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Jeannie’s Homemade Green Chili is one of our family’s favorite recipes created by my dear mother-in-law, Jeannie Winget. She made this delicious dish countless times, and was well-known for bringing this to people she loved who were sick or otherwise in need of a comforting, home-cooked meal. I learned so much from her, especially her example of giving freely of her time to take care of others.
My husband's family is from Colorado - a state that is known for green chili. You can find recipes online for various versions of "Colorado green chili", but Jeannie's Green Chili recipe is different, and very special to our family.
Jeannie Winget passed away several years ago. Some time after that, we came to realize that nobody had a written version of this family favorite! I think we all assumed someone had a copy of the recipe - a daughter, son, cousin, sister... but for the next few years no one could find it.
My sister-in-law Penny finally located a copy of her mom's green chili recipe. She added some notes of her own to it and shared it with me. I am so very glad she did, because now Penny is no longer with us either. These two women had such an impact on my life (and so many others too!). I am very grateful I now have this treasure of a recipe to share with you.
See How I Make This Recipe 👀
Jeannie's Homemade Green Chili
Green chili is a family favorite recipe and Colorado specialty. Made with pork, fresh tomatoes, and Anaheim peppers, it’ll fill you up and warm your soul!
Jeannie’s Homemade Green Chili is one of our family’s favorite recipes created by my dear mother-in-law, Jeannie Winget. She made this delicious dish countless times, and was well-known for bringing this to people she loved who were sick or otherwise in need of a comforting, home-cooked meal. I learned so much from her, especially her example of giving freely of her time to care for people’s needs.
- Prep Time: 30-40 minutes
- Cook Time: 2-3 hours
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 9 cups
- Category: dinner
- Method: stove top
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. boneless pork loin, trimmed and cut into pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, diced or grated
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 4 cups fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced ( or use a can of petite diced tomatoes - 28 oz.)
- 7 large roasted Anaheim peppers, also called Hatch green chiles, see Notes below (or use 2 cans of diced green chiles, 4 oz. each)
- 2 bay leaves, optional
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 heaping Tbsp. flour (see Notes)
Instructions
- In a large pot on the stove top, cook meat in the oil with garlic, salt, and pepper until no longer pink.
- Add 3 tablespoons of flour, tossing to coat the meat. Add a little more if needed so the meat cubes are thoroughly coated with the flour.
- Add remaining ingredients and cook on low heat, covered, for at 2-3 hours.
- Slow Cooker instructions: Once it gets to this point in the recipe, pour it all in a slow cooker and cover with the lid. Cook on high for 4-8 hours, or on low for 10-12 hours.
Notes
- If you are gluten free, you can use nearly any starchy GF flour such as rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, or any gluten free flour blend like my All-in-One Blend, or my Brown Rice Flour Blend.
- from Penny Mead (my sister-in-law): P.S. Mom always said to use the best cut of pork you can find and trim it really well. Fresh tomatoes and chiles taste better, too. There’s nothing better than fresh tomatoes and fresh roasted Anaheim peppers in your recipes!
- See how to roast Anaheim peppers in the video in this blog post.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups
- Calories: 416
- Sugar: 8.9 g
- Sodium: 2535.2 mg
- Fat: 17.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.8 g
- Fiber: 3.1 g
- Protein: 46.8 g
- Cholesterol: 116.4 mg
Qs and As:
Technically, a jalapeno is a green chili. But for most people, when we're referring to the recipe called Green Chili, for green chilies we use the peppers called Hatch or Anaheim green chilies. They are milder than jalapenos, so they can be used as a mani ingredient in this recipe. Jalapenos are a lot spicier, and would be used more as a seasoning than a main ingredient.
They are both milder peppers, but a poblano pepper has a smokier flavor than Anaheim peppers. For this recipe, look for Anaheim or Hatch green chilies (or use canned green chilies if you don't have fresh ones).
They are nearly always Anaheim chilies. Especially if they say "mild" or Medium" on the can.
In my husband's family, they usually served Green Chili with hot buttered flour tortillas. Some other ideas for sides are: cornbread (see below for a link to my gluten free recipe), creamy coleslaw, tortilla chips or corn chips, a crisp green salad, or sweet potato fries. Mmmm, now I'm hungry!
Jeannie's Green Chili is special to me because it will always remind me of my sweet mother-in-law (and my sister-in-law too). I really think it's important to share good homemade food with people you love. It's one of the ways we make cherished family memories that bring smiles and good memories whenever we eat or even smell that favorite food.
I am honored to pass this recipe on to you. I hope you love it as much as our family does.
Here's where to get that cornbread recipe:
Get Gluten Free Baking for Beginners to get my gluten free cornbread recipe, and other simple recipes and information for the gluten free beginning baker.
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