Green Chiles & Cheese Casserole

My mom used to make this casserole and my sister, Arndis, is crazy about it.  I remember her buying canned green chiles to take back to Iceland.  The original recipe has a ton of cheese in it so I cut way back on that.  I also topped it with salsa instead of the original tomato sauce.  So yummy and even better the next day.

2 (7 oz.) cans whole green chiles (preferably fire roasted), drained

1 small (5 oz.) can evaporated milk
4 eggs
10-12 dashes tabasco
1 T. flour (I use brown rice flour)
1 t. baking powder
1 cup (about 4 oz.) finely shredded cheese (I use CoJack or Mexican Blend)
¼ cup salsa or picante sauce (not too chunky)

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, tabasco, flour and baking powder until very well blended.
 

Coat a serving dish (about 8”x8”) with cooking spray.  Cut one side of the chiles lengthwise so that they lay flat.  Line the serving dish with one can of the chiles.  Top with half the cheese.  Repeat with another layer of chiles and cheese.
 

Top with the egg mixture and press down with your fingers to make sure all of the cheese is covered by the egg mixture.
 

Bake for about 25 minutes at 375 degrees.  Remove and top with salsa.  Bake an additional 2-3 minutes.  Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

 

Here's a slice of this tasty goodness:

 

Asian Slaw

Made this slaw for fish tacos (next post).  Super good!

3 cups Napa cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced

1 cup radicchio, shredded or thinly sliced
½ red pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup cilantro, chopped
2 or 3 thin slices red onion, cut into fourths

1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 T. toasted sesame oil
2 T. pickled ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper

In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, oil, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper.  Add the cabbage, radicchio (or more cabbage if you don’t have radicchio), red pepper, cilantro, and onion slices.

Refrigerate for about an hour before serving.

Fish Tacos...Asian Style!

I usually make fish tacos using some type of chipotle slaw, but this time I decided to go Asian.  Marinated the tilapia and made an Asian Slaw that was super tangy and good.  Here's the marinade recipe:

3-4 Tilapia fillets
1 lime, juiced
1/4 c. peanut oil
1/2 c. low sodium soy sauce
1 T. pickled ginger
1 large garlic clove, smashed and sliced
1 T. toasted (dark) sesame oil
Splash of fish sauce
Pinch of cloves, or 3-4 whole cloves
1 t. coriander

Combine all ingredients in a baking dish where the tilapia fillets fit well.  Marinade at least an hour, turning once.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Put a cast iron skillet in the oven and heat for about 10 minutes.  Remove skillet and put fillets in it.  Put back in oven for 5 minutes.  Remove and flip the fillets and bake for another 3 minutes.

Serve with tortillas and Asian slaw.

Pumpkin Bread

It's that time of year when I start craving pumpkin bread.  I just used an old tried and true recipe but decreased the sugar.  Next time I think I'll replace the oil with applesauce.

1 (15 ounce) can 100% pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix!)

4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (I used grape seed oil) 
2/3 cup water
2 cups white sugar  
1 t. vanilla      
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. salt
1 ½ t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. ground ginger
1 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat pans with cooking/baking spray.  You can use three 7x3 loaf pans, 5 mini loaf pans, or do what I did and use 1 large pan and 3 mini pans.  

In a large bowl, using a beater, mix pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, sugar, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.  Add this mixture to the pumpkin and blend until combined.  Stir in walnuts.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake minis for about 50 minutes and large pans for 65-70 minutes.  The loaves are done when a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Let cool for a few minutes and then remove from pans and cool completely on a baking rack.

I like to mix a little sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it on top of each loaf before baking, at least when I remember to do this!