Your Favorite South- western Recipes
Thanks to all of you who sent in your favorite Southwestern family recipes. We loved them all in our potluck taste-testing event, as you can see in the accompanying photos. And we've combined them as the beginning entries to our new online Alumni Cookbook. Let us know which recipe is tops for your pack at alumni@unm.edu.
Barbara Casey won a copy of Lois Ellen's Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations, a James Beard Award-winning cookbook, for her submission of a recipe for calabacitas.
Calabacitas
Submitted by Barbara Casey, Naples, Florida
3 small zucchini squash
1 large ear of corn
1 small onion
3 roasted, peeled green chiles
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons of cooking oil (canola preferred)
1/4 cup water
salt to taste
Dice zucchini, onion, green chiles and garlic. Cook in the canola oil. Cut the kernels of corn off the ear and add them to the zucchini mixture. Add water and cook until the water evaporates completely and the zucchini and onions are tender, but not overcooked. Salt to taste.
(Note: Canned green chiles and canned corn can be substituted if you are in a hurry. Fresh tastes better, but canned is okay too!)
Serving suggestion: Top with shredded cheddar cheese and serve with jalapeño cornbread as a nice vegetarian entree or serve as a side dish with other New Mexican food.
Chili con Queso
Submitted by Jo Ann Kelly Graham, '76 BA, Ovilla, Texas
This recipe surprises everyone since the use of beer makes the Velveeta taste like real cheese. My friend Deborah Pence Grisham, '69 BA, learned this recipe in Cuba, New Mexico when she and her husband, Tom, were teaching there in the late 1960s.
3 tablespoons butter
1 small onion. chopped
2 roma/plum tomatoes. chopped
2 Anaheim chilis, stemmed, seeded and chopped
OR one small can chopped green chili, drained
8 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
1/3 cup flat beer
Melt butter and add tomato, onion and chili and sauté until soft. Add cheese and melt over medium heat. Stir frequently, making sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. While cheese is melting, stir beer until it no longer foams. When cheese is melted, add beer and stir. Serve warm with tortilla chips.
Guacamole
Submitted by Sue Van Cleve, Bosque Farms, New Mexico
Ripe avocados
Jalapeños (one jalapeño for each avocado)
1 bunch of green onions
1 tomato (optional)
lemon juice to taste
Peel and smash avocados. Dice jalapeños, tomato, and green onions. Mix all ingredients together. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and lemon juice to taste. Refrigerate leftovers.
Cream Cheese & Salsa Southwestern Opener
Submitted by Kris Sly-Linton, '76 BA, '84 MA, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Very easy -- great at poolside!
In a wide, shallow bowl, place a bar of Philly cream cheese, a bit softened at room temp. Then, pour salsa over the top (still love Territorial house or Monroe's), letting it fill the bottom of the dish. A dollop of sour cream on top with a few black olives (pitted) around the side and serve with blue corn chips.
Easy Chile Con Queso
Submitted by Maria Crawley, '81 MD, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Microwave safe bowl with lid (2 quarts size)
2 lb. Velveeta, cubed
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 stick of butter or margarine
1 cup chopped green chile (or more to taste)
8 ounces salsa
Place butter and onions in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave covered, on high, 4 minutes, until onions are transparent. Add cheese, replace lid and microwave on 50-60% power for 4 minutes. Stir and continue heating covered for 3 to 5 minutes until cheese has melted. Remove and add the green chile, salsa and milk. Stir and heat for 2 to 3 minutes on high until heated through. Alternately, place in a crockpot on warm and it will stay ready to eat for 6 to 8 hours. Serve with tostada chips and enjoy.
Creamy Green Chile Corn
Submitted by Phyllis Galloway, '85 MA, Albuquerque, New Mexico
1 8 oz. block cream cheese
1 can chopped HATCH green chile
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
1/2-1 t. cumin (cominos) - optional
In a baking dish, melt the cream cheese. Stir in the corn and green chile. Add cumin to taste. Cover and bake @ 350 degrees 30-45 minutes, removing cover last 10 minutes.
Ellen's Corn and Chili Casserole
Submitted by Elaine Montague, '71 BSED, '77 MA, '84 EDSP, Albuquerque, New Mexico
1 can (13 oz) whole corn, drained
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
2 T. cornstarch, dissolved in milk above
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 t. salt
2-3 green chiles, chopped or in strips
Combine all and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, top with mixture of 1/4 cup breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons melted butter and bake 8 more minutes.
Simple and Delicioso Green Chili Enchilada Casserole
Submitted by Jean-Paul Hebert, '97 BSNM, Danville, Indiana
You'll be surprised how delicious this recipe is using just a few ingredients!
4 large onions, chopped up and sautéed until limp.
8 green chiles or poblano peppers, roasted/peeled/seeded
4 potatoes, cubed
Meat (chicken/pork/beef) for 8 servings
Strain the water used to clean the peppers and reserve.
Combine these ingredients in a large pot and cook over medium heat until meat is done. Add enough water, including reserved pepper broth, to cover the mix and add in:
1 can garlic cream of mushroom soup. Stir and finish by adding salt or garlic salt to taste. Layer in a traditional manner with tortillas and cheese in a casserole dish. Cook for 30 minutes.
Fabulous Bean Dip
Submitted by Linda Marie Lendino, Albuquerque, New Mexico
1 medium onion, chopped
1 package taco seasoning
1 10-ounce can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles
2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, mashed
1 pound Velveeta cheese
Brown the onion in a little oil. Add the taco seasoning and the amount of water required on the package. Add the Rotel, beans and cheese. Heat thoroughly and serve immediately with tortilla chips.
Can be kept warm in a crockpot, but tastes great at room temperature too!
Carne Adovada
Submitted by Stephan Foster, '76 BSPH, Atoka, Tennessee
About 20 dried red chile pods
4 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Pork shoulder - 5 lbs
Trim the fat from the shoulder as you cut it up into bite-size squares. Set aside. Remove stems (and seeds if desired) from pods and place in large pot. Cover with water and boil until pods are soft. Place the chiles, a small portion at a time, along with the spices, in a blender and make thick sauce (add water from the boiling chiles to thin out as necessary). Repeat until all chile is made into sauce. Mix sauce with pork and marinate overnight. Bake in covered roasting pan at 300 degrees until meat falls apart.
Salsa Fresca, Facil, Rica
Submitted by Nancy Terr, '86 MA, Albuquerque, New Mexico
I got this recipe from Alfred Gonzales, who cooked in Las Vegas, then I modified it to make it our 'family' recipe.
In a Cuisinart, combine:
Several cloves of garlic
1/2 onion
1 fresh jalapeno, split, with stem and seeds/membrane removed
Chop for a few seconds. Add:
1 can peeled tomatoes
Bunch cilantro
Process for a few seconds.
Pour in bowl. Top with a jalapeño top and juice from half a fresh lime.
Calabacitas
Submitted by Amanda Whichard, Sunnyvale, California
2 green zucchini
1 yellow squash (small-medium in size)
1 to 2 Mexican squash
1/4 t. fresh crushed garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 T. oil
1 cup corn (frozen white corn or fresh corn)
2 cups water
1-2 T. green chili (depending on how hot chili is in flavor)
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (more if you prefer)
Salt & pepper to taste
Slice zucchini and squash into chunky slices. Heat oil in pot, add garlic and onion and sauté about 15 seconds. Add zucchini/squash, chili, and corn and sauté in oil for a minute. Add water and bring to boil. Cover with lid, lower heat to medium and let simmer for 10 minutes. Drain any excess water. Add milk. Bring to boil again. Once it has reached full boil, cover with lid, lower heat to medium again, let it simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Once it has simmered for 2-3 minutes, remove lid and add cheese, mix well, cover and let sit a few minutes (5 minutes or so).
Howling Lobo Cookies
Submitted by Cambria Tidwell, '01 BS, Herndon, Virginia
2 to 3 tbsp crushed dried red chile, to taste
1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped almonds, optional*
Place 1 cup of chips in bowl and microwave 2-3 minutes, until melted. Stir until smooth. Let cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat egg and add to butter with vanilla. Stir in melted chips. Combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder in bowl. Slowly add to butter mixture. Mix well. Stir in chile, almonds, and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Drop in clumps (1 tbsp. size) onto baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool on rack.
*We used piñón nuts for the Alumni Relations staff potluck—yum!