 cups cauliflower, chopped to uniform size (mid-sized head)
2 tbsp avocado oil or EVOO
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

1 cup full-fat coconut milk
6 ounces full fat cream cheese, room temp
1-2 tbsp hot sauce of choice
1-2 tsp Dijon or Creole mustard
1 tsp salt
4-5 ounces mozzarella, grated/shredded
4-5 ounces Monterrey jack, pepper jack, or cheddar cheese, grated/shredded
4-ounce can chopped green chiles, drained
1-2 ounces cheese of choice, grated/shredded, for topping

Optional
Caramelized onions
2-4 slices crispy bacon, crumbled
1-2 tbsp finely chopped chives
Chopped pickled jalapenos

Fire the oven to 425.

Prep the cauliflower, sprinkle with the oil, salt, and pepper, and roast for 15-25 minutes (see above, we like ours with a bit more tooth). Set aside to cool and turn the oven down to 350.

Meanwhile, combine the coconut milk, cream cheese, hot sauce, mustard, and tsp of salt in a medium saucepan; heat, stirring frequently, until smooth. Remove from heat, stir in the green chiles, and set aside.

Once the components have cooled sufficiently to not melt the cheese immediately, combine the roasted cauliflower, the coconut milk mixture, and the 2 larger piles of cheese. Add the bacon if using, and stir to combine.

Spoon the mixture into a glass baking dish (we use and 8×8), cover with foil, and bake for 45-50 minutes until bubbling. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 2 ounces of cheese and the caramelized onions if using, then back into the oven for 10-15 minutes more. You can certainly fire the broiler to melt and brown the additional cheese as well (4-5 minutes).

Let rest for a few minutes before topping with the chives and chopped pickled jalapenos just before serving.

Enjoy.