Sunday, August 28, 2011

It’s that time of year again…

For those of you who do not live in New Mexico you probably have no clue what I am talking about, for those that do then you know, the smell is in the air….Annual Green Chili Roasting! Yay. My absolute favorite time of the year and also the biggest thing I will miss if we ever move from this state, okay second to my wonderful amazing family. Anyway,  my family has a tradition every year to go buy a sack of chili, or two, and get together to peel it. Brandon went golfing on Friday so I packed the kids up and headed to Wagner Farms in Corrales, NM to go get our chili. I have never gone without my Dad so I was a bit out of my element but luckily I figured it all out. I was instructed to get a sack, not a bushel, of Hot Big Jim chilies. I did it. I purchased a sack (40 lbs. of chili), had it roasted and headed home. I have to add, loading a 40 lb. bag of chili into my trunk with no help was pretty comical but I managed to do it with a minor burn to my leg. Lol. Yesterday my parents came over, we ordered pizza for dinner, and once the kids went to bed we all started the annual chili peeling. So much fun and a wonderful tradition. Here are some pictures of our adventure…

Friday:

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Here are the kids hanging out while we were waiting for the chili to get roasted.

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And here you have it. Green Chili being roasted. Yum Yum Yum. I can not explain how wonderful it smells. Owen wanted to stand right next to this giant roaster, but it was 100 degrees out and standing next to this for 15 min I am sure it was about 120 degrees. We were all exhausted afterwards and had to chug water when we got home. Owen had a blast though.

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We were also able to snag a couple lbs. of Green Tomatoes at the farm too. They are so hard to find but absolutely delicious.

Saturday:

After we ate pizza, there was about 45 min. until it was the kids bedtime. What did we do? Well, we fried green tomatoes my friends. If you have never had Fried Green Tomatoes before I highly recommend you have some. My Dad and I LOVE THEM!!!!

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So here is what you do. Slice the Tomatoes…

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Ingredients needed: Veggie Oil, Flour, Eggs, Salt & Pepper…

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Dip Tomatoes in Egg, Coat well with Flour, Salt & Pepper Mixture…

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And then fry them in oil. Okay, I get it not the healthiest, but O’ my goodness they are AMAZING!!!!! Once a year is not gonna kill you, I promise.

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And there you have it. Fried Green Tomatoes. Yummy!!!!

O yea, if your wondering where Brandon and Autumn were during this whole cooking time…

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They were busy watching the Broncos preseason game against the Seahawks. Boo Seahawks! (That’s for you Papa Bruce)Chili Peeling 2001 040

And Pampo & Owen were busy doing the usual….wrestling! Crazy boys.

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Keeping Pampo young and active. Lol.

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The Cutest Little Broncos Fans I have EVER seen!

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And after the kids were put to bed, the Chili came out!

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If you have never peeled chili before, let me just tell you…it is not easy work, but it’s very rewarding when you get to eat it.

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Brandon LOVES peeling chili. Weirdo!

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Somehow, I was the only one to make a complete mess out of myself.

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A portion of our peeled Chili. Yum Yum Yum. I see some Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas in our near future!

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My new creation, Fried Green Tomatoes topped with Green Chili. Indescribable!

Happy Chili Roasting all you New Mexicans!

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