Keeping Christmas Light!

 There is sooooo much terribly fattening food around during the Holidays.  I decided that in order to "keep things under control" I would come up with a Chili Rellenos Recipe which would be delicious and not blow the calories through the roof.

The result was really pleasing and allowed me to use my Bountiful Baskets fresh Serrano peppers in a really delicious and healthy way.

You can modify this recipe to suit your family's needs...for instance using egg substitute or egg whites rather than whole eggs, using Almond Milk (unsweetened of course) instead of 2 percent milk..white flour or rice flour or even brown rice flour can be substituted.  This is an easy, forgiving recipe which will delight kids as well as adults...kind of like a Mexican Lasagna! (No pasta of course)

Casa Linda Chili Rellenos Casserole

Preheat Oven to 350F

6-8 good sized Serrano Peppers, split lengthwise and de-seeded

1 Pound ground turkey breast

  (or 8-10 ounces “grounds” meat substitute)

4 Ounces of Chorizo (optional)  (If you don’t use the Chorizo, use 4 more oz meat)

1 Medium Onion, chopped

4 – 5 Tablespoons Tomato Sauce

4 whole eggs or equivalent Egg Substitute or Whites

8 Ounces Low Fat Cheese (I used Monterey Jack, but Mexican, Cheddar, etc fine)

¾ cup 2% Milk (can use unflavored Almond or Rice milk)

½ cup brown rice flour (if you can’t find this regular all-purpose flour will do)

1 Tablespoon Mrs. Dash Southwest Seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1.     De-seed and split peppers. 

2.     Rub peppers with a “little” olive oil and place in non-stick frying pan

3.     Cook peppers a few minutes on each side just to help “tenderize” them a

Bit before you put them into the casserole.

4.     Remove peppers from pan and place half of them in the bottom of a 9 x 13

Baking dish

5.     Brown your turkey meat/chorizo, etc. in the same frying pan (if you are using      “grounds you may skip this step)

6.     Spread half of cheese on peppers in baking dish, then top with half of the browned meat. Repeat with a layer of peppers, cheese then meat again.

7.     Beat eggs, flour, spices, tomato sauce and milk in bowl until completely mixed and

8.     Pour egg/flour mixture over entire casserole

9.     Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until set and slightly browned on top.

10. .Let cool 5-10 minutes before cutting into serving squares.

11. Serve with diced avocado, sour cream (or plain yogurt) and side salad!

Those lovely serrano peppers after being LIGHTLY sauteed in the frying pan!

The following picture is the "egg" mixture just before being poured over the layered meat, cheese and vegetables.

As you can see, I only used about 1 Teaspoon of oil to saute both the peppers and the onions...this allowed the peppers to be slightly "slippery" which I used to grease the casserole dish.