Cheesy Hatch Chile Potato Casserole

This time of year Hatch Chiles are very popular in the South Western United States. The Hatch Chile is Prized for it’s unique flavor and plays a staring role in New Mexican Cuisine. Not all but many people love the Hatch Chile so much that they fill up their home freezers with enough Hatch Chiles to last till next year. This easy to prepare casserole is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Everyone loves potatoes and cheese flavored with these Forking Delicious Fire Roasted Hatch Chiles!

Here’s my Cheesy Hatch Chile Potato Casserole.

Cheesy Hatch Chile Potato Casserole

Ingredients to make about 12 generous servings

1 large sweet onion finely sliced

3 lbs potatoes finely sliced (alternate slicing and mix with onions so potatoes don’t brown)

4 oz unsalted butter – melted

6 XL eggs – beaten

10 oz colby cheese – shredded

9 oz pepper jack cheese – shredded

1/2 cup flour

3.2 oz non-fat dry milk (one packet)

1 1/2 cup water

2 Hatch Chiles – roasted with seeds, skin and stem removed – finely chopped

1 Tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

non-stick spray – canola or vegetable

Directions

Set your oven to 350 degrees F

In a large bowl is your thinly sliced potatoes and onions that you slice in an alternating way and are mixed together so they don’t brown.

In another large bowl mix up all the remaining ingredients excluding non-stick spray.

Get a very large pan and spray it up with your non-stick spray.

As best as you can mix the two bowls together and press the mixture down into the pan.

Cover the top of the pan with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with non-stick spray so the potatoes don’t stick to the foil.

In my oven this pan took 90 minutes to cook threw and I need to mention I did have another pan in my oven so the timing might differ some.

After 90 minutes I wanted to brown the top more so I removed the foil and put the pan back in for around 20 minutes.

Cheesy Hatch Chile Potato Casserole

I prefer to chill the casserole in the refrigerator and reheat so it’s nice and neat like a lasagna but you can serve right away if you prefer but it won’t come out nice and neat.

Cheesy Hatch Chile Potato Casserole

It’s just Forking YUM yum Delish!

The Forking Truth

Hatch Chile Cheese Bread

Hatch Chiles are FORKING DELICIOUS and if you live in an area that sells them most likely you will stock up your freezer with these Hatch Chiles so you can enjoy them all year. Today I thought I’d bake a Hatch Chile and Cheese Bread. I’ve been making pizza dough at home for many years, I never measure so I have the knack for baking bread. It’s hard to teach how to make bread because many things will throw bread recipes off and you just have to get the feel for it. Humidity, water, your oven, and actually the brand of flour you use will slightly differ the recipe. Be aware your dough should never be sticky (unless it’s something like a German Style Pumpernickel). When your done making dough it should pull away from the bowl and shouldn’t stick to your hands. You also should be aware that the extra flour in your bowl that the dough rest in is used to knead the dough. Hope that helps. Back to the Hatch Chile Cheese Bread. The bread is very light textured and moist…..you can taste the hatch chiles and do get some heat. I don’t really get the cheddar cheese I added but it’s in the background and maybe adds to the really nice texture. My loaf came out bigger than I expected and the chiles melted into the dough. Next time I might cut the chiles in small chunks instead of fine chopping the chiles so I get to see the chiles more. The only other thing I would have done different would be to make two loaves instead of one so I’d possibly get a thinner crust because of less oven time. But this bread came out so tasty with such a great interior I would certainly make it again.

Ingredients for one loaf or about 10 servings

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 oz active dry yeast – or one packet

1 cup water -100 – 110 degrees F for the yeast to bloom

4 cup bread flour (one cup at the beginning of recipe – 3 cups soon) Plus extra flour for your dough to rest in.

2 XL eggs beaten

2 hatch chiles – roasted, peeled, seeds and stem removed, then chopped

5 oz extra sharp aged cheddar cheese

2 teaspoons kosher salt or sea salt

1/4 cup corn meal – for resting the bread on

non – stick spray canola or vegetable

Directions

In large bowl add the sugar, yeast, water, and one cup of bread flour, combine and put in a warm place till it looks foamy.

Get out your stand mixer and put on the dough hook.

Everything goes in your mixing bowl expect for the nonstick spray and the corn meal that’s used to rest the bread loaf on.

Turn your mixer on to stir and as soon as everything is mixed then turn the mixer up to medium-high for about 5 minutes.

It should look like this.

The dough should be nice and elastic like. Your bowl should be mostly clean and the dough shouldn’t stick to your hands.

In a large mixing bowl add extra flour and make your dough into a dough ball and let it rest in the flour in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave the dough in a warm spot until it doubles in size…an hour or so….

Then punch in down and knead it a bit. Make the dough into a loaf shape and place in in a non-stick sprayed pan that’s topped with a layer of cornmeal. The cornmeal will add a nice nutty crust to the bottom of the bread.

Leave the dough in a warm place for about an hour.

I set my oven to 350 degrees F…I note I had a casserole in the oven at the same time so I don’t know if that effected the timing but after 45 minutes the bread looked like this.

It looks done but it’s not…I knocked on the top and sides and it made a sound like I knocked on a watermelon and seemed done but when I knocked on the bottom I didn’t get the sound so I flipped the bread upside down and put it back in the oven for another 1/2 hour and that’s what it took.

The texture of the bread is fine and moist. Crust is a little thick. I get the hatch chile taste but not too much.

My husband said this bread would be good for any sandwich.

Hatch Chile Cheese Bread

Came out very tasty. The interior of the bread has a very delicate light moist texture. The Hatch Chiles gives this bread a kick!

The Forking Truth

Spicy Asian Inspired Radish Apple Salad

This salad is very light, spicy and a little sweet. It’s easy to prepare and is also very flavorful. I used a mild Korean Radish but really any radish will do.

Ingredients for about 4 servings

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon black vinegar

2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon shaoltsing rice wine

1 Tablespoon garlic – minced

2 Tablespoon gochujang

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 Tablespoon fresh ginger – minced

1 Tablespoon honey

2 Tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon hoisin sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 Korean Radish – peeled and shredded (about 4 cups)

1 carrot – peeled – shredded

1 apple – shredded

4 scallion – sliced on a diagonal

2 Tablespoon sesame seeds – toasted

Directions

In a small mixing bowl combine soy sauce, black vinegar, rice wine vinegar, shaoltsing rice cooking wine, garlic, gochujang, chile flakes, ginger, honey, sugar, hoisin, sesame oil and mix well and set to the side.

In a large mixing bowl combine the radish, carrot, apple, scallions, and then pour in the contents from the small bowl to dress the vegetables.

Chill in the refrigerator for about a half hour and top with sesame seeds to serve.

Spicy Asian Inspired Radish Apple Salad

Top with a little bit of fresh cilantro if you happen to have any.

It easy, it’s light and full of flavor and spice.

The Forking Truth

Individual Meatloaf

This is just a basic meatloaf recipe. I like to make plain meatloaves in individual servings. Leftovers freeze well. I usually whip up a sauce made from tomato paste, water, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne sauce as the topping but you can also use ketchup mixed with Worcestershire and cayenne sauce to your liking.

Ingredients for 22 servings.

3 lb ground beef (brisket, sirloin, chuck and rib)

6 XL eggs – beaten

1/2 onion –  chopped fine

1 celery stalk – chopped fine

1 hot pepper – chopped fine – any favorite hot pepper- I used a roasted hot hatch chile with the skin a seeds removed. (doesn’t make the meatloaves hot but adds flavor)

3 Tablespoons kosher salt or sea salt

1 Tablespoon black pepper

1 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock

3 1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1 Tablespoon thyme

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoon cayenne sauce ( I prefer Franks Red Hot)

1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped well.

Non-stick spray

Directions

Spray your small fry pan with non-stick spray and put your pan on medium high heat.

Add celery, onion, garlic and your hot pepper if it’s raw. Cook until the onions are transparent and remove from heat and set to the side.

In a large mixing bowl add, beef, eggs, all liquid and all spices (except parsley) mix well.

If or when your fry pan vegetables are about at room temperature add them now and mix well.

Now mix in bread crumbs and parsley.

You can pinch off a small piece of meat and make a meatball shape tester to adjust seasonings if you care too. About ten minutes in a 350 degree F oven will cook it threw.

Get out your sprayed baking sheets and a scale.

Portion the mixture into 4 oz oval shapes and fill baking sheets.

Recipe should make 22 meatloaves that freeze perfect.

Individual Meatloaf

“Tasty Meatloaf”

The Forking Truth

Tri-Color Salsa

Picked up a pint of sweet tri-color tiny tomatoes so I made them into salsa. This salsa taste better than any jarred tomato salsa that you can buy at the store.

This recipe will make about 4 servings

1 pint tri-color small sweet tomatoes – quartered

1/4 sweet onion – chopped fine

1 scallion – sliced thin

1 jalapeño  – chopped fine

3 garlic cloves – made into paste

splash apple cider vinegar

1 small lime – just the fresh squeezed juice

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. I note if your tomatoes aren’t surgery sweet like mine were you might need to add a teaspoon of sugar.

Enjoy.

Tri-Color Salsa

Yummy!

The Forking Truth