End-of-Summer Fire Roasted Chili :: An Easy One-Pot Meal

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Ask any New Mexican what her favorite thing about the end of the summer is, and I guarantee that the smell of green chile roasting is sure to be on that list.

There is simply no comparison to the spicy, smoky smell and flavor of New Mexican green chile.

My husband and I are foodies, and we want our kids to be adventurous eaters too. One of our family mottos is “Bushes try new things.” Also, we are transplants to Albuquerque. We’ve lived here nine years now, but one of the things we did when we first arrived was attempt to embrace the food culture of our new place. You gotta jump both feet in to a new place, right? A sweet friend taught me to make tamales and green chile stew and red chile enchiladas.

And as it turns out, my boys love their green chile.

They are disappointed when we visit grandparents out of state and there’s no green chile to add to pizza. Once while on vacation to Colorado, one of my little food connoisseurs (who was 10 at the time) ordered a breakfast burrito and noticed the difference between Colorado chile and New Mexican chile immediately. Let’s just say he was less than impressed with our neighbors to the north and their take on chile. (Sorry, Colorado, we love you!)

Another beautiful thing about this time of year is the abundance of fresh produce.

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I wish really, really bad I were a gardener, but alas, something’s gotta give. And for me that’s gardening. Regardless, the farmers markets, produce stands, and even our grocery stores have some top-notch veggies this time of year. It never fails that one of my generous gardening friends gives me zucchini this time of year, and I’m always looking for recipes to use it. One can only make so much zucchini bread. Amiright?

Enter End-of-Summer Fire Roasted Chili.

I love a good one-pot meal because fewer dishes. Praise hands! This recipe is great for a weeknight when you need to use up some veggies.

Albuquerque Moms Blog, bueno foods, green chile, recipe, end-of-summer fire roasted chiliIt’s like a Texas chili in that the base of it is ground meat, but instead of adding beans, you use vegetables that ripen at just this time of year.

It’s also a perfect meal for a large group. I have tripled this recipe for those evenings when we have lots of people over. I don’t feel like I’m slaving over the stove all day. And I can really enjoy my friends or family.

Also, I give mad props to those of you who buy fresh roasted chile and spend hours peeling and chopping it. Go you! Yay for time-honored traditions! I, however, am simply too strapped for time to perform that task.

So I’m thankful for Bueno Foods.

They roast, peel, chop, and then freeze the chile for me. Also, did you know that Bueno grows their chile right here in New Mexico? Their chile is New Mexico certified meaning it is guaranteed by a third party (the New Mexico Chile Association) that it is grown in The Land of Enchantment. They are one of the few to have this certification! Bueno Foods and their farmers were the first in the state to get this certification. I am all about purchasing a local product and supporting the economy of our beautiful state. I don’t know about you, but I want to be sure my chile is New Mexico grown, and not grown in South America or Mexico.

For this recipe, I recommend Bueno’s mild green chile if you’re cooking for kids or people from out of state. Also, if you’re serious about your chile and you like life SPICY, feel free to up the amount of the chile in the recipe. If you use the recommended amount of chile in the recipe below, you’ll have some left over to try some of these mouth-watering recipes. 

So without further ado . . .


End-of-Summer Fire Roasted Chili

serves 6

 

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef or ground turkey

1 red onion

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped

3 ears of corn (kernels scraped off) or 1 cup of frozen corn

6.5 oz. of BUENO® Frozen Green Chile (See note below.)

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons smoked paprika (Yes, it really should be smoked if you want this to taste amazing.)

1 tablespoon red chile powder

1 14.5 ounce can chicken broth

2 14.5 ounce cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes (Yes, they really need to be fire-roasted.)

2 tablespoons of fresh thyme

Zest and juice of 1 lime

Chopped green onions for topping

Grated cheddar cheese for topping

GRANDMA’S® Tortillas for dipping

 

Directions

In a large stock pot brown ground beef (or turkey).

Stir in onion, garlic, zucchini, bell pepper, and green chile.

Season all with salt, pepper, red chile powder, and smoked paprika.

Cook until the veggies are soft (6-7 minutes).

Stir in corn, chicken broth, green chile, thyme, and fire-roasted tomatoes.

Simmer for about 20 minutes. (This step is very important because the green chile requires cooking just like all other frozen vegetable and other ingredient items.)

After turning off the heat, stir in lime zest and juice.

Top with green onions and cheddar cheese.

And then my kids’ favorite part, include a GRANDMA’S® Tortilla on the side for ripping and dipping.

 

Notes:

BUENO® Frozen Green Chile thawing instructions: thaw in microwave on “defrost” setting for immediate use.

This recipe was adapted and inspired by a Rachael Ray recipe www.rachaelray.com

This post is sponsored by Bueno Foods, but the author's thoughts and opinions are her own.

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