Chile Relleno Casserole I

Is there really anything to not love about Mexican food?  My goodness the goodness that comes with the cheese, sauce, peppers, chips....oh my soul!  I adore Mexican and love cooking it.  One of my most favorite dishes is Chile Rellenos.  Traditionally, they are stuffed with cheese, battered and fried and served in a light tomatoey sauce/broth.  Naturally, I sought out a way to make it a little more family/time friendly since I don't have tons of time or space to fry.  Also I wanted to add in some meat so it was a complete meal for my carnivorous side of the family.  Thus this casserole was born.

Now....I need to post a warning.  There are golden raisins in this.  Wait (brakes screeching..) what??  Did she say raisins? Yes I did.  There is a great little Mexican place close to me that incorporates these into some of their dishes and they are wonderful.  You will love it I promise.  It adds the tiniest punch of sweetness in the background and is just killer.  Trust me.  Have I ever led you wrong?  Maybe some of you shouldn't answer that!

I didn't do tons of photos along the way with this one since I plan on redoing this into another version.  I will take tons more step by step then.

Ingredients

• 8 large poblano peppers
• 6 roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped and cored
• 1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle (could use taco seasoning)
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 4 cups of shredded Chihuahua cheese (use monterey jack if you can't find this)

Recipe

• Set the oven to broil and lay the peppers out on a baking sheet.  Place them under the broiler for roughly 5 minutes on each side.  You want them to blister up but not burn.  Remove them from the oven and place immediately into a gallon zipper bag and seal.  Allow the peppers to steam inside the bag for about 10 minutes.  This will loosen the outer skin for easy removal.  After they have steamed, take a paper towel and rub the outside to remove the skins.  You don't have to remove every last piece, just some of the outer layer.  
• After removing the skin, you will cut off the top and butterfly them open.  Scrape the inside with a knife to remove the ribs and seeds.  Set peppers aside.
• To make the sauce, take the tomatoes, onion, and garlic and puree it in a food processor until smooth.  Heat the olive oil in a large pot on the stove and add the puree.  Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and add salt and pepper to taste.  Keep warm until ready to layer.
• Brown the ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink.  Add in the oregano and Mrs Dash seasoning and stir over the hear until combined into the meat.  Next, add in the raisins and stir into the meat mixture.  Allow them to plump up (cooking for a couple of minutes).
• Melt the butter in a skillet and add in the panko stirring until they are combined.
• In a 9x13 casserole pan sprayed with cooking spray, begin by layering 4 of the peppers along the bottom.  Top with half the meat mixture, then half the cheese and then ladle half the sauce over the cheese.  Repeat with another layer of peppers, then the remaining meat, remaining cheese, and remaining sauce.  Top evenly with the breadcrumb mixture.
• Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until breadcrumbs are a golden brown.

Version II will contain a cornbread topping :)  (coming soon)

Love~

Misty