This dish ain’t fancy.
This dish ain’t difficult to make. (Huh. Understatement of the modern era.)
This dish…ain’t not delicious.
Okay, I’ll stop now. I’m sorry. But I’m fluent in both Hillbilly and Double Negative. They just speak to me sometimes.
My mom used to make a dish like this, which is really nothing at all like the original Chiles Rellenos, but I’m keeping the name intact all the same. It’s a versatile, flavorful, and comforting combination of roasted green chiles, cheese, and a creamy egg mixture. And its applications are endless!
Serve it…with a fruit salad and tiny grandma rolls for a nice ladylike lunch.
Serve it…for breakfast with warm corn tortillas. (My personal favorite.)
Serve it…with grilled chicken for a nice weekend dinner.
Just serve it.
Then eat it.
You’ll love it!
I don’t live in Santa Fe. I don’t have a freezerful of roasted green chiles with the black skin still on.
I don’t even have cans of Hatch.
But life isn’t about being unhappy where you’re not. It’s about being happy where you are. And I are on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma in November. So I use these here chiles.
And the girl was happy…
Grate some cheese, glorious cheese.
Now combine some eggs with some milk. Whole milk is really best—anything with less fat and the baked eggs will turn out a tad on the watery side. If you splash in some half & half along with the milk…even better.
Whisk it together and add some salt…
And some freshly ground pepper. I have multicolored peppercorns in my peppermill, so you’ll see some red flecks in there.
I like color, even in my black pepper. What can I say?
Now add a little paprika…and a little cayenne pepper!
If you’ve got the guts, that is.
If you can HANDLE the cayenne.
Whisk it all together. Yum, yum, yum.
Lay the chiles on a cutting board…
Cut the chiles in half lengthwise, then seed them. (If you lived in Santa Fe, your chiles would have little black flecks all over.
And yes, I could roast my own. But first I’d have to buy some Poblano or Anaheim chiles.
And I don’t want to go to the store.
Lay the chiles on the bottom of a baking dish.
Generously sprinkle grated cheese all over the chiles.
Then place another layer of chiles on top of the cheese…
And add another layer of cheese.
Now pour the egg mixture all over the top.
And that’s it, baby! You can sprinkle a little more cheese over the top if it gives you a sense of peace…but it’s not necessary.
Mmmm…mmmm….mmmm.
Now place the pan into a larger baking pan, or on a rimmed cooking sheet. Pour a little water in the bottom of the second pan.
Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes, or until completely set.
It’ll be slightly golden brown on top…and shouldn’t be jiggly at all.
Cut into squares and serve immediately.
With warm corn tortillas, it’s sublime.
I love everything about this—the taste, the texture, the versatility.
And you’ll love it, too!
Here’s the printable:
