Spicy

Have you ever roasted green chilies?
Oh, these little bad boys are down right tasty.
They fill the warm kitchen with a spicy aroma that almost brings tears to your eyes.
They freeze wonderfully, ready for any Mexican recipe at any moment.
Plus, they are one of the easiest things you can think of to make.
Ready for this?
First, move the top rack in the oven as close to the broiler as possible.
Place the chilies on a baking pan, once the broiler is preheated place the pan on the top rack.
Leave them there for just a few minutes, until the skin turns black and starts to blister.
Take them out and turn to blister the other side. Continue until all sides of the pepper are blistered.
Remove from the oven and place directly in a plastic sac and seal it.
This allows the chilies to steam.
The bag will puff up like a hot air balloon in just a few seconds from all that hot air.

Aren't they pretty? I love the deep green goodness!
You only have to leave the chilies in the bag for a minute.
Remove them from the bag and the skins will literally peal right off in your fingers.
It's really quite fun to do.
Next, you can place them right in the freezer in a freezer bag for later use or chop them up for your favorite South Western dish.
What did I do with mine, you ask?
I made a dish Mr Bird's mom used to make for their family called Green Chili.
It's not green, but it calls for green chilies.
The recipe calls for canned, but we found out these fresh little puppies have 500% more flavor.
When I made this I chopped up one green chili and put it in.
It did not look like enough, so I chopped another and threw it in the pot.
Big mistake!
I think we would have been good with half of one, these little guys have kick!
Our mouths were on fire, but it was so good.
I could not stop eating it, tears streaming down my face.
You want the recipe?
OK, since I love you, here you go.

Green Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey or finely chopped chicken breast, browned
1 large potato diced really small
1/2 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1 small can tomato sauce (or 3-4 fresh Roma tomatoes all blended up with the onion/garlic mixture)
1 small can green chilies or 1/2-1 roasted, diced green chili
6 C water
1 1/2 t chili powder
1 t cumin
salt to taste

Directions:
Warning: For those of you who don't know me very well, I have made this recipe my own. I don't do it exactly how my mother-in-law did it, but we still think it's a classic.
1. Place the onion, garlic and 2 cups of water in the blender. Blend until liquefied ( I hate chopping onion and garlic and my kids hate finding onion pieces in their food, this solves both problems. Plus it cuts out sauteing them too).
2. Pour the onion mixture in a pot and the add chopped potatoes. Boil until potatoes are tender.
3. While the potatoes are boiling brown your meat (we've made it without meat and I love it, Mr Bird loves it with meat).
4. When the potatoes are tender add remaining 4 cups of water and all other ingredients. Heat through.
5. Optional: You can thicken it with corn starch and water or cornmeal if it's too thin.
6. Serve over a warm tortilla topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, green onions, olives, etc.

Happy Soup Season!