Pork and Green Chile Stew

Well, Halloween is upon us and every Halloween we sit in our driveway with everyone in the cul-de-sac and hand out candy to all the kids. I make a big  pot of this Stew and a pan of cornbread. Everybody has a nice, big bowl of stew, a nice hot, buttery wedge of cornbread and all the kids get there candy, and a little spooky music too!! Happy Halloween! Stay safe!!

Pork & Green Chile Stew

LouAnn Dykhouse

3 lb. Pork butt cut into 1 ½ - inch cubes*

¼ Cup flour

2 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground sage

Vegetable oil

2 Medium onions, peeled & thinly sliced lengthwise

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 Tbls. Cider vinegar

1 Tbl. Oregano

1 lrg. Can diced tomatoes

1 lrg Can of tomatillos, drained & chopped**

4 – 7 oz. Cans dice green chiles***

2 –3 jalapenos, seeded & chopped ( or more if you like it hotter)

1 lrg jar salsa Verde (tomatillos salsa)

1 Can chicken broth (more if needed) or 2 cups homemade stock

2 Tsp. brown sugar

3 – 5 russet potatoes, cut into 2 – inch cubes- optional

Corn Tortillas sliced into strips

¼ Cup chopped fresh cilantro

Shredded cheddar cheese, optional

Combine flour, cumin, pepper, salt & sage in a large plastic bag and shake to mix. Add pork cubes, a few at a time and shake to coat. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet with oil until hot and add the pork in batches to sear, adding more oil as needed. Sear on all sides and remove to a large stockpot or crock pot. When all the pork is browned, add the onions to the same skillet, scraping up the brown bites from the bottom of the pan. When onions are almost transparent, add the garlic and sauté a few minutes more, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the cider vinegar and allow to cook down just a couple of minutes. Pour the onion mixture into the pot with the pork.

Add the oregano, tomatoes, tomatillos, green chiles, jalapeno, salsa Verde, chicken broth and brown sugar. Cook in stockpot a couple hours or in a crock pot for 5 to 6 hours or until the pork is tender, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes during the last ½ hour, if desired, when potatoes are tender, add the cilantro. Add tortilla strips during the last ½ hours for thickening. Serve in soup bowls topped with cheddar cheese, if desired.

Delicious served with corn bread.

*Buy a Boston Butt and have the butcher cut it up into cubes.

**You can use fresh Anaheim chiles, roasted and peeled

***You can use fresh tomatillos if you can find good fresh ones. Just peel     them and chop them and you will need about 12.

                          Best Regards,

           LouAnn

Southwestern Chicken Casserole

I have seen a similar recipe to this floating around call King's Ranch Chicken.  It is almost exactly the same recipe as this one that I found years ago in a community cookbook. I made it the other night for the first time in a long time. It is very delicious. The recipe is a bit dis-jointed so read it all the way through before beginning, It really is very easy and the the leftovers are delicious.

Southwestern Chicken Casserole

Preheat oven to350 Degrees

1½ lbs.boneless, skinless chicken, about 2 breasts and 4 thighs
4 teaspoons of lime juice
4 teaspoons ancho chile powder - Divided

¼ cup of olive oil
Season the chicken with the lime juice, 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder and a dash of salt. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the chicken in the olive oil on each side for about 10 minutes.When chicken is done (after about 20 minutes), shred it with two forks and set aside. Taste and see if it needs more salt and pepper. Should yield about 3 cups.

3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoons of butter
½ onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 10oz. can of Ro-Tel tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 cup of chicken broth
2 tablespoons of flour
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
½ cup of half and half

in the same pan used for the chicken, melt the butter over medium heat;  add the onions, red bell pepper and poblano pepper. Cook for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, flour, cumin, cayenne pepper and remaining 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder, and cook for 1 minute.Add the chicken broth and cook on low until mixture is thickened, about 5 - 8 minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and Ro-Tel cover, and simmer  about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

⅓ cup of sour cream
½ cup of cilantro, chopped
2 tsp Lime juice

Turn off the heat and add the sour cream,  lime juice and ¼ cup of cilantro, and add salt and pepper to taste.

3 cups of grated pepper jack and cheddar
10 corn tortillas

Salt and pepper to taste. Ladle ½ cup of the sauce onto the bottom of an 11 x 7 inch baking pan.Layer half the tortillas on top of the sauce. Cut tortillas to fill any gaps..Add half the chicken, half the remaining sauce, half the remaining cilantro and 1½ cups of grated cheese.Repeat the layering, ending with cheese. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbling , allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.. Serves 8-12. Serve with sour cream and salsa if desired.

Baked Italian Sub

I found this recipe a while ago and have been meaning to try it and today was the day. Of course, I cannot leave well enough alone so I added my own twist to it. An Italian Sub cannot be an Italian sub without  adding pepperoncini rings and a couple of thinly sliced red-onion rings. The picture was taken when it first came out of the oven. The second was after it rested and was sliced.

 Cooking time is about 50 minutes. I used a 8x9 1/2 in. casserole dish sprayed with a little cooking spray.

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.
 1 - 12oz. refrigerator crescent rolls
 8 to 10 slices of deli ham
8 to 10 slices deli turkey
12 large slices or 24 small slices of hard salami
8 to 10 slices of Swiss Cheese
1 - 12oz. jar of roasted red peppers, drained
1 - 16 oz jar Pepperonicini Pepper rings, drained
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
Brown mustard - or your favorite
4 eggs, beaten


Unroll crescent roll dough carefully  into squares.  Place crescent dough to cover the bottom of the pan. Using fingers, press to fit. Spread desired amount of mustard over the dough-remembering that you will be adding more. Place 1/2 the ham slices on the mustard; 1/2 the turkey on the ham; 1/2 the Salami onto the turkey; 1/2 the Swiss cheese on the Salami and top this with the roasted red peppers, red onion rings and pepperonicinis. Pour 1/2 the beaten eggs over evenly over the pepperonicinis. Top with another layer of crescent dough- spread with mustard and repeat layering. Top with crescent dough and remaining beaten eggs. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 25 minutes or until top is a gold brown and the "Sub" is bubbly and heated through. Remove from oven and allow to stand for about 10 minutes before slicing. This was really delicious.

You can eliminate the pepperonicinis and or onions if you like. Adding sliced black olives would be another option. This is a great dish for lunch or a dinner with friends. The original recipe called for an 8 x 8 pan and I used a pan that is a little bigger and adjusted the amounts. You could even go bigger yet by adjusting the ingredient amounts or simply by making 2 pans.

Pizza Casserole

I made this the other night and got rave reviews from my husband and the neighbor I shared it with. We ate leftovers the next day and they were even better.

Pizza Casserole

Makes 8 generous  servings

•  
• 2 pound · Ground beef
• 2 Italian Sausages- casing removed and crumbled
• 2 large · Onions, chopped
• 48 oz · Spaghetti sauce - I like Classico
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 ½ teaspoon · Salt
• ¼ teaspoon · Pepper
• 2 teaspoon · Italian seasonings
• 10 oz · Spiral macaroni
• 2 cup · Mozzarella, shredded*
• ½ cup · Parmesan*
• Pepperoni

 Brown and drain ground beef and Sausage, add onions to sauté briefly to soften.

• Cook and drain pasta. Make sure the pasta is slightly undercooked as it will cook more during baking.
• Add all ingredients except cheeses and Peperoni to a large bowl and mix well.
• Add the mix to either a large casserole or 2- 8x 8  pans.
• Sprinkle with Mozzarella and  Parmesan.
• Top with Pepperoni
• Bake uncovered at 350°F for 30 to 40 minutes or until heated thru and cheese is melted and slightly browned.
• Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

*I did not add any cheeses to the meat mixture even though the original recipe called for it. You can, of course, do this if you wish but we liked it just the way it was. You can add both types or just one type.

This is really good, I had Filet Mignon ready to prepare for the next night but Garry asked for this again.