Cowboy Cooking Steak Trick

Above, grillin' a steak in Yosemite National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As today is Memorial Day, many people will be barbecuing their meals, whether they do it at home or camping in a national or state park. Personally, I will be barbecuing hamburgers today.

RV Travel posted an interesting article on a "cowboy cook trick" to make a tasty barbecued steak.

It begins with:

A cheap steak doesn’t have to eat like one. In the video at the end of this post, Cowboy Kent Rollins [3.52M subscribers, 425.7M views] takes a thick sirloin, one of the leaner and tougher cuts at the meat counter, and turns it into something far closer to a steakhouse plate with one simple move, a cold coffee marinade.

The trick isn’t fancy, but the details matter. Once the coffee, seasoning, and fire all line up, that budget cut gets tender, smoky, and full of beef flavor.

To read more, go here. 

Chile Rellenos Casserole

Above, the finished casserole. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since it is now Hatch chile pepper season, I bought a few over the weekend. 

Even though the New Mexico supermarkets now have boxes of them, they will fast disappear.  

Last evening, I made the chile relleno casserole from a recipe I found. This is the third year I've made the casserole.

Above, right after putting to peppers on the grill. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Before getting started, I roasted the chile peppers over the barbecue. This helps with the flavor and makes it a lot easier to peel the skin off of them. 

Above, having a brewski while the peppers roast.

I then put all the ingredients together and baked it at 350°. Needless to say, the casserole came out great.

I have enough to make another batch. After that, it will be it for me this year.

For those of you intrigued enough, here's the recipe:

Chile Relleno Casserole

Above, the chile peppers before roasting. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Last year, I made a chile relleno casserole from a recipe posted at a Facebook New Mexico recipe page.

Even though I couldn't Hatch Valley chile pepper then, the ones I used were adequate to the task and the casserole came out delicious.

This year, I was able to get some Hatch Valley chile peppers and made the casserole yesterday afternoon.

I have to say that the casserole came out great, even better than last year's. I first roasted the chile peppers over coals in the barbecue on Monday. That brought out the flavor and made it easier to peel the skin off the peppers.

I have enough left for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.

Here's a look at the casserole:

Above, right out of the oven. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, after cooling, avocado slices added. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, ready to eat with salsa and sour cream. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Here's the recipe:

Green Chile Stew

For the second time, I am making some green chile stew. 

I got all the ingredients in at around 8:00 this morning in the slow cooker. It has been cooking all day. It should be done by around 3:00. It made enough for several meals.

I liked how it came out the last time I made it. 

Green Chile Stew

Yesterday, while in the supermarket, I spotted this packet on the shelf:

I took a look at it and decided it was worth a try. So now it is cooking in the slow cooker (crock pot for those of you in Rio Linda). Sounds like a good meal on a cold and snowy day.

I'll let you know how it turns out. 

UPDATE:

It came out great! A bit spicy hot, but that's what's called for on this cold and snowy day.

Tried The Chile Relleno Casserole Recipe

Above, after cooling, I added some avocado. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Last night, I tried out the chile relleno casserole recipe and it came out good.

It would have been better had I was able to get Hatch Valley chile peppers, but Albertson's was sold out of them. Instead, I used Anaheim chili peppers. Although milder than the Hatch green chiles, they had enough spice to them for good flavoring.

Above, read to consume with some Hatch Valley salsa and sour cream. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Next year, I'll buy some when I first see them at the market. Harvest season for Hatch green chiles is around the end of July and early August. 

I bought enough chile peppers to be able to make a second batch. Until I do, they are in the freezer (already roasted).

Chile Relleno Casserole

A few days ago on Facebook, I shared a recipe for a Chile Relleno Casserole that was posted at New Mexico Cooking. The image above is the finished result from the original post.

A friend's daughter gave the recipe a try last night and her mom said, "It was great!"

So, for you readers who are also foodies, here's the recipe:

I haven't tried it yet, but I will be going to the market either today or Friday to get the ingredients. It is best that I get the chile peppers as we are now in Hatch chile season in New Mexico.

Wyoming Hash Recipe Found!

Above, mom back in 2007. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While going through things and dumping stuff I don't want (or need) and sorting things I do want to keep before moving to New Mexico, I finally found my mom's recipe for Wyoming Hash! I thought I lost that recipe for good, but I found it while going through stuff in the kitchen I don't need. It was nice seeing her handwriting again. To make sure I don't lose it again (in case this computer eventually crashes), I am posting it here so others can enjoy it!

Wyoming Hash

Ingredients:

3 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 1/4 cups of chopped celery
1 lb. of ground round or ground beef
1 16 oz. can of tomatoes
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of pepper
1 8 oz. package of spaghetti
3/4 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded coarse

Heat skillet oil over moderate heat. Add onion, green pepper and celery. Cook until tender. Push aside vegetables and add meat. Cook until no longer pink.  Mix meat and vegetables together and simmer 3 minutes over low heat. Add tomatoes, chili powder, salt & pepper. Simmer 20 minutes. While meat and vegetables are cooking, cook spaghetti to package directions. Mix all together and pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. Cover with the shredded cheese and bake uncovered in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees 25 to 30 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.