It was my mother who brought home the recipe for this Mexican-style green chile and tomato stew after a friend and co-worker had brought the dish to one of their monthly potlucks -- and it was an instant hit with our family. If memory serves me right, I was around 12 years old at the time, I am now a grandmother and this recipe is still a family-favorite, one that has definitely stood the test of time. It is also very versatile as pork or even ground beef (which was my dad's favorite version) can be used to make this simple, yet incredibly flavorful stew. The canned chiles (Anaheims) are a mild variety of chiles, but if you prefer more heat, by all means add some roasted jalapeños. I should also add that my dad (who also liked to make this stew) preferred roasting fresh Anaheim chiles over the gas flame on the stovetop for this dish. Doing so does make a huge flavor difference for the better. (Roasting imparts a delicious flavor, and the skin peels off easily. Split the chiles, remove the seeds and membrane, chop and use. However, if you like the heat, keep the seeds.) Serve with warm flour tortillas, beans and/or rice and a simple, tossed green salad for a complete meal.

Another delicious recipe from our Family-Favorite Recipes Collection.

Green Chile Stew

2 pounds beef round steak*, cut into 1-inch cubes

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper for seasoning beef to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large Spanish or yellow onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, roughly cut-up

2 (7-ounce each) cans roasted whole mild green chiles, cut into large chunks

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves 

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Flour tortillas, warmed

1. Cut beef into 1-inch cubes and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste; set aside
2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat, when hot, add seasoned beef cubes and brown on all sides (don't overcrowd, if necessary brown beef in batches; cooking too much at one time will cause the loss of heat and the beef will not brown properly); add the onion and garlic and cook until onion has softened.
3. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until beef is fork tender and the sauce has thickened.
4. Serve accompanied with warm flour tortillas.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

A note to those who remember this recipe being called "Chile Colorado" here at CooksRecipes.com: Back in the 90's when I wrote this recipe for the website, I named the dish "Chile Colorado" because the tomatoes made the stew "red" (the word "colorado" means red in Spanish) and I thought it fitting for the name my version of the stew, but I was wrong since traditional "chile colorado" is made with dried red chiles such as ancho or pasilla. This particular Mexican-style stew is more commonly known simply as "green chile stew".

*Stewing beef, pork or ground beef can be substituted for the beef round steak in this dish.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/6 of recipe): 241.5 calories; 46% calories from fat; 12.3g total fat; 46.1mg cholesterol; 955.4mg sodium; 704.0mg potassium; 15.7g carbohydrates; 3.0g fiber; 7.7g sugar; 12.6g net carbs; 18.5g protein.

Copyright Hope Pryor, please see Terms of Use. Photograph by Hope Pryor; property of CooksRecipes.com.