Hatch Chile Cornbread Waffles with Watermelon and Hatch Chile Salsa

prep: 20 minutes
cook: 30 minutes

makes 4¼ cups salsa
makes 6 waffles

for the salsa you’ll need…

2 cups watermelon diced into ½-inch pieces

1 cup chopped Hatch Chiles

1 cup chopped spring onions

¼ cup chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons fish sauce

let’s get to it…

Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Stir gently so you don’t break the diced watermelon. Set aside.

for the waffles you’ll need…

1¾ cup milk

1 cup chopped Hatch Chiles

2 eggs, beaten well

⅓ cup canola or vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, finely minced 1½ cups gluten-free flour or regular flour

2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder or regular baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup cornmeal

let’s get to it…

Combine the milk, Hatch Chiles, beaten eggs, oil, and garlic together in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl or onto a piece of parchment paper.

Carefully add the sifted ingredients and the corn meal to the liquid ingredients. Stir to blend, but do not over mix!

Preheat waffle iron. When hot, spray on non-stick cooking oil. Add enough batter to cover the bottom griddle of the waffle iron. Cook until golden brown.

Serve with Watermelon and Hatch Chile Salsa.

Creamy Green Chile Dip

prep: 5 minutes

makes 1½ cups dip

you’ll need…

1 cup non-fat sour cream

1 7-ounce can diced green chilies, drained

½ cup green salsa (or make my tomatillo salsa)

1 teaspoon lime or lemon

¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional)

let’s get to it…

Mix the sour cream, chilies, salsa and lime or lemon and half of the cilantro (if using) in a medium bowl. Top with remaining cilantro as a garnish.

Crunchy Carrot Dip

prep: 10 minutes

makes 2 cups dip

you’ll need…

½ cup plain Greek nonfat yogurt

½ 8-ounce package light cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoons lower sodium soy sauce

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 cup finely shredded carrots

let’s get to it…

Mix the yogurt, cream cheese, soy sauce and garlic together in a medium bowl until smooth.

Stir in the finely shredded carrots.

Summer Veggie Dip

prep: 15 minutes

makes about 3½ cups dip

you’ll need…

1 cup chopped tomato

1 cup peeled, seeded and grated cucumber

½ cup grated onion

½ cup grated green bell pepper

¼ cup peeled and grated carrot

1 cup of your favorite salad dressing (I used low-fat Ranch Dressing)

let’s get to it…

Mix the vegetables together in medium bowl.

Pour the salad dressing on top of the veggies. Stir until thoroughly mixed. If dip seems too thick, add more salad dressing.

Spicy BBQ Honey Dip

prep: 10 minutes

makes about 1¼ cups

you’ll need…

1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

¼ cup honey

1 teaspoon (or more!) of your favorite hot sauce

let’s get to it…

Mix the barbecue sauce, the honey and the hot sauce together in medium bowl.

Chili-Cheese Dip

prep: 10 minutes

makes about 4 cups 

you’ll need…

1 15-ounce can chili (no beans)

1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained

1 16-ounce package Velveeta®, cut into cubes

let’s get to it…

Heat the can of chili, the drained can of tomatoes and green chilies and the Velveeta in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 10-minutes, stirring often.

Cook for 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and wonderful.

Fresh Green Salsa
prep: 15 minutes
cook: 30 minutes
makes about 6 cups

you’ll need…
3 lbs. tomatillos, husks removed
2 oz. serrano or jalapeño chili peppers, stem removed
6 cloves garlic, whole
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp. salt
1 lime, cut in half

let’s get to it…

Place the husked tomatillos, chili peppers and garlic in a large pot and cover with water by about ½-inch. Boil and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until the tomatillos are soft but not broken, stirring often so all sides of tomatillos cook evenly. Reserve 1 cup of water; drain remaining water and set pot aside to use later.

Blend the tomatillos, chili peppers and garlic in batches in a blender or food processor until chunky, but not smooth. Add reserved water a little at a time if salsa is too thick.

Heat the same large pot on medium-high for 1 minute; add olive oil and onions and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomatillo mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chopped cilantro and salt.

Squeeze lime into salsa and stir; cool. Store in a tightly sealed container or serve immediately.

cooking know how…

• Salsa verde will get thick and a bit gelatinous when it is chilled. Bring to room temperature or heat up slightly before using.
• Store tomatillos in an open paper bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.