A few people on the boards asked for this recipe so I decided to write it up.  Unfortunately I haven’t followed a recipe for a few years, so I had to wait until I cooked it to see what I use and in what amounts.  I originally got the recipe from Cooks.com but I couldn’t find the same one when I went back to search for it.  This is a really easy recipe but it can be time consuming to chop all the ingredients.

Green chili is common in New Mexico.  In our house I serve it over bean and cheese burritos with sour cream and lettuce.  Usually the next morning my husband gets green chile omelets if I am feeling generous with my time. It is great to eat plain with a warm tortilla or even serve over potatoes.

I typically make this using hatch green chilies that I buy roasted once a year and stock pile in my freezer.  My kids have told me that it makes their lips tingly when they eat the hatch chilies so they like a more mild chile.  These are the ones I have used in the past.  The most mild ones I have found that still give the right “chile” flavor are the canned Ortega green chilies.  The great thing about them is you can buy them diced and its takes a lot less time to prepare.  I have also used Anaheim and Poblano peppers which were a step up in spice from the canned ones.  Depending on where they are grown might change the flavor a bit.  If they are grown in California they are slightly less hot than those grown in New Mexico.  The hottest I have used are my hatch chilies.   Just be careful with handling all varieties of chilies.  If it is a particularly hot pepper the oils can burn your hands when working with them.  I learned that the hard way, but now I always use gloves, and I don’t touch my kids without giving my hands a good scrubbing.

Green Chili Ingredients:

3 lbs cubed pork shoulder
6 medium onions, chopped
4 gloves of garlic, minced
1 ½ tbsp. oregano
1 cup green chilies, skin and seeds removed and chopped
4 tbsp. flour
4 cups of chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Green Chili Directions:

  1.  Brown the pork in a skillet, remove from heat and add flour into the skillet.  Stir so that all cubes have a light coating of flour.  You may need to add some more flour to make sure they are coated.  This will help thicken the stew.
  2. In a large stock pot brown the onion and garlic until they are transparent but not brown.
  3. Add meat, oregano and chilies to the onions.
  4. Pour in chicken stock — if the liquid doesn’t cover the meat and onions add a bit of water.  The liquid should just cover the meat.
  5. Simmer for 2-3 hours.  The longer it cooks the more flavors the chilies will give off.
  6. In the last few minutes add salt and pepper to taste.

Although the green chili is really the star of the evening when I make this meal, I also make the bean burritos from scratch as well.  I found this recipe for homemade whole wheat tortillas on 100 days of real food. .  They are absolutely fabulous and my husband and kids love them. Ever since making these the first time I have not bought any more tortillas.

Tortilla Ingredients:

  • 2½ cups whole-wheat flour
  • ½ cup oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup warm water (heat in the microwave for 1 min

Tortilla Directions:

  1. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer set with a dough hook, pour in the flour, oil and salt. Beat with the paddle until crumbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed. If your hand-held mixer comes with dough hooks those can be used as well.
  2. With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
  3. Take out the dough and divide it into 12 equal sized pieces.
  4. Using the palms of your hand roll each piece into a round ball and flatten it out on a baking tray or board. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to one hour.
  5. Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or 12-inch skillet over med-high heat. The pan should be fairly hot before you begin cooking the tortillas.
  6. On a lightly floured board or counter top, use a rolling pin to turn each ball into a flat circle. Be careful not to use more than a teaspoon or two of flour when rolling out each ball into a tortilla because too much excess flour will burn in the pan.
  7. Grease the pan with a touch of oil and then carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan and cook until puffy and slightly brown, about 30 to 45 seconds per side. Set aside on a plate to cool slightly.

Inside our burritos I usually make my own refried beans.  For some reason I am picky about beans and I hate the normal canned ones.  I have been making my own for years and I find the normal canned ones to be too dry.  I used plain pinto beans instead. I take about half the liquid off and I squish them using a potato masher or just my hands.  Then I cook them in a skillet until some of the fluid cooks off.  For a special treat I will mix Soyrizo (a vegetarian version of chorizo) into the beans as they are cooking.  It gives them extra flavor without a ton of grease or added oils.

The greatest part about this recipe is that it can be made ahead of time and frozen. I often make 2 or 3 batches of the green chile and freeze several containers for the next couple of weeks.  The burritos can be frozen too.  When I make burritos to freeze, I just make sure that I have folded both ends in to make a complete burrito.  If I am just putting them on the plate I roll them with open ends, mostly because I am lazy.  I wrap them in wax paper and seal them in a Ziploc bag.  And then they are ready for another night.

Enjoy!