Today's discussion has nothing to do with Star Wars, or Star Wars food, despite it being May the 4th. When my kids were little, I did try to incorporate those kinds of things into the menu, but my husband has less appreciation for those efforts. He took several of the boys and the grandkids up north a ways to fish for a couple of days last week, and as a consequence, there were a few days I wasn't in the kitchen much. To be fair I did do a couple of things like cleaning my stove, that were desperately needed, and there were a couple of days when I did cook before he left town.
One involved making some French bread. I doubled the recipe and made a large loaf, a smaller loaf, and some sandwich rolls I used for dinner that night. I actually meant to post the recipe for the sandwich, but forgot to take a picture of the finished product. Another time.
I got this picture from Marc, who said Jude approved of the instant pot spaghetti I made. He had two helpings...and probably a bath.
Which brings us to the recipe for today. I found the recipe in one of my Pioneer Woman cookbooks, and these are a riff on the Lazy Chile Rellenos I've posted before...also a Pioneer Woman recipe. There's a little variation in the recipe, adding a meat mixture to the layering process which makes it just a little heftier. The taste is really good, and since I used roasted Anaheim chilies I'd frozen from last year's garden, the heat was dialed down a little. That said, you have to remember that I'm a spice weenie. My husband likes it hot enough to make his bald head sweat, but since I'm cooking we do it my way and then he can add all the Cowboy Candied jalapeños he wants to make his bald head sweat. The recipe says to serve this with corn tortillas that have been blackened a little on a gas flame. I had some taco-sized flour tortillas that worked just fine. We cut little sections of the dish and put it in them with a little sour cream. I made two, 8" square freezer meals of this but it has cheese, so it's not going to Marc's non-dairy house right now, and this wouldn't be something my daughter would choose to take home, so the freezer meals will be sitting for a while. I made my husband and I a very tiny casserole dish of it that was just right for dinner and his lunch the next day.
Meaty Lazy Chile Rellenos
- 1 pound ground beef, or "beef" which is what I used
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 Tablespoon, plus 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup jarred salsa, plus more for serving
- 5 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 16 canned whole roasted, peeled green chilies, halved lengthwise
- 2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
- Tortillas of your choice, for serving
Brown together ground beef, onion powder, the 1 Tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon of the salt and the garlic. When the meat is browned, add the salsa and 1/2 cup water. Simmer that for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
In a bowl, coming the eggs, milk, cayenne, the remaining 1/2 teaspoons of chili powder and salt, and whisk together until smooth.
In a 9x13 baking dish (or 2, 8x8 pans), layer half the green chiles, kind of overlapping them as you go to cover the bottom. Put half the meat mixture on top of this and half the cheese, then repeat the layers. Pour the egg mixture over the top and put in a preheated 325° oven. Bake until the eggs are set, about 50 minutes.
Cut the casserole into squares and serve with tortillas, salsa, sour cream, and/or whatever other toppings you like. Serves 6-8
Rellenos was always one of my favorites
Posted by: AP Man | May 04, 2022 at 05:56 AM