I am way behind in blogging due to the fact that I've been up to my eyelashes in other things-among them cooking for friends and family.  I'm including a recipe I hope you'll enjoy.



If you're not otherwise occupied, you might want to head out for Hatch, New Mexico for its annual Labor Day Chile Festival.  Hatch is a small town with about 2,000 inhabitants, except for during the Chile Festival when the population explodes to about 30,000. That might seem like a lot of ruckus over a mean green/red pod, but, after all, the Hatch Chile is the king of all peppers.   This year, the festival begins on September 5th and goes through the 6th.  Vendors roast green chile all along the streets, or you might just like to hang out in the parking lot talking to other chilephiles. They've got a horseshoe tournament, the Chile Festival Parade, the coronation of the Chile Queen, music by Queen Priscilla Banuelos, a chile toss contest, a chile eating contest, and a watermelon eating contest  you might seriously want to compete in if your mouth is on fire.  You can listen to the Las Cruces High School Mariachis and see the Darrell Hawkins Rope and Bullwhip Show or participate in a fiddling contest.
    It is very important to know a thing or two about peppers before you inflict them on your dinner guests.  I once nearly annihilated three men, two of them family members by serving stuffed poblano peppers along with enchiladas for dinner.  One spent all night writhing on the bathroom floor while taking various homemade concoctions in a futile attempt to put out the fire in his belly.  Two others headed straight for the bathroom during dinner, and made me wonder whether I should call 911 right away.  Pitiful moaning (and worse)  issued from the room and made me vow right then and there to NEVER serve another poblano to anyone. 
     Having said all that, I feel that I can safely recommend the following recipe.  To my knowledge, no one has died from having eaten it, although anything is possible.  Most folks really seem to enjoy this one, and it is something you can cook without setting your hands on fire by having to handle the peppers, themselves. 







                                                         Marci's Green Chile-Cheese Grits

9 oz. Velveeta Cheese
6 cups cooked grits
7 oz. can of diced mild green chiles
3 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 sticks butter
1/2 tsp. Lawry's garlic salt  or to taste
1-2 cups crushed Kellogg'sCorn Flakes (amount depending upon type of baking dish to be used)

Cut cheese into easily melted pieces.  Add cheese to hot grits and stir.  Whip eggs and milk until blended and stir into cheese and grits mixture, along with garlic salt and butter.  Stir well.  Pour mixture into a greased baking dish.  Put Corn Flakes into a Ziplock plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.  Sprinkle crushed Corn Flakes over grits and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes (until it sets).  This side dish should serve about 8-10 people.  (Feel free to add a little more cheese if desired.)

I often serve this as an accompaniment to baked Cornish Game hens drizzled with a tangy orange barbecue sauce.  If you add steamed asparagus or green beans as another side, you'll have a colorful and hopefully delicious meal.

If you try this, let me know what you think!