Chile Verde

If any of you have know me for a while, you may already know that when I get bored or I am having a stressful day. I do not call a friend and talk about it, I simply cook. I have used cooking as a way to express my feelings and cook with soul. Everything taste so much better when it is cooked with a little TLC and soul. Cooking has always been an outlet to let out all my frustration and joy. It is funny it is the one thing that will relax me when I just want to scream at the top of my lungs. Some of my best dishes have came out of those bad days! Here is a delicious recipe that came after my grandfather passed away. Green chille was his favorite. I never had the chance to say goodbye to my grandpa and felt really guilty for that. It was 2 am in the morning when I woke up to my mom crying and running down the stairs. She had just recived the call from the nursing home that my grandpa had passed away in his sleep. Not being able to sleep from the devestating news and the emptiness I felt. I sat in the kitchen remembering the good times I had with my grandpa and all the meals I had prepared for him. I sat there thinking of his favorite meals. One of them being chile verde. I got up from my kitchen table and went to the fridge and said grandpa tonight I wil prepare some chile verde and eat it with you. I cried the whole time I was making it. When it was all done I sat down and invited my sister to join me. Together we cried and in the end smiled because my grandpa would have really loved the green chille.

On a lighter note this is also the dish I prepared for my husband on our first date. A stomach in the key to a mans heart ladies :) After our first date I inharrited the name chile verde from his friends :)

1 pound of cubed beef

3 idaho potatoes peeled and cut into bite size pieces

7 jalapenos

5 tomatoes

1 medium chopped onion

1 clove of minced garlic

1 teaspoon of crushed cummin

1 teaspoon of salt

In a comal roast the jalapenos and tomatoes add in a ziplock bag while you peel and cut the potatoes. PLacing the jalapenos and tomatoes in a bag will allow them to cook more with steam and intensify the flavor.

In a skillet cook the meat until no longer pink. Drain the liquied and add potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes, then add the onions. It is very important to add salt when you add the potatoes because if you do not it will tast blant. Contimue to cook an stir until the onion is see through and potatoes are cooked. Set aside.

Peel the skin off the jalapenos and tomatoes. You might want to use cooking gloved so that you do not get spicy on your hands. I typically just peel them under cold water so that my fingers do not get spicy.

Once the jalapenos and tomatoes are all peeled remove the stems from the jalapenos.

Add the jalapenos, tomatoes, garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 cup of water to the blender.

Very Important Setting that you must use on your blender for this recipe to work:

Once it is all in the blender press the pulse setting about 3-4 times. This will allow a course chop and get a perfer consitancy of what the green chille should be.

Once you make your green sauce add to the meat and potatoe skillet. Add 1 teaspoon of crushed cummin and simmer for about 8 minutes.

There you have it the one recipe that got me through my sorrow and made me a bride :)