The garden continues and so am I – cooking and canning using the produce. Monday I canned green beans with bacon, onion, and garlic. The first ones I have canned this year since I have frozen many packages. Thursday I made 14 pints of salsa using some of the Roma tomatoes, jalapenos, and onions from the garden. Yesterday, I canned zesty, dill squash relish and got 12 pints. There is still a ton of tomatoes so I will be busy with them this next week.

Today I am having my parents and good friends, Vanessa and Gary, over for dinner. I wanted to fix something that would use up more of the produce. So I picked a lot of our Ancho (also known as Poblano) chiles, pulled out of the freezer some of the shrimp that we caught in May, and oven roasted Roma tomatoes to use in the stuffed chiles (Chiles Rellenos con Camarones.)

Usually, Chiles Rellenos call for blistering and peeling the chiles. That takes a lot of time and is a lot of work, so I just cut a T in the chile and cut out the seeds and veins.

I made a sauce using the oven roasted tomatoes. I cut the tomatoes in half and put them on a sheet pan and broiled until the skins blistered and blackened a bit. Once they cooled a bit, it is simple to pull off the skins.

I put the tomatoes, along with a jar of roasted red peppers, a clove of garlic, a jalapeno, 1/2 teaspoon, cumin, and a teaspoon of salt into the food processor and pureed into a sauce.

Next I sautéed onions, garlic, jalapeno, and cumin for a few minutes in a large skillet, then I tossed the onion mixture with cream cheese and Mexican cheese in a large bowl. Once the cream cheese and onion mixture was incorporated, I put the shrimp into the mix. I then tossed it all together with my hands. After spraying Pam into a 9×13 pan, I poured some of the pepper/tomato sauce into the bottom of the pan.

Next, I stuffed the peppers with the shrimp mixture, using rubber gloves so I wouldn’t get chile burn. Then I placed the stuffed peppers into the pan.

Oven was set at 350 degrees. I cooked the chiles in the pans (I made enough for 2 pans full) for about an hour.

Next, after heating the rest of the pepper/tomato sauce in the microwave, I poured some into the bottom of each individual dish, placed one stuffed chile onto the sauce, a tablespoon of the feta/sour cream mixture, a couple slices of avocado, and a sprig of cilantro. Wa, la! Dinner is served!

Chile Rellenos con Camarones

6 Ancho or Poblano Chiles
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin
8 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature
8 oz Shredded Mexican cheese or Jack

Sauce
1 jar of roasted red peppers (or you can roast your own)
1 can diced tomatoes (or about 10 fresh Romas, roasted in oven, see above)
1 clove garlic
1 jalapeno
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.

Topping (optional)
4 oz Feta or queso fresca, crumbled
8 oz Light sour cream
Juice from 1 lime

To prepare Chiles:

Cut a vertical cut in the middle of a chile, then a horizontal one just below the stem. Open the chile carefully and slice out the veins and seed sack just below the stem. Remove seeds and veins.

Sauté onions, garlic, cumin, and jalapeño in olive oil until soft. Put into large bowl on top of cream cheese. Mix together until combined. Add shredded cheese and shrimp. Mix well. Stuff chiles with mixture.

Pour some of the sauce in the bottom of an oven-proof pan and place chiles on top. Cook at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the chiles are soft and the stuffing is bubbling. Pour a little sauce on bottom of plate and place a chile on top. Add a little cream mixture and top with cilantro. I also added a little avocado.