Hatch Hamburgers

My first foray into cooking with Hatch chiles this year was a Hatch hamburger. Hamburgers are my favorite food and Hatch makes them so much better.

The recipe is easy... just remove the char from 2 or 3, or 4, freshly roasted Hatch peppers, chop off the stem and remove the seeds, chop the chiles, then mix them in with a pound of lean ground beef. Shape into patties and grill or fry them to your liking. Top with cheese, tomatoes, a dollop of sour cream, and avocado slices, and you're in Hatch Chile Heaven.

Hatch Pepper Pork Chops

I love Hatch chile peppers and had two of them left in my freezer from my stash so I came up with Hatch Pepper Pork Chops. I usually cook this on the stove top but since it was a little cool outside I decided to turn on the oven for some heat in the house and bake it this time.

• 2 -3 T. vegetable oil
• 4 center loin pork chops, trimmed of fat
• 1 tsp. black pepper, divided
• 1 T. chili powder, divided
• 1 T. ground cumin, divided
• 1 tsp. fajita seasoning, divided
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 roasted Hatch green chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup whole grain brown rice
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork chops, season each side with a sprinkle or two of the spices, and brown on both sides. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.

Add the onion, green bell pepper, Hatch chiles, and garlic to the skillet. Saute in the pork drippings until tender. Season with the remaining black pepper, chili powder, cumin, and fajita seasoning.

Add the tomatoes and water. Sprinkle on some more seasonings for extra spice and heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes to blend the flavors.

Sprinkle the rice over the pork chops. Spoon the sauce over. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for one hour.

Uncover and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 5 to 10 more minutes or until the cheese melts.

I served it with a side of pinto beans. Dinner was Totally Awesome!!! :)

Green Chile Pork Roast

I bought a pork tenderloin the other day and was wondering what to do with it. It didn't take me long to decide to make a Green Chile Pork Roast with my Hatch chile stash.

I'm working on a new book (not a cookbook) and when I write, I usually get so involved that I lose track of time and before I know it, my stomach is growling and it's waaay past dinnertime, so I solved that dilemma today by pulling out my crock pot and making dinner this morning right after breakfast.

Don't you just love crock pots? They do all the cooking for you. All you have to do is the prep. I have this kitchen-sink mind-set when I cook in my crock pot (actually, it's every time I cook). I tend to throw a lot of ingredients into the mix, then I sort of get into a rhythm where I toss in a lot of spices without measuring.

• 1 (14.5 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, with juice, divided
• Fajita seasoning, to taste
• Powdered cumin, to taste
• Dried, minced garlic, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Chili powder (lots), to taste
• Mexican oregano, crumbled, to taste
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large Hatch green chiles, roasted, seeded, and chopped, divided
• 1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin (The one I bought was seasoned with lemon-pepper, so that added some extra flavor.)
• 6 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
• 1 (12 oz.) jar roasted red peppers, with juice

Pour a little bit of the diced tomatoes, with some juice, into the bottom of the crock pot. Season to taste with the fajita seasoning, cumin, garlic, black pepper, chili powder, and oregano.

Chop the onion and Hatch chiles. Layer half of the chiles, and all the onion on top of the diced tomatoes, seasoning to taste between layers. Save the remaining half of the Hatch chiles to top the roast with before cooking.

Heat a 12-inch skillet (not a non-stick skillet--you want to get a good sear on the meat) over medium-high heat. Add the pork tenderloin, with it's own juices, and sear it on all sides. Do not brown it in olive oil or butter. You want the meat to get nice and crusty brown, plus you'll be deglazing the pan and adding the meat juices to the crock pot.

Place the browned meat on top of the veggies in the crock pot. Season to taste with the above-mentioned herbs and spices. Add a little water to the skillet to deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up all the tasty brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add these juices to the crock pot on top of the meat. Scatter the remaining Hatch chiles over top of the meat.

Add the potatoes around the sides of the meat. Add the roasted red peppers, season again, to taste, then pour the remaining diced tomatoes over everything. Put the lid on, let it cook on High for 6 hours, then enjoy your complete meal cooked in a crock pot.

I never follow a recipe when I cook. I just toss things together and hope they'll taste good. This turned out to be totally delicious, with just the perfect amount of heat. I have lots of delicious leftovers--perfect for nuking in the microwave when I'm writing waaay past dinnertime.

Hatch Chile Chili and Cornbread

It's getting to be chili weather again. Time to turn our thoughts to bowls of delicious, steaming chili to warm our hearts and souls... not to mention our stomachs!

It was such a day for chili a few weeks ago here in San Antonio.
It was raining and a bit chilly (temps in the 60s and 70s... very nice after our record-breaking heat wave of 100+ degrees for 57 days) so I decided to make chili, but not just any chili. I made Hatch Chile Chili and Hatch Chile Cornbread to go along with it. (First time I've turned my oven on in months.)

• 1 pound lean ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 - 2 T. cumin, divided
• 3 - 4 T. chili powder, divided
• 1 T. fajita seasoning, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 roasted Hatch chiles, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 (15.5 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• Cornbread

Heat a deep, 12-inch chef's skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and onions. Shake in some of the cumin, chili powder, and fajita seasoning to season the meat and onions as they cook, stirring and adding more seasoning occasionally, until the meat is broken up and nearly browned, and the onions have begun to soften.

Add the garlic and Hatch chiles into the turkey mixture. Season a bit more with the cumin, chili powder, and fajita seasoning. Stir occasionally until the meat is completely browned.

Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and beans. Season with more of the cumin, chili power, and fajita seasoning. Stir to mix everything together and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and let simmer for an hour or so, stirring occasionally.

While the chili is cooking, make the cornbread. I admit, I totally cheated and used a packaged mix, but I did add a roasted Hatch chile, seeded and chopped, into the mix.

Spoon the chili into a bowl. Serve the cornbread on the side. Guaranteed to warm you up on a cold rainy day, or any other time.