The Legend of Cripple Creeks Worst Green Chile

And the legend goes a little like this:

An annual green chile cook off in the small mountain town of Cripple Creek Colorado. Melissa Trenary entered her favorite chile recipe. At the taste test it was dubbed, "Cripple Creeks Worst Chile" She then proceeded to sell like a million gallons of it that night at her bar.

Well, if that was the worst, I would have died tasting the best, because this stuff is the bomb. And to boot, it is super easy. The longer you cook it the better. 

Now in my humble opinion this is best on top of cheese enchiladas, complete with enchilada sauce and sour cream. But it is just as yummy in a bowl with cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips..or the next morning as Migas (a post for later), in or on just about anything that you would like to put it in or on.

So on to the "Worst" green chile on the planet. Which by the way, there are never any leftovers of. 

Cripple Creeks Worst Green Chile

4lbs Pork Roast or Pork Stew meat, floured and browned thoroughly

2 cans Rotel (diced tomatoes if you are wimpy)

2 large cans diced green chiles

(We use fresh roasted green chiles, actually I use equivalent of 3 a mixture of Pueblo, Big Jims, and Anaheim's that have been roasted and skinned)

medium onion, diced

garlic

paprika (smoked is best)

cayenne

white pepper

cumin

12 oz bottle of beer

Combine all in large pot add just a little water, about 2 cups, but I use a crockpot. on medium low and cook all day long. 

Enjoy!

Southern Chow Chow (Picalilly)

Chow Chow is another one of those things that here in Colorado people look at me like I am nuts. It is certainly a Southern thing, and even some Southerners look at you like you are crazy.

I love Chow Chow with pinto beans and rice. Growing up, it was in my house some. My dad would use it every now and then mixed with mustard and make a sandwich spread out of it. But at my second house, my best friend Edwina's - her mother/my mother...we share well, always had chow chow. And we ate alot of pinto beans there. I went years without it being married to military, but every time I had pinto beans, rice, and cornbread I always fondly remembered Mama Judy and her Chow Chow.

Last night my friend Clinton called me and said..."Have you found Chow Chow up here?" I said "No, but I guess I could make some." And then came the 8:30 at night trip to Safeway to buy stuff, 2 hours of chopping, and we now have Chow Chow. 

I know at one point Judy made it and she could not remember the recipe. SO I went on the Chow Chow search and found thousands of different recipes. Some hot, some sweet, some savory, some with only green tomatoes, some with only cabbage. Then, I got The Homesick Texan Cookbook. Now if you have never seen Lisa Fain's blog - Homesick Texan and you like or miss Texas food, you are missing out. I have a ton of cookbooks and they collect dust on the shelf most of the time. But this is probably the best cookbook I have  ever bought. So I took her recipe, made a few changes (I wanted that balance of hot and sweet), and voila - Chow Chow.

The Homesick Texan Recipe:

1 pound green tomatoes finely diced (I used tomatillos)
4 cups green cabbage finely shredded and chopped
1/2 large yellow onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
4 jalapenos, diced. (I did not remove seeds)
1/4 cup Kosher Salt, plus more to taste
2 cups white vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1 Tablespoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed (I used more dry mustard)
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used a scant 1/4 teaspoon of this)
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

1) Combine all veggies in a large bowl, Sprinkle with Kosher salt, and fill bowl with water to cover vegetables. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. (I did overnight)

2) In large pot bring vinegar and all spices to boil. Add strained, but not rinsed vegetables, boil for 10 more minutes.

3) Pack vegetables in jars with juice from pot.

4) I water bathed these for 30 minutes, let them cool and dated the jars when they could be opened.  

Now that was the condensed version of her recipe. I added everything at the end of the line except...
I added a few serrano peppers. I love the flavor of them. And I cut the jalapenos in half.
Also I added 1/4 teaspoon white pepper, and a extra 3 Tablespoons brown sugar.

Also I quadrupled this recipe as I had planned on canning quite a few jars. Mainly so I would have them, but I intend on sending a jar to Edwina and Mama Judy. And of course Clinton will not get his jar until it sits for a few weeks because he will not be able to help himself and he will open it before it is time. :-)

I would suggest to let this sit for AT LEAST 2 weeks, but really 4-6 would be ideal. Alot like Cowboy Candy, the longer it sits the better it gets. 

Chicken Caesar Lettuce Wraps

Quick but yummy and somewhat healthy lunch..minus the kettle chips, but it was a great recovery meal after a really hard workout. I could use a few chips here and there. Right?

 

In a bowl mix:

1 can chicken breast

handful golden raisins

handful of red grapes, quartered

2 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

2 Roma tomatoes chopped

1/2 cup lowfat shredded cheddar

chopped walnuts

pepper

2 T. fat free mayo

2 T. fat free Caesar dressing

Romaine Hearts

Large Leafy Lettuce Leaves

 

 

Because I actually really love crunch I wrapped these in Romain hearts first. About 1 1/2 tablespoons in each.

 

Roll them up then roll them in some leafy lettuce, for these I used tri-colored greens. 

Served with Kettle cooked BBQ chips and some spicy roasted red pepper hummus. It was quite a good lunch and one I will probably repeat tomorrow :-)

Orange Chicken - Meal in a jar

Once again the fabulous meal in a jar caught my eye! I just love them. 

From Creative Canning:

Orange Chicken

Another clone of Panda Express.

2 lbs chicken
1 tablespoon ginger
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon rice wine
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup orange juice
zest of 1 orange
3 pint jars

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and stir fry
Add all other ingredients in pan and bring to a light boil
Pour into jars distributing evenly
Add orange juice to fill line if needed

For pints process 75 minutes at 11 lbs pressure
Quarts would need 90 minutes.

When serving add cornstarch to sauce to thicken.
Serve over rice. 

Now I used fresh ginger (always), so add a bit more than called for in the recipe. And I also mixed boneless skinless breasts and thighs. And added a cup more OJ than the recipe called for. 

Processed at 15 pounds for 150 minutes.

But yummy!

Holy Haluski!!

What is Haluski?

It is fabulous. 

What is it?

It is typically a Polish side dish, what is it for me?

A meal...and a yummy one.

These are the ingredients for plain Haluski to be used as a side:

1 head green cabbage shredded

1 head napa cabbage shredded

1 large onion halved and sliced

1 stick real salted butter

frozen home style egg noodles

salt, pepper, (and I used a little dehydrated green chile powder.)

Put butter, onions, cabbage, and spices into a wok or large frying pan on medium heat. I saute all until the cabbage and onions are a little brown. 

 

In the meantime boil noodles and drain. Lay on paper towels to dry just a bit. 

 

Add noodles to cabbage mixture and toss to heat.

Now I really like green chile pork meatballs with this. And I just throw them right in. 

 

1 pound ground pork

4T dehydrated green chile powder

pepper

salt

dash cayenne pepper

 

Mix well and form into small meatballs and fry in skillet while cabbage is cooking.

I cover them to cook faster. 

Then toss them in - grease and all and toss just to mix (there is not much grease for ground pork)

 

Saute for a few minutes more and serve. It is really good with a dollop of sour cream on it as well.

Sweet and Sour Chicken - Meal in a Jar

I love love love meals in a jar. 

#1) I know what is in them

#2) They are on the shelf and quick for the kids to grab when I am not home

#3) I know what is in them

Creative Canning 

is one of my very favorite blogs and I got this from her. Stole it fair and square. And really only made a few changes. Here is her recipe which I followed to a T with only a few exceptions:

4.5 lbs chicken,boneless, skinless, thighs and breasts cut in bite sized pieces

2 large green peppers chopped

1 large red pepper chopped

2 onions chopped

3 20 oz cans pineapple chunks drained, reserve juice

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cups white vinegar

6 tablespoons soy sauce

4 tablespoons catsup

1 tsp ginger

Layer the chicken, onions, peppers and pineapple in quart jars.

Heat the brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, catsup, ginger, and 3 cups of pineapple juice (add water if there is not enough) and bring to a light boil until the sugar is dissolved.

Pour liquid over the solids in the jar to the fill line.

Pressure can for 90 minutes at 11 lbs pressure or according to your elevation.

 

 

I added shredded carrots and mixed boneless thigh meat and boneless breast meat. And of course pressure canned at 15 pounds for 1 hour 50 minutes. 

 

I did 1 1/2 the sauce because I made more than 5 quarts. 

 I plan on letting this sit and come together for a few weeks, but then it is on. A little rice, and it is Chinese for dinner, with no funky stuff in it, no MSG, just good old chicken and veggies. 

 

I will also add just a little cornstarch upon reheating to thicken. 

Yummy!!!