Recipe(tried): Chile Rellenos, Emma's Spanish Rice, Refried Beans and Fruit Salad

These Chile Rellenos were wonderful:-)!! The recipe is from Lone Star Legacy, The Austin Junior Forum. I had never attempted making them but I had made Chile Rellenos casseroles. I decided to use fresh Pablano Chilies since my supermarket had some beautiful fresh ones. I have previously posted the recipe for Spanish Rice from my friend, Emma. I'm not Super Woman, so the Refried Beans were from a can. I happen to like Fruit Salad with Mexican food so I almost always serve some kind of fruit salad but without a dressing - just the fruit. This time I just cut up apples, oranges and bananas with some orange juice to keep the apples and bananas from turning brown.

Chile Rellenos Serves 4 to 6 (Actually, You may want to plan on 2 Chilies per person).

6 canned whole green chilies or 6 fresh Pablano Chilies
Monterey Jack Cheese cut into strips
2 eggs, separated
2 Tbl. flour
Canola or vegetable oil for frying - about 3 cups

Sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 Tbl. canola or vegetable oil
1 c, canned tomatoes
1 c. chicken broth
1 Tsp. salt
1 Tsp. black pepper (This is not a typo)
1 Tsp. powdered marjoram

For fresh Pablanos, wash in cold water and dry. Lightly coat with oil. To remove skins from fresh peppers, "roast" under a broiler or on a gas grill, turning often, until uniformly blistered. Place in a closed paper bag for 15 minutes. Remove peppers from bag; start at stem end and peel skin downward. Discard skin.

For either fresh, or canned chilies, remove seeds and wrap around cheese strips. Use toothpicks to hold chilies closed. I was worried that the cheese would seep out since the chilies are delicate at this point and I did have some difficulty with them tearing. However, in the end, happily, it didn't seem to matter.

Beat egg whites ubtil stiff. Beat egg yolks and flour together. This will be very stiff. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolk flour mixture to lighten it. Then, fold this into the remaining egg whites. Drop chilies into the egg mixture and coat. Place in hot oil (375 degrees F) and fry until golden. This takes only a couple of minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.

To make the sauce:

Saute onion and garlic in 1 Tbl. oil until translucent; add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes or longer. Season to taste. Add chilies and heat before serving.