Chili Verde Sauce

 

I posted a great Pork Chili Verde and Pork Chili Verde Enchiladas recipes a while back and we’ve been loving them over and over again. I am one that also appreciates quick meals, and I’m always looking for ways to prep and have stuff on-hand so I can put a yummy meal together.

 

 

That said, I am adding this recipe to the blog because I have found it super helpful to have jars in my freezer ready to go when the mood strikes. It gives me lots of flexibiltiy for what meal I’m making as well.

 

 

You can use this for a traditional chili verde, mix it into a soup, or use it other recipes that call for a chili verde sauce or a green sauce. It is a wonderful staple to have ready to go. I’ve been able to make all sorts of fun things with it, and I just keep finding more applications.

 

 

Chili Verde Sauce

 

½ medium onion, chopped

2 Tbs EVOO

2 hatch chili’s, deseeded and chopped (or 1-4.5oz can diced hatch chili’s)

1 anaheim chili, deseeded and chopped

1 poblano or pasillo chili, deseeded and chopped

1-2 jalapeño peppers, deseeded and chopped

½ lb tomatillos, peeled and chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 Tbs each of ground cumin, ground coriander, Mexican oregano

2 bay leaves

1 cup chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Have everything prepped before you start as the process goes quickly. Heat the oil in a large cast iron pot to a medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic cloves and cook for a couple minutes until it starts to become translucent and there’s a little browning on the cloves.

 

Add the peppers and allow to cook for a few minutes to soften them a bit. Add the spices and stir them into the mix, allowing their flavors to enhance a bit. When the seasonings look dark from the oil and cooking, add the tomatillos and chicken broth. Stir everything together and add salt if needed.

 

Put the lid on the pot and turn it down to a simmer, making sure to keep a soft boil. Let it cook down for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

Once everything has softened, you can transfer the mix to a blender and slowly increase the speed as the mix smooths out. Blend to desired texture (we like a pretty smooth and consistent texture).

 

At this point, you can pour into half pint jars/deli containers for freezer storage. Make sure to label with dates. Good in the freezer for 6 months. To use, simply thaw a jar/container and add it to your soup, stew, or enchilada recipe. 

 

 

Harpers Garden Table Runner

 

What do you do when you have a couple of blocks leftover from a project? I do all the math and try to make the number of blocks I need, but I inevitably end up with extra blocks. Since pandemic, I have been trying to use these leftover blocks in a project immediately so they aren’t forgotten.

 

 

One of my favorite uses for it is a table runner. We have a couple different tables that I like to keep runners on throughout the year, so this is a perfect use for the blocks.

 

 

I only had two blocks left, so I squared them rather than having them on-point like I did in the quilt. I also added sashing, but instead of using the squares as cornerstones of the sashing, I decided to create a border with the leftovers. It was a perfect way to use up the entire layer cake.

 

 

I also had a bit more of the blue backing leftover from the quilt, so that was used as the backing and the binding of the table runner as well. I repeated the same quilting pattern I used on the larger quilt, making this crazy fast to put together. I already knew everything I wanted to do.

 

 

This was a quick and easy finish, and a great way to use up the last of a beautiful layer cake. Can’t wait to try it out on a table this summer.

Harpers Garden Quilt

 

While visiting my sister in Seattle a couple years ago, I found some awesome layer cakes on sale.  I couldn’t resist, in fact we went to the store twice because I had to make sure I found everything I was looking for.  One of the super cool cakes I got was Harpers Garden. Such soft, summer colors that make you think of flowers and summer relaxation, and lots of picnics and festivals.

 

 

I snagged it up and when I got home I started thinking of what kind of pattern I’d like to do with it. Flowers were an obvious pick, so I got on my computer program and started designing a flower with two contrasting colors and a matching light center for all the blocks to tie together. I decided to group them together by color; coral with coral, blue with blue, green with green.

 

 

I quickly cut fabric and pieced together the flowers. Then it came to the layout. One of the things I love about layer cakes is that they are already a variety of fabrics, making the scrappy look that’s so appealing on quilts. I wanted to make sure I had the colors well mixed, and then I added white sashing between the blocks. I used leftover fabric from the blocks to create the cornerstones on the sashing, and stepped back to look at the top. It looked like it was still missing something. Hmm…

 

 

I realized I really needed some borders to pull it all together. I found a solid navy in my stash to add a simple border, and then ordered some of the coral fabric for the second border.

 

 

While I was ordering fabric, I decided to also order more of the blue floral fabric for the backing. I’ve been trying to be good and use up fabric I have, but I couldn’t resist with this one. The blue floral is just SOOO pretty.

 

 

When it came to the quilting, I hummed and hawed a little. I knew I wanted something floral themed, but I wasn’t sure what. I settled on a meander circle floral look with leaves in the corners for each of the flower blocks. Then for the sashing and borders, I created a meander with leaves, almost like vines growing across the quilt.

 

 

For the binding, I used a bit more of the blue backing which creates a nice frame for the front of the quilt. 

 

 

This was a very satisfying finish. It came together quickly, and definitely compliments the country home look in the summer.