Here's some info and some recipes for you. Green chile is not a secret, so I don't understand why your friend won't share the recipe! Green Chile, very popular in New Mexico where I used to live, is the name of a hot green pepper and any soup or sauce made with the pepper. It's quite addictive! There are a couple of places you can get green chile to use in recipes. Bueno foods, www.buenofoods.com, and the Chile Addict, www.chileaddict.com, are two places. For dried/ground Mexican spices/peppers, try www.pecosvalley.com.

You can substitute chicken or stew meat (either beef or pork) for the meat in the first recipe. The second recipe is a sauce, usually put on top of enchiladas, but you can thin it out with chicken broth and add potatoes to make it a soup/stew.

Green Chile Stew (from Taste of Home)

1# ground beef
1# ground pork
8-10 green chiles, roasted, peeled, and chopped (you can also use 3 cans (4 ounces each) of green chiles)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
2 cups water
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried coriander (cilantro)

In a large pot, brown beef and pork; drain. Add remaining ingredients. cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

Green Chile Sauce (from Jane Butel's cookbook)

2 Tblsp butter, lard, or bacon grease
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 (15 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 cup chopped canned green chiles
2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
3/4 tsp salt
dash of ground cumin
2 cups chopped cooked chicken

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook until softened. Stir in the flour. Stir in tomatoes. Add chiles, garlic, salt, and cumin. Simmer, stirring, 20 minutes. Add chicken; heat until hot.