Tag Archives: chiles

Main Dish, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Poultry, Recipes

A Spicy Twist on a Chile

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Happy Fall, y’all! Well, at least on the calendar in the northern hemisphere, it’s Fall, but happy Spring down under. The temps where I live are still pretty warm in the days, but the nights are getting downright chilly!

And speaking of chile, I have a new variation on a chile relleno that I think is super tasty.

When I found this recipe, the author called it a Chile Relleno, but it’s quite a bit different from the ones I grew up with. Nonetheless, it is a quite delicious variation on it and not as messy. It can be made in the oven or an air fryer. Since I’ve recently acquired the latter, I made mine that way.

The recipe originally called for Poblano peppers, but I had picked up a bag of Hatch chiles at the grocery, so decided to go with those. You can also use Anaheim chiles. Each chile has a different carbohydrate count, so it will vary by which one you use. For the record, the Hatch chile is the lowest in carbs. I’ve posted the nutrition information for each chile.

For my picture, I put each chile in a zero carb tortilla for additional support, so it made a neat wrapper around it.

Tex-Mex Chile Relleno

Tex-Mex Stuffed Chiles

INGREDIENTS:

4 Hatch peppers, rinsed and dried
1/4 cup canned Baby Corn
1 Green Onion or Scallion, sliced (both bulb and stem)
1 tablespoons Chopped Cilantro or Parsley
¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup Chicken (white or dark meat) or pork, cooked and chopped or shredded
2 tablespoons Mexican crema or sour cream
1/2 cup Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:
For the peppers: Place peppers in the air fryer basket, two at a time if you have a small basket. Set air fryer to 400°F for 10 minutes, turning peppers halfway through cook time. Remove peppers from air fryer (skins should be charred) and place in a resealable plastic bag to steam for 5 minutes. Peel skin and discard.

If you’re using an oven, use the broiler setting and place the peppers in an aluminum pan or on foil. Broil for about 5 minutes on each side. The skins should be charred. Place in a resealable plastic bag to steam for 5 minutes. Peel the skins and dump ’em.

In a medium bowl combine chicken, corn, scallions, cilantro, salt, black pepper, and grated cheese. Add 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce and sour cream or creama to the meat and cheese mixture and stir to mix. Set the rest of the sauce aside.

Carefully cut a slit down the center of each pepper with a sharp knife point. Start at the stem and continuing to the tip. Remove the seeds and toss them. Be careful not to tear the chile.

Stuff each chile with a layer of one-quarter of the meat and cheese mixture.
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Place stuffed peppers in 6-inch heat-proof pan or silicone basket and place the pan in the air fryer basket. If using an oven, put all four chiles in a baking pan.

Set air fryer to 400°F for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted

If using an oven, preheat oven to 400°F and put baking pan with all four chiles in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Warm the extra enchilada sauce in a small microwavable bowl and spoon a little on each chile. Serve with a green salad and spiced cauliflower rice. (Salad and rice not included in nutrition information.)

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Information Per Serving: (Hatch Pepper)
Calories 289, Total Fat 20 g , Cholesterol 86 mg, Sodium 429 mg, Potassium 173 mg, Carbohydrates 6.8 g, Fiber 0.5 g, Sugars 3 g, Protein 18 g, Net Carbs 6.22 g

Nutrition Information Per Serving: (Poblano Pepper)
Calories 299, Total Fat 20 g , Cholesterol 86 mg, Sodium 429 mg, Potassium 173 mg, Carbohydrates 11 g, Fiber 3 g, Sugars 1 g, Protein 18 g, Net Carbs 7.72 g

Nutrition Information Per Serving: (Anaheim Pepper)
Calories 309, Total Fat 20 g , Cholesterol 86 mg, Sodium 429 mg, Potassium 173 mg, Carbohydrates 13 g, Fiber 2.5 g, Sugars 5 g, Protein 19 g, Net Carbs 10.22 g

Note: Nutrition information is based on the ingredients I used in this recipe and my measurements. Although they are a close calculation, your results may be slightly higher or lower. Ingredient substitutions may affect the carb count. Different brands may have other carb counts. 

Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Recipes, Vegetables & Salads

A surprising rice substitute

Photo: Riced Turnips with chiles.

Turnips are often overlooked when people think about vegetables. While we turn to cauliflower to provide for many low carb vegetable substitutes, we don’t think about some of the other low carb vegetables that can work as well. Among them are kohlrabi, celery root, zucchini, beets, and turnips. All of these can be riced and used as a rice substitute.

Turnips can also be cubed and shredded to stand in for potatoes in hash or home cooked hash browns.

When I made stuffed Mexican chicken a few months ago, I substituted turnips in my rice with chiles. It was wonderful! I love the flavor and was thrilled with how well it worked.

One key to working with turnips is to use them as soon as you can. Although they keep a long time, they tend to get bitter the longer they sit.

Riced Turnips with Chile

1 large Turnip, peeled and cut into cubes
1 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Green Chiles, diced
1/4 cup hot Water
1/2 teaspoon Better than Chicken Bullion
1/4 cup Onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Chipotle Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Boil water, pour into a 1/4 cup measure and add the bullion, stirring to dissolve.

Put turnip cubes into a food processor and pulse until it is chopped to the size of rice. In a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter, then add the riced turnips and onions. Sauté for about five minutes, add the bullion water and stir it in. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Add chiles, salt and seasoning, stir and cook for another 10 minutes until the turnips are tender and most of the water has evaporated.

If the water cooks out before the turnips are tender, add more water. It should be about the same texture as cooked rice. Fluff up the turnips before serving.

Makes two 1/2-cup servings.

Image: Nutrition for Turnips with chile

 

Beef, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Pork, Recipes, Soups and Stews

Hot Chile for Cold Days

Photo: Rene's Beef and Chorizo Chile

With a snowstorm arriving in Reno last weekend, my thoughts turned to warm comfort food. Weather like this calls for at least stew, soup, or chile. I went with the latter. Usually, I make my Tex-Mex chile, the variety that uses all meat chunks and carries a ton of heat. But I decided to try something a little different, so here’s my take on a meat and bean chile done low carb.

First, I added medium-hot chorizo in for a zap of spice and a different flavor, then mixed in ground beef. I chose black beans because they are a bit lower in carbohydrates than either pinto or red beans. The result is fabulous, tasty, and warming. Like many stews, soups, and curries, the longer the pot sits, the more flavorful it becomes. So if you want to make it a day ahead, you can cover it and put it in the ‘fridge for a day or so. Nonetheless, it is delicious on the first day.

Rene’s Beef and Chorizo Chile

1 Onion, diced
1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon Garlic, minced
2 pounds Ground Beef
1 pound Chorizo Sausage
1 can diced Green Peppers
1 packet Taco Seasoning or 2 tablespoons Spicy Seasoning
1 15-oz can Stewed Tomatoes, chopped
1 15-oz can Tomatoes with Chiles
1 can Black Beans, with juice
1 cup Pumpkin puree

In a 10 to 12 cup heavy pot, heat a teaspoon oil and add onions and garlic. Stir and cook for about five minutes until the onions are sweating. Add ground beef and chorizo, breaking it up as you stir it around. Cook until the meat is lightly browned.

Add green peppers, seasoning, and both cans of tomatoes. Add about a half-cup to each tomato can and swish them around to get the rest of the juice in the can, then add to the chile pot. Stir it together, then reduce the heat to a simmer and let cook for an hour.

Taste the sauce to check the seasoning and adjust it if you want it spicier. Add the black beans and pumpkin puree. Stir well and cook for another 30 to 40 minutes until the chile thickens.

Serve in bowls with cheddar jack or Mexican cheese and sour cream if you wish.

Makes 8 to 10 servings, about 1 cup each.

Tip: You can make an excellent chile cheese omelet with this chile. Just add 1 cup of warmed chile in the middle of the partially cooked omelet and top with cheese. Fold the omelet over or cook the top in a broiler until the cheese is melted.

Main Dish, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Recipes, Vegetarian

Thinking About Going Meatless?

Photo: Baked rellenos with sauce

With many people thinking in terms of doing a “meatless Monday,”  I thought I’d start putting out recipes on Sunday for a meatless option on Monday. While doing a low carbohydrate life style, going without any meat in your meals could be challenging since the dishes often involve other things we don’t normally eat, such as grains, rice, and pasta. So, my goal is to give you alternatives that are satisfying and tasty while avoiding those things we don’t eat.

To kick this off, I’m offering my chile relleno  with zucchini recipe. If you don’t care about going meatless, you can add chicken to it or serve a grilled breast as a side dish.

For my dish, I used Anaheim peppers from my garden along with home grown zucchini. I chose to use Irish cheddar cheese in it since it is sharper than American cheddar, but any sharp variety will work. You can also use Poblano peppers. I used Herzes Taquera Salsa with a few cherry tomatoes from my garden to make the sauce.

Chile Rellenos with Zucchini

4 Anaheim or Poblano Peppers, charred and peeled
Or you can use canned whole chiles
4 to 6 thick strips of Kerrygold Irish Cheddar or other cheddar       cheese
1 cup sliced Zucchini, slightly cooked
3 tablespoons of Heavy Cream plus 3 tablespoons of Water
1/3 cup low carb Flour (I used Bakesquick)
1/3 teaspoon Baking Powder,1/3 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Egg, beaten
1/3 teaspoon Salt
1/3 teaspoon Cumin
!/3 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Garlic Herb Seasoning

For the Sauce:
1 Small can Mexican-style Tomatoes with Chiles
Or 1 small can Taquera Salsa or other Salsa of your choice

To char and peel the peppers, put the peppers under the broiler on a sheet of aluminum foil for about three to four minutes until they are blackened on that side, then turn them, and cook on the other side. If they are large, it may take three turns to blacken the whole pepper.

Transfer the peppers to a plastic bag and let them sit for fifteen to thirty minutes. Run them under cold water and the charred part should peel off easily. Cut them open and remove the seeds and cut the top off.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.)

Photo: Baked relleanos
Cooked and ready for a topping sauce to serve.

Put the peppers in a baking pan or a oven-friendly skillet (cast iron or copper). Place cheese strips within the middle of each of the peppers.

Cook the zucchini slices for a two or three minutes in the microwave or in a pan of boiling water to partially cook. Spread the zucchini over the top of the peppers.

In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cumin, pepper, and herb seasoning. Stir in the beaten egg and stir together the well. The batter should be easily spreadable, so add a little extra water if needed. Spread over the top of the zucchini.

Bake for 25 minutes.

While the peppers are baking, prepare your sauce. This can be any kind of sauce you would like to use. Traditionally, I’ve usually seen a hot tomato salsa-type sauce. Put the tomatoes in a pan, add chile powder and cumin to make it spicier and cook until it begins to thicken.

For my dish, I used Herdez Taquera Salsa and added six cherry tomatoes cut in half to cut the spice a little. Heat for about 10 minutes to cook the tomatoes and reduce the sauce.

You could also put a cheese sauce over the top that has been spiced with chopped green chiles and taco seasoning.

Serves 2 large portions or 4 smaller portions.

Nutrition Info for Chile Rellenos with zucchini

Breakfast & Brunch, Main Dish, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Pork, Recipes

Celebrate with a Chorizo Frittata

Photo of Chorizo Frittata by Rene Averett

With Cinco de Mayo–a really good day to celebrate all things Mexican–just around the corner, so to speak, I thought it would be a good time to try a couple of new Mexican food recipes. Although I’m not sure this frittata would be classified as Mexican, it does have all the flavors of the culture. In Spain or Portugal, this would be called a Chorizo Tortilla, but not so much in Mexico where the tortilla is a thin flatbread versus an egg frittata.

The base recipe for this came from Atkins, but I changed quite a bit about it and I think it’s safe to say it’s my adaptation. I added turnips into it although you can also use potatoes. To keep the carbs low, stick with turnips. If you have lots of carbs to play with, then go with potatoes. You could also substitute in thinly sliced zucchini, Mexican variety of course. (They’re a little more rounded than the normal type.)

Photo of frittata in pan.
Chorizo Frittata in cast iron pan before serving.

Chorizo and Chiles Frittata

1/2 lb. Chorizo sausage, Basque-style
1 medium Turnip, sliced thinly
4 large Eggs
1/4 medium Onion, chopped
4 oz. can Green Chiles, chopped
1 tablespoon Jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 small Tomato, diced or chopped
1/2 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 cup Cheddar Jack Cheese or Mexican Cheese Combo mix
1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon Butter

Peel and slice the turnip or potato into thin slices. Bring a pan of water to a boil and cook for about three to five minutes until the slices are fork tender. This may vary depending on how thick the slices are. OR put the slices into a bowl, cover with a plate and put in the microwave for 2 minutes. Drain off any water and set aside.

Break the eggs into a bowl, whisk until mixed and slightly frothy, add the seasonings, chiles, and tomatoes. Add 1/2 cup of cheese. Set aside.

In a medium-sized cast iron or other oven-safe, deep skillet, add a little oil and sauté the onions until they are just slightly cooked. Remove to a plate. Lower the heat to medium-high.

Add the chorizo broken into small pieces or thin slices and cook until all pieces are seared. Remove the chorizo from the pan. Add butter and let it melt, then add layer the turnip slices over the bottom of the pan and cook for a couple of minutes until they begin to brown, then turn them over. Cook another minute or so, then add the chorizo on top of the turnips.

Stir the egg mixture and pour over the top of the chorizo and turnips. Let cook for about four to six minutes, lifting the sides of the bottom with a spatula occasionally.

Turn on the broiler. Be sure to use a potholder when picking up the skillet. Place the skillet under the broiler and cook for three minutes. Pull the pan out carefully and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Return to the broiler for another two minutes to melt the cheese.

Remove to a heat safe surface and let the frittata set for about five minutes before cutting. Serve with sour cream and/or guacamole if desired.

Makes four servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 485.3 Fat: 39.6 g Net Carbs: 4.2 g Protein: 26.5 g