Sun Dried Tomato & Green Chile Hummus is super easy to make, very tasty, goes with all kinds of stuff like pita, chips, veggies – can’t go wrong with this
This Sun Dried Tomato & Green Chile Hummus is a no-fail satisfying dip that’s really a blend of different cultures. Hummus is known as a Mediterranean dish, but some historians say it dates back to 13th century Egypt. Others claim there are references to it in the Hebrew bible of 3,500 years ago.
So what’s this version? It’s really a hodgepodge of different cultures. We have the ingredients of a classic Mediterranean hummus (garbanzos, garlic, tahini) yet we’re combining it with Italian flavors of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil and the Southwestern flavor of green chiles. They actually all go together quite well. This dish has minimal seasonings, but you could experiment with pumping up the flavor with oregano, cumin, or pepper.
I started this out fairly mild and added more tomatoes and green chiles as I tested. This is a very forgiving recipe that is good mild or very spicy. You can use all mild green chiles if you want more green chile flavor with little heat. Adding more tomatoes gives a more concentrated Italian flair. It’s a great recipe to experiment with and come up with your own balance.
Of course, it’s great on a buffet or at a party and goes with chips, pita, breads, veggies, whatever.
Put bean liquid, garlic cloves, lemon juice, tahini, and sesame oil in food processor or blender. Pulse until blended.
Blend in beans till well blended, then add tomatoes, oil from the tomatoes, and green chiles and blend until almost smooth. Adjust tomatoes and green chiles to taste.
Pour into serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. This is best made a day or two ahead of time to allow flavors to blend.
Garnish with green chiles and/or chopped dried tomatoes, if desired. Serve with tortilla chips, pita chips, vegetables, whatever.
Green Chile Corn Relish is a fresh, flavorful combination of sweet-hot, corn, and that distinctive green chile flavor – great at cookouts with hot dogs, steaks & burgers.
Green Chile Corn Relish is my own take on an old classic corn relish recipe from an old friend – the distinct green chile flavor adds a special flair. This is great with any cookout or on the side with steak, hot dogs, burgers, whatever. It’s a nice sweet-hot combination.
My lifelong friend, Susie, and her husband have a spectacular garden every year and grow everything in this recipe except the green chiles. They make this recipe and many others and can enough to supply the family for the entire year. She’s a wonderful source for recipes (and other things). Of course, this is especially good made with fresh produce. Her version has serrano chiles, but no green chiles. There’s just something about that distinct green chile flavor that dramatically changes this relish.
I specified 2 cups of diced green chiles, enough to clearly taste that special green chile flavor – but this is a very forgiving recipe. You put more or less green chile in as you wish. Note I used medium hot – actually Big Jims. They’re my go-to workhorse chile; last year’s crop had especially good flavor. I’m not using the green chiles for heat here as the serrano chiles provide that. You can adjust both the green chiles and the serranos in this recipe to get your desired heat and flavor.
A nice thing about this recipe is that you’re canning it; that means you’ll have jars of it on the shelf all year round. This is a nice easy complement to all sorts of meals. Hope you enjoy it!
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, & roughly chopped
2 cups chopped onions
1 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped
4 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from 4-6 ears)
2 Roma tomatoes, diced the size of a corn kernel
2 red or green serrano chile peppers, seeded and minced
1¼ cup sugar
2 tbsp salt
½ freshly ground black pepper
1½ cup apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
½ tsp turmeric
2 tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp ground cumin
2 cups diced green chiles, medium hot
Instructions
Working in batches as needed, pulse the cucumbers, onions, and bell peppers in a food processor just 3-4 pulses, so they are still distinguishable from each other and not pureed.
Place mixture in a medium-sized thick bottomed pot. Add the corn, tomatoes, serrano chiles, sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar, turmeric, mustard seed, and ground cumin. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. cover and cook for 20 minutes.
Add the green chiles, cover, and simmer for 10 more minutes.
Spoon the corn relish into clear, sterilized jars, and seal. Process in a water bath for 15 minutes
for canning.
Serve with hamburgers, hot dogs, in tacos, or with pork.
Pico de Gallo is a classic Mexican condiment that’s super simple, healthy, versatile – just fresh onion, tomato, serranos, lime juice, cilantro, and salt. Great on chips!
It’s 4th of July and every cookout has to have pico de gallo! Great with chips, but you can really put it on hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, just about anything. You can use it like a salsa, but it’s quite different in that salsas are cooked and pico de gallo is fresh. Know what it means? “Beak of Rooster” This is supposedly because it was originally eaten by pinching a bit of it with the thumb and finger, like a beak.
This only takes about 15 minutes to make and is pretty hard to mess up. You might want to adjust the serrano or jalapeno to taste, to get the right level of heat. If you like it really hot, go with serrano. Use jalapeno if you want it milder. This is the kind of dish that you want to put on the table at a cookout, and people will probably put it on just about anything.
Of course, you want this fresh. Best to make it the same day as your get together, just a few hours beforehand. And be sure to double or triple the recipe so there’s enough for everyone. My batch of pico is not going to make it to our July 4th tomorrow – I already at most of it. Hope you like it!
4 Roma tomatoes, deseeded and diced (about 2 cups)
¾ cup white onion, finely diced
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1 large serrano pepper or jalapeño, minced
1 lime, juiced
½ tsp salt
Instructions
Dump all the ingredients into a bowl and stir to mix well. Cover and refrigerate about a half hour to blend flavors. (Or just go ahead and chow down...)
Serve with tortilla chips or on top of tacos, burritos, eggs... use your imagination!
Pickled Banana Peppers make a distinctive, tasty condiment fabulous for just about any cookout – on hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, coleslaw… festive!
These Pickled Banana Peppers are a favorite of friends I grew up with in Virginia, who grow their own banana peppers (and bell peppers, jalapenos, and many more). They make a great condiment for all kinds of cookout food like hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled meats. Try garnishing your potato salad and coleslaw with them. They’re colorful and add a nice accent – not very hot.
You can also make them with other mild peppers, like Hungarian, wax, Cubanella, sweet cherry, bells. The recipe is great with mild peppers, but you can punch it up a bit by adding a jalapeno or serrano. If you use all hot peppers, it’s a very different dish … to be used in moderation instead of heaping them on hot dogs or hamburgers.
These don’t need a hot water bath – they seal easily in 1-cup jars. You’ll still want to make sure they sealed – the vacuum will make the lid pop when opened. Here you see them on hot dogs – yummy piled on top with lots of ketchup and mustard.
Got some cookouts coming up? Start setting some of these Pickled Banana Peppers aside now!
Poblano Steak with Summer Squash is spicy with heat, but not too much and a great balance of seasoning with a nice kick from the lime. The hardest part is zesting the lime
This Poblano Steak with Summer Squash is not only healthy and easy to prepare – it got rave reviews. It has a wonderful combination of flavors, heat, tanginess from the lime and a nice variety of vegetables that complement each other very well. I tend to have nearly all these ingredients on hand most of the time.
This is a great way to eat a good steak. It may be summer, but you don’t have to grill steak all the time. If you grill this, you don’t end up with the steak flavor and seasonings in the pan that do a lot to give flavor to the vegetables.This particular recipe is for two, but it’s very easy to make it for 4 or 6. It’s good leftover, too.
10-12 oz boneless sirloin steak, 1 to 1½ inches thick
1 poblano chile
1 medium red onion
2 summer squash
1 small clove garlic
cooking oil
olive oil
½ cup rice
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
½ cup sour cream
1 lime
¾ tsp cumin
salt & pepper
Instructions
Core, deseed, and thinly slice poblano. Halve and thinly slice onion; mince enough onion for 1 tsp. Slice squash. Mince garlic.
Pat steak dry with paper towels. Blend ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper. Season both sides of steak generously and set aside.
Zest and quarter the lime. Thin slice jalapeno, removing ribs and seeds for less heat; mince enough for ½ tsp.
Drizzle a bit of oil in a small pot; cook half the garlic about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add rice, pinch of salt, and ¾ cup water. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook on low for 15-20 minutes until tender, then turn off heat and let sit.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine sour cream, onion, remaining garlic, juice from 2 lime wedges, ¼ tsp minced jalapeno, ¼ tsp cumin, cilantro 1 tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper to taste. Mix well, adding enough water for drizzling consistency.
Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium skillet and cook over medium high heat to desired doneness, about 3-6 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board to rest.
Heat a drizzle of oil in same pan to medium high heat. Add the sliced poblano,onion, squash and a dash salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly charred, about 6-8 minutes.
Fluff rice with fork, stir in 1 tbsp butter, lime zest, salt, and pepper.
Thinly slice steak against the grain. Spread rice on a medium serving platter, top with vegetables, slices of steak, jalapeno slices and drizzle the sour cream sauce over.
Spicy Split Pea Soup is a robust, flavorful, meaty full meal soup with a Southwestern flair and some moderate heat. A new take on a classic.
Spicy Split Pea Soup is a throwback to the good ole days of childhood when my mom would make a big pot on a winter day – but this version has some heat and a subtle Southwestern flavor. I happened to have a big ole meaty ham bone, so I absolutely had to make this soup!
I like to cook this kind of soup a long, long time as it keeps leeching more flavor out of the marrow of the ham bone. Cooking it long makes it thicker and more flavorful. You can always add more water or chicken broth to adjust the taste.
In the picture you can see I served it with cheese quesadillas; they’re always good as a side with just about any soup. I also packed the rest of the soup up and froze it. It freezes really well and is great to have around for a quick meal. Hope you like this one!
½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper + additional to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound dried split peas, rinsed and sorted
1 meaty ham bone
2 large bay leaves
1 tsp thyme
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
2 cups diced ham
1 cup diced medium hot green chile
1 tsp ground cumin
Instructions
In inner slow cooker pot or skillet, melt butter. Add onion, carrot, celery, salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables are softened and just beginning to brown, 5-8 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, until aromatic.
Transfer into slow cooker, and stir in split peas. Add ham bone, bay leaves, and thyme. Stir in chicken stock and water.
Cook on low for 6 hours or overnight, stirring occasionally, until split peas are cooked down and soup is thickened to desired consistency. (Long slow cooking pulls the maximum flavor from the ham bone.)
Remove ham bone and add diced ham, green chiles, and cumin.
Remove meat attached to the bone and dice, removing fat. Add in to the soup.
Adjust seasonings and serve.
Enjoy!
The soup can be stored, tightly-covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen for several months.
When reheating (to 160 degrees F), add additional stock or water to thin the soup, if needed.
Green Chile Glazed Ham is easy, spicy, and very versatile – here it’s served on a naan pizza with Monterey Jack cheese & was a hit with the whole family
Green Chile Glazed Ham is a basic flavor combination that can be used in many different dishes that the family will love – here I used it as the topping for individual naan pizzas with a layer of shredded Monterey Jack cheese. The photo is a close-up. It was a big hit with lots of requests for seconds and thirds. If served on pizzas like this, this recipe will serve about 4; served by itself as a main dish it will serve about 2 people.
I used a basic classic ham glaze recipe that’s a sugar and spice blend. I just keep it in a large plastic jar or covered tub. That way it’s easy to add to a dish with almost no effort. This dish is very forgiving, so you can substitute any other ham glaze, whether in a sauce form or a mix like this. You can also increase or decrease the glaze to adjust for how sweet you want it.
I used Big Jim chiles from last year – Big Jims are my favorite all around chile and tend to be medium hot to hot. Last year was a great year for chiles and they were on the hot side with wonderful flavor. You can use hotter or milder chiles and increase or decrease the amount of chiles to suit your taste.
I cooked a 10-lb ham a couple weeks ago and froze much of it in plastic bags, so I’m having a ball experimenting with all kinds of dishes that use green chiles and ham. It’s a great combination for many culinary adventures.
So try this one out – and feel free to experiment with it. Hope you like it!
Combine the 8 spices and sugar for ham glaze and stir to blend well. Measure out ¼ cup and set aside; transfer the rest to a jar or container to store.
Melt butter in a nonstick skillet and saute the ham on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the green chiles, vinegar, and ham glaze spice mix.
Stir and saute 2-3 more minutes to blend flavors. If desired, add more glaze and chiles to adjust heat and sweetness to taste. Add 1-2 tbsp water as needed as the ham can dry out if you don't watch it.
Serve as a main dish, in sandwiches, on pizza, however.
Anita’s Awesome Lentil Soup is a robust, satisfying full meal soup that you’ll make again and again – perfect for a crowd or buffet.
Anita’s Awesome Lentil Soup started out as a recipe my mother used to make on special occasions, handed down to me along with many other memorable recipes. I altered it, adding green chiles and my own special tweaks and variations. I just made it for a family event and now I’m having to share my own version with the rest of my family!
I just served this version to my family in Silicon Valley and they declared it exceptional. It keeps very well and also freezes well. Sometimes I top it with shredded cheese. You can also adjust the amounts of ham and vegetables to your preference. Be aware that when you add more ham, it naturally increases the saltiness so be sure to take this into account. You also might want to add something like chopped celery. It’s really a very versatile recipe.
I like making a big batch and freezing half of it – comes in handy. I hope you try this one out – enjoy!
12 oz smoked ham, cut into ¼-inch dice (2 generous cups)
8 cups beef stock
1 pound lentils
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried sage
½ tsp dried oregano
¼ cup olive oil
2 cups chopped onions, about 2 medium
2 cups diced carrots, about 2-3 medium
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 6-oz can tomato paste
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup diced mild or medium hot green chiles, divided
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp all purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Melt 1 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add ham and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dump into slow cooker.
Heat olive oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and bell pepper. Stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes.
Place ham and vegetables in slow cooker and add 6 cups beef stock, lentils, and spices. Cover and and cook on high setting for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and let simmer another hour.
In a blender, blend 1 cup of stock with ½ cup green chiles, tomato paste, and vinegar; set aside.
In the meantime, wipe out skillet. Add 3 tbsp butter and melt over medium-low heat. Add flour and stir until light brown, about 5 minutes.
Whisk in 1 cup stock. Bring to boil gradually, whisking constantly, then turn heat to low and stir in the stock, chile, tomato paste, and vinegar mixture. Blend well, then stir into soup in slow cooker. Add remaining ½ cup diced green chiles.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer in slow cooker another hour.
Thin soup to desired consistency with stock. Season with salt and generous amount of pepper to taste.
Anita’s Spicy Salsa Fresca is full of green chiles punched up with jalapeno, tomato, cilantro, onion, lime, and lot’s of flavor – great on anything from chips to eggs.
Anita’s Spicy Salsa Fresca is full of flavor, heat, and classic salsa ingredients. Great just on chips or cooked into any number of dishes. In the photo, I put it in and on an omelette – this was just 3 eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and a layer of shredded Monterey Jack cheese topped with 1-2 tablespoon salsa inside and another layer of cheese and salsa on top. It was even more robust and satisfying than I expected … but so simple.
This recipe started out as an update of Maria’s Salsa, the salsa winner at the 2009 Denver Chili Fest. Back then, my recipe instructions were not very detailed. But as I started to make it, I realized I wanted to change some of the textures and ingredients … so it turned into a different recipe. I used Big Jim chiles, a long-time favorite; they are medium hot and full of green chile flavor. I wanted more heat (hence the jalapenos) and I wanted it to be mainly a sauce with chunks of tomato and cilantro. By pulsing it in a food processor, it’s not so chunky like a pico de gallo. I really am happy with the result here. It’s got some significant heat without being too hot for most people. And it’s quite flavorful.
Salsas, pico de gallo, and chile sauces can run the gamut of flavors and textures. If you check out products in the store, you can easily be overwhelmed. It always nice to have it made fresh, though. So try this out and don’t be afraid to puree the hell out of it or make it by just hand chopping so it’s all chunky. Be aware, though, that hand chopping could give you some chunks of jalapeno that will mean bites of serious heat. Enjoy!
Pork Carnitas – easy to make, full of flavor, and incredibly versatile – great in sandwiches, burritos, tacos, omelettes, salads, you name it.
Really good Pork Carnitas is always a favorite – spicy, flavorful – and it is so versatile. With this batch, I’ve already had some just by itself – but as you see in the photo, I served it in a small tostada piled with cheese, refried beans, lettuce, and tomato. It makes an ideal lunch.
This starts with a pork loin, spices, chipotle peppers, and orange and lime juice. It’s cooked for 8 hours in a slow cooker. Then you shred it with forks. At this stage, the pork is soft and pale in color. The way I like to serve it is fried up in a skillet so it has crispy edges on it. Now the trade-off here is that frying it up like that can also dry it out. So what I do is save all the liquid (about 2 cups) and add that liquid back in as I fry it. And I always save some liquid to add at the end of frying so I can be sure it is moist when I serve it and it also has crispy edges. That liquid is packed with flavor. It also has semi-solid parts – leave it all in. It’s all good and adds flavor. Note that carnitas is often browned in the oven until crisp on the outside. That works very well, but I just chose to brown the edges after shredding in a skillet.
Another thing – this freezes very well. To freeze it for maximum quality over time, pack the shredded pork tightly in plastic tubs and pour some of the liquid in. The idea is to eliminate all air pockets. Then freeze the remaining liquid in a separate tub. I do the same thing with pulled pork. Carnitas and pulled pork are similar, but pulled pork is typically made with a pork shoulder butt instead of pork loin
This recipe is great one to have at hand – hope you enjoy it!
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped (2-3 tbsp)
2 tbsp lime juice (about 1 lime)
½ cup orange juice
Instructions
Place pork in 6 quart slow cooker and sprinkle with spices. Combine chiles, lime juice and orange juice and add.
Cook on low for 8 hours or high for about 4 hours. When done, pork should be easily shreddable.
Use two forks to shred pork and save liquid in separate container. Fry shredded pork in skillet to brown edges, adding some of the liquid (about ¼ cup liquid to 1 cup shredded pork).
Note: Alternative method is to shred all the pork, spread out on a baking sheet, and broil 3-5 inches from the broiler for 5 minutes or until just getting crispy. Remove and add some of the liquid to moisten. I tend to use this method if I'm serving the entire batch at once.
Serve on sandwiches, in tacos, tostadas, on salads, however you want. Great taco fixings to serve with it are onions, queso fresco, salsa, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, black olives, chopped tomatoes, or whatever else you prefer.
