Chile Relleno Casserole

Ingredients

8 green chiles
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano leaves
12 eggs
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded jack cheese or cheddar cheese

Preparation

1. Roast chiles until blistered and somewhat charred, and put into a closed paper bag to "sweat". After all peppers are roasted and have rested at least 15 minutes, remove from bag and peel. (Don't worry if you can't get all the skin off. It won't hurt you.)

2. Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, mix cheese and spices. Stuff chiles with mixture and lay them in an 8- by 12-in. baking dish.

3. In a large bowl, beat eggs , then whisk in flour, baking powder, and salt. Sprinkle chiles with 1/2 the jack cheese. Pour egg mixture over chiles and sprinkle with remaining jack.

4. Bake until top starts to brown and the eggs are set but still soft, about 30 minutes.

Adapted from Sunset Magazine, March 2008

Pozole with Ham

I accidentally ended up with two hams for Christmas! So I looked for lots of ways to use leftover ham, recipes that wouldn't make my family scream, "No more ham!!!"

I found this recipe in an old Best of Sunset that I have in my "library", and I have to say it was easy and delicious. My family loves the taste of hominy, and we don't eat it that often. In Southwest USA, hominy is often found in menudo, along with tripe. I always like Pozole growing up, because it was tasty like menudo, but without the (rubber meat) tripe.

The original recipe called for bony chicken pieces in addition to the ham. Also, instead of the spices, I added a little of the menudo spice mix I have.

This makes a clear, broth-heavy soup that tastes healthy and delicious.

Ingredients
12 cups chicken broth, or 2 large cans
3 lbs meaty ham hocks or leftover ham
1 tsp dry oregano leaves*
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp red pepper (like the pizza topping)*
2 lg onions, chopped
1 lg can (28 oz) yellow hominy, drained

In a 6- or 8-quart pan, combine broth with meat and spices. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until meat is tender - 1 or 2 hours. Remove meat (use a wire strainer or wrap in cheesecloth before cooking) and let cool. When the meat has cooled to the touch, remove meat and cut into chunks. Return to the pot. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Remove any fat that comes to the top. Bring the soup back to a simmer. Add the hominy, cover, and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Serve hot, and offer condiments to add to each bowl.

Suggested condiments:
Broken tortilla chips
raw onion, chopped fine
chopped cilantro
limes

Penne with Pumpkin and Sausage

I've held onto this recipe for awhile, as I'm always looking for new squash/pumpkin recipes, and this one intrigued me. Maybe because it's savory instead of sweet. It's from a magazine about Italian cooking, so that was intriguing too. Plus the picture looked delicious!

I used a smallish pumpkin I'd purchased around Halloween. I'd done some reading on the internet, and it seems that pumpkin and squash are very close. (Read the comments. There are some good ideas for using pumpkin in there!) In fact, it seems that Dickinson Squash is currently packaged and sold as Libby's canned pumpkin.

My own pumpkin, however, tasted nothing like the canned variety. It didn't have much flavor of it's own, but it picked up the savory flavors of this dish quite nicely. It was a bit of work skinning and dicing the pumpkin, but it was well worth the effort!

Don't leave out the pepper - I think it's an important ingredient here. Also, it was good garnished with parmesean cheese!

Ingredients----------------------------------------------------
salt
1 lb penne (or ziti, mastacholi, or trenne)
8 oz pork sausage (Jimmy Dean's Hot sausage)
1 tsp chopped rosemary, plus extra sprigs for garnish
1 onion, diced small
10 oz. pumpkin, peeled and seeds removed
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine

Directions---------------------------------------------------

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, remove the sausage from it's casing (if necessary), and put it into a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped rosemary, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage starts to brown, about 7 minutes. Thinly slice/dice the onion. Add to the skillet, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until soft. Dice the squash, add to the skillet, and season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with the wine, and cook until it evaporates. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, about 7 minutes.

Add salt and pasta to the pot of water, and cook until the pasta is al dente. Drain the pasta, and add to the skillet. Toss well, and transfer to a serving bowl. To serve, finish with a grinding of pepper, and garnish with a sprig of rosemary. Serves 4-6.

--------------------------------
Adapted from La Cucina Italiana - Quick and Easy, edition unknown
Note: The original recipe, called "Trenne with Squash and Sausage" called for Trenne pasta, winter squash instead of pumpkin, and 1 leek - white and light green parts only, instead of onion.

Tabasco Popcorn

The truth is that I love popcorn ALL the time, but something about Fall brings out the part of me that loves variations on the basic popcorn pop. I don't remember where I got this idea - probably from a Tabasco bottle!


unpopped corn kernels
vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Tabasco hot sauce
salt to taste


Pour oil into a pan until the bottom of the pan is completely covered in oil. Add popcorn until the oil is completely covered. Add Tobasco and turn heat to high. When corn begins to pop, shake the pot constantly. When popping slows, remove from heat and pour into a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Sweet Sesame Five-Spice Popcorn

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray Show: 30 Minute Meals Episode: Food Fight

1/2 cup unpopped corn kernels 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon five-spice powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds Place popcorn, sugar, oil, five spice powder and salt in a large kettle or pot with a tight fitting lid over medium heat. When corn begins to pop, shake the pot constantly. When popping slows, remove from heat, sprinkle with sesame seeds and transfer popped kettle corn to a bowl.