What do you do when you have a mess of peppers and dinner time is coming at you?
Maybe I never have mentioned what a wonderful wife I have. Shame on me, because she allows me to cook whenever I want, and when I don't want to cook, she jumps into the kitchen and takes care of putting a tasty meal on the table for us. Best of all, she never complains about not having any idea what I am going to cook next. Sometimes my concoctions are still mysteries when she sees me spooning strange looking stuff onto our plates. A few times, she has been compelled to ask, “What were you trying to cook?”
Some of my favorite mystery meals start off as Mexican, or more likely Tex-Mex; a culinary style and taste profile I love. As long as I have a meat, a few vegetables, cheese, cumin, chili peppers, and some Adobo seasoning I feel like I can come up with a Tex-Mex recipe. Some of my Tex-Mex meals are special event dishes, but most are just good eating.
This week, I will stick to a casserole dish that is just good eating. You probably have most of the ingredients I used in your pantry right now.
By the way, Jackson has a pretty good Mexican grocery on Old Canton Road. If you ever need Ox Tails or canned goods labeled in Spanish, they will meet your needs. Also, the staff there never huddles together to talk about the Dos Viejas Gringos when we walk in, grab a cart and head for the produce displays.
Coming up with a good name for my dishes has never been much of a skill, so here is a Tex-Mex casserole with a mouthful of name. In honor of last week's post, "If you make, they will come" (to the table).
Poblano, Jalapeno, and Chicken Casserole with Black Beans, Rotel and Corn
Ingredients:
2
Poblano Peppers
1 Tablespoon Jalapeno pepper, diced
1 15 oz.
can black beans
1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn
1 10 oz. can
Rotel mild or medium tomatoes
8
oz. Monterrey Jack Cheese
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup (mixed)
red and green bell pepper, diced
3
medium/large chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (or substitute a
rotisserie chicken)
Cumin, Black Pepper, Garlic Salt, and salt to taste
Optional: Canned Pinto beans, well drained
Directions:
Cook chicken breasts in water, seasoned with salt and black pepper, dice or shred apart and season with 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and 2 teaspoon garlic salt. then cut into desired size bits.
Cover the Poblano peppers with a light coating of vegetable oil and roast in a 400 degree F oven until the outer skin blisters. Remove and cover with plastic wrap for three or four minutes to allow the skin to separate. Remove skin, open and remove seeds, flatten and dice into small pieces.
Spray 9x13 inch casserole with Pam spray. Cube chicken, drain and rinse black beans. Dice onion.
Add diced chicken, black beans, Rotel Tomatoes, whole kernel corn, green and red bell pepper, jalapeno pepper and onion to casserole dish. Be sure to drain everything well. The ingredients need to be somewhat dry when everything makes its way into the casserole dish.
Mix well, cover with cheese and bake in oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, until bubbly.
Serve with a simple lettuce and tomato salad and sour cream
The dish if tasty and filling. It cooks without a lot of trouble. The Poblano peppers (which are not hot) add a special taste to the casserole but can be left out and canned green chilies substituted. If using green chilies (canned), use at least two cans. Three would be better.
Thanks for looking.
God bless you.
6 comments:
Yes, indeed. Mexican is my first-go-to menu whenever I have the ingredients and no other plan.
Valdez is the name of the Hispanic food store on Old Canton Road. I've been going there since they opened years ago. I used to be the only Caucasian American in there but lately I've seen a lot more American whites and blacks shopping there.
Have you found the panaderia (Mexican bakery) at 6610 Old Canton Road, on the north side of Amerigo's restaurant? You will think you died and went to heaven if you walk in the door just as they are pulling incredible pastries and tortas from the ovens.
Tex-Mex is pretty much my love language. I make a variation of Tex-Mex/Southwestern pretty much every week. (I use the term Tex-Mex loosely sometimes). Tomatoes? Check. Peppers of various kinds? Check. Cilantro? Check. Chorizo? Check. Some weeks, tortillas wrap around a mixture of the aforementioned ingredients. Another week, one pot meal with rice. Another week, I stuff poblanos. I've even been known to make a one pot meal with pasta. I went to culinary school and can cook authentic Mexican food. I just also really like Tex-Mex as well.
I always want to be careful when I assign ethnic labels to my dishes. I am well aware of the many wonderful dishes that are a part of Mexican cuisine that bear no resemblance to dishes I often cook with the desire to make "Mexican food". Just like American, or Southern, or Italian, etc. The style of Mexican cooking varies greatly, depending on what part of Mexico the cook came from. I was happy when the term Tex-Mex came into popular use, because I really like that style of cooking, as do the many folks who eat at "Mexican" restaurants whenever they get a chance.
So you are the culprit buying up the poblanos before I can get to them? Time to save their seeds and plant them in a sunny place in my yard to always have them at hand, except in Winter and Spring.
BTW, Poblanos and Jalapeños lose a lot of their heat if split, seeded and roasted inside up, until brown at edges, while retaining all their flavor.
IMO, almost all of the heat in a jalapeno pepper os in the white membrane and seeds. I always take that part our when I use them. We keep a small jar of pickled jalapeno peppers in the fridge and when I want heat, I will add some of the peppers or juice to my dish.
I suspect many JJ readers have at least heard the name "Skip Bayless." Those interested in "Mexican" and to a lesser extent Tex-Mex and similar cooking styles might want to look up his brother Rick.
I don't find Rick's recipes or restaurants quite as universally authentic as many folks (and I'm probably in the minority) but he would be a good source for those with limited familiarity with the genre(s). I would GENERALLY characterize his stuff as "South of the border for those north of it" but for many folks north of it that would be a good thing. His stuff is certainly more "Mexican" than a lot of what is called, claimed to be, and passes for "Mexican" in much of the US. And for those given to picking nits, no, I have not read EVERY recipe the man has ever published nor eaten EVERY dish at EVERY restaurant with which he is involved, so my thoughts above are based on general experience rather than in-depth study.
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