Dinner creation

I really thought I had made up this meal, but a quick Google search this morning, proved me wrong.  I did make it all on my own, sans recipe- and for a cook like me that appreciates the art of baking for a reason: measured, finite, chemistry at its finest- this was a huge step in my creativity in the kitchen.  I love to follow recipes, rarely stepping a toe over the line, but I long to be a baker and a cook that can throw together a creation- even after trial and error- that is truly theirs.  So even though Google tells me I'm a fraud, I'm counting this as my dish:

Chile Rellano stuffed with calabacitas. 



The final product!



I love chile rellanos: roasted chilies, stuffed with cheese, battered and fried, served with a red sauce and more cheese.  My farmer's market had Pablano peppers in abundance, so I couldn't pass them up, I knew I wanted to make a version of chile rellano, but with less cheese and more healthy stuff.  The market also had gorgeous squash, onions, corn and tomatoes- all the ingredients used in a traditional calabacitas.  You can find lots of variations of calabacitas, but this is my favorite mix.  I decided I would put the two recipes together and I came out with a great meal!

Since I was only wanting to make a small amount of calabacitas to stuff the peppers with- you can always increase the recipe.

Calabacitas:
1/4 cup of yellow onion- roughly chopped
1 small squash or zucchini diced into small cubes
1 tomato diced
1/4 ear of corn, kernals removed.  Canned or frozen corn is an easy substitute.
1 tbls vegatable oil
1 clove of garlic, diced or pressed.
salt to taste

This is a variation of lots of calabacita recipes I've pulled together.  The order in which you cook the veggies is most important and keeps everything from getting mushy.  Heat oil over medium heat, add onions, a bit of salt, cook till translucent- about 5 minutes. Add garlic, till fragrant, 30 seconds.  Drop in the tomatoes, I add more salt, and let cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Squash in next- cook for 5-8 minutes.  You don't want to squash to get soft, so pluck out a cube at the 5 minute mark and taste it.  It should be like al dente for veggies- a little bit firm, but full of flavor.  Drop in the corn and if you are using fresh corn, cook till it turns bright yellow. Canned corn just needs a minute to heat up and mix together.  Remove from heat.  *If you are making this as a side dish- serve right away.  For me, I let it sit for a minute while I prepared my chiles. 

Red Sauce- variation from a family recipe.
1 half can of tomato sauce ( I prefer Hunts)
1 half can of water
couple dashes of red pepper flakes
couple of mashed garlic cloves
a pinch of red chile powder
a pinch of cumin
a generous dash or two of oregano
salt
pepper

Simmer for about 20 minutes, taste and adjust.

Roast your peppers however you wish- on the stove top, in the oven, on a grill.  Yesterday I turned on my gas burner and just held the peppers over- was quick and easy!  Let the peppers rest for about 10 minutes underneath a kitchen towel then peal off the blackened skin. Keep the tops on, but slit the pepper from top to bottom and scoop out as many seeds as you like- I always leave some in, Pablanos are pretty mild. 

Assembly:
I used personal baking dishes for ease in serving.  I scooped some red sauce in the bottom, and placed the pepper on top.  In the cavity of the pepper I put down a layer of shredded queso fresco.  Mozzerella, colby jack or shredded Mexican mix could work well too.  Over the cheese, I added the calabacitas mix and a bit more red sauce.



So far, so good!



It's not a chile rellano with out lots of cheese, so I added some more! And more red sauce for good measure.



I baked these for about 16 minutes (the time it took us to grill the carne asada and onions) at 350 in the center of the oven, uncovered.  The cheese was perfectly melty and eveything was nice and hot.

Even though I am not the true mastermind behind this dish, I can't wait to make it, and tweak it again!