Canned green chile peppers (Recipe: green chile, cheese and egg breakfast or lunch muffins) {vegetarian, gluten-free}
After our basement flooded during the epic storms in Rhode Island earlier this year, we cleaned everything to make a fresh start, and as part of the cleanup, Ted and I reorganized the pantry shelves.
For the first time in a long time, I knew what I had, how many jars or cans of each ingredient, where they were stacked. No lingering surprises past their expiration date. No mystery bottles. No unlabeled baggies.
Ah, but that was then.
Now, months later, the pantry has reverted to its usual semi-random state, when, as I rummage around to find more soy sauce (none there, if you can imagine that), instead I discover five identical bottles of extra-virgin olive oil.
Despite the occasional slip-up, I'm pretty sure I always have some basics, such as canned green chile peppers, so convenient to toss by the spoonful into cornbread or burgers, or to kick up store-bought salsa.
Look for canned green chile peppers in the Latino food aisle of your local grocery store. I keep both mild and medium-hot canned chiles on hand.
What are canned green chile peppers?
Chile peppers (often Anaheim chiles) picked when unripe, roasted, peeled, and canned. They can be mild or hot, depending on the variety of chile used.
How/where to store:
Unopened, on the pantry shelf until the expiration date marked on the can. Opened, in a plastic container or ziploc bag in the refrigerator or freezer, for up to six months.
More facts about canned green chile peppers, and ingredient photos, in The Perfect Pantry:
Canned chile peppers (Recipe: slow-cooked beef and green chile stew)
Green chile, cheese and egg breakfast or lunch muffins
Adapted only slightly from Kalyn's Kitchen, where you'll find many variations on diet-friendly egg muffins, these fill you up without weighing you down. You can make a batch on the weekend, freeze the leftovers, and reheat them in a microwave to enjoy during the week. Though there are three muffins on the plate in the photos, you only need two for a good-sized portion. Makes 13 muffins.
Ingredients
12 large eggs
2-3 oz chopped canned green chile peppers
2 cups grated or shredded cheese (I use Sargento reduced-fat shredded four-cheese Mexican blend from the supermarket; you can use any blend of Monterey Jack, cheddar, mozzarella, etc.)
2 Tbsp skim milk
1 large pinch of dried epazote
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare a standard 12-muffin tin by spraying with cooking spray, or lining with paper muffin liners. I use Trader Joe's olive oil or canola spray, whichever one I have on hand.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients, and whisk to combine.
Use a 1/3-cup measuring cup to fill the muffin tin. You will have a little bit left; either bake it along with the muffins in a small ramekin, or do what I do: make scrambled eggs for the cook!
Bake at 375F for 35 minutes. The muffins will be puffed and brown on top. Remove the muffin tin from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes before serving. The muffins will begin to collapse a bit as they cool. Serve 2 per person. If you're planning to freeze them, let cool completely, then pack in ziploc bags.
More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Green chile turkey meatballs
Turkey green chile chili
Mexicali meatloaf
Turkey-chile rotini
White chili
Other recipes that use canned green chile peppers:
Goat cheese croquettes, from Use Real Butter
Green chile egg casserole, from Tasty Kitchen
Green chile hummus, from 28 Cooks
Green chile chicken enchiladas, from The Way the Cookie Crumbles
Green chile cornbread, from RecipeGirl.com
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I love using green chiles in recipes & Kalyn has great ideas for all of those egg muffins! Thanks for the cornbread mention :)
Your egg muffins look delicious. Love the idea of adding a bit of epazote!
I always have canned diced chiles on my pantry shelves; thanks for the recipes.
Also wanted to comment--I borrowed this idea from a girlfriend--on my kitchen counter is a shallow square basket but hers was a shallow metal container; in it I keep things like worcestershire sauce, olive oil, kitchen bouquet, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce--I think the basket is about 12x12" & I will try to photograph it again...I did once before to share at WW meetings. If you use smaller containers you can get a lot more into the basket--and always know at a glance what needs to be restocked.
So I have a can of green chiles that has been chillin' out in my pantry for months now and I havent been too sure what to do with them. This looks like a great way to put them to good use! I can't wait to try it out ;)
I'll have to look for canned green chile peppers! ;-)
Paz
Lori, I agree; I've made several variations on her breakfast muffins.
Kalyn, epazote or Mexican oregano seem to work well with the chiles. I love these muffins; thanks so much for sharing your recipe.
Sandra, great idea. (Maybe you should show us your pantry?)
Sohdalex, this is an easy and delicious way to get those chiles out of the closet.
Paz, absolutely. These muffins are great.
Thanks to you I always have a can of green chile peppers on hand and sometimes I just fill tortillas with those and some cheese and cover with enchilada sauce and bake (I usually keep a can of sauce on hand) for a quick meal. Because there is always some kind of cheese in the house but not always chicken!
What a great looking breakfast muffin. I'll have to try this one out on some of the family at our next get together. I'll add in some flare with some Pleasoning seasoning that I have, but otherwise I'm going to keep this exactly the same. Great Recipe, keep them coming!