Sunday, March 15, 2009

Chicken Chile Verde and Going Green for the Earth

I've been going green for many, many years and food falls into the green category. I've been on a green chile kick lately and have been cooking green. Before I show you my green chili for the once-a-month Chili Cook-Off Challenge, I want to let you know about a wonderful Earth Hour event that's happening on March 28th to honor and help heal the Earth. At 8:30 PM, millions of people, everywhere around the world, are turning off their lights, and their computer, TV, etc., for one hour to bring attention to the global warming crisis our Earth is facing. You can be part of this by simply flipping a switch. You can vote for a healthy Earth.

Now, how about some green food? I know it doesn't look green, but
I made Chicken Chile Verde and used salsa verde which is green.
  • 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 (14 oz.) can Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce with Roasted Garlic (or use any salsa verde)
  • 1 (15.5 oz.) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
  • White corn tortilla chips, toasted
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican-Blend cheese
  • 1 ripe tomato, chopped
Spray a deep, 12-inch chef's saute pan with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat.

Add the chicken, onion, and green bell pepper. Saute until the chicken is browned and the veggies are limp.

Add the enchilada sauce and beans; stir to mix. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.

While this is cooking, put the tortilla chips on a cookie sheet and place them in a 200 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Spoon the chili into individual serving bowls. Top with cheese and chopped tomatoes. Tuck the tortilla chips in around the bowl.

Ten years ago I wrote a book, Happy Ways to Heal the Earth, listing many simple, everyday ways that people could help to heal and honor our Earth. You can read more about the book here, including a Carry Canvas chapter. One of the small yet very significant ways that we, as foodies, can help, is to bring our groceries home in re-usable bags.

To honor the Earth, and to help one more person honor the Earth, I'm giving away a
copy of my book and this re-usable tote bag from Whole Foods to one person who leaves a comment sharing one way that he or she helps to heal and honor the Earth. I'll announce the winner on March 28th, at 9:30 PM, after I turn my lights back on.

Carrying your groceries in a re-usable bag is one way you can help to heal and honor the Earth. There are hundreds of other ways you can help. Do one thing every day, in whatever way you can, that's green to help keep our Earth green. And turn your lights off for one hour
on March 28th at 8:30 PM to vote for Earth.

15 comments:

Bellini Valli said...

This dish would be an excellent way to celebrate Earth Day Gloria:D

5 Star Foodie said...

What a great idea! Your dish is excellent! We gather everyone in a our neighborhood community on Earth day and do a cleanup of our community and the county part that is next to us. It has become a wonderful tradition that brings everyone together and helps our area as well.

Passionate About Baking said...

A great way to celebrate the Earth Gloria.I've just blogged about it too, & theres no better way to spread the word. We've lent our voice to a local green group here, to the kids school...& of course the blog! That's a yum chile!

ARLENE said...

Your chicken chile verde looks delicioso. Thanks for sharing the information about Earth Hour.

Sara said...

I love chile verde, I usually make it with pork. Your version looks great!

Kendra said...

I love this post...and the dish looks amazing!

Teresa Cordero Cordell said...

Growing and cooking your own food, I think, is an excellent way to help the earth go green. I started a strawberry patch for the first time ever and I'm finding it difficult to wait until they actually grow. Out of 10 seeds that I planted, only 2 actually genminated. So, I cheated and went out and bought a strawberry plant. What a wondrous site to see them grow. Here's to Mother Earth. May she still be around for our children's children's children.

Teresa Cordero Cordell said...

Forgot...your chile verde looks very appetizing! :)

ChefBliss.com said...

What a great post, and I love the chili! I love being green! We grew up in Holland and they didn't have grocery bags so you had to take bags with you. I have a wonderful set of bags I love that I always have in the car. I compost (it smells but it's good!) as much as I can, I grow a small amount of veggies and things like cilantro, but this year I am expanding (hopefully, if we have sun!), I map out my errands so I do them all in 1 day per week and I go in a big circle, I walk to the store on weekends if I need anything small. I am switching all electrics to new surge protectors (and recycling old ones that are 15+ yrs old!!) that we will just unplug the whole surge when not in use. I recycle EVERYTHING -- well Styrofoam and foil are tough so I limit how much of those I bring into the house!!! Sorry, didn't mean to go on and on, it's early and I got excited!! :) Hope your book signing was great this weekend, I thought of you during!

Jennifer said...

I feel proud of this simple way to help: Are you always using a cleaner/cleansers to wipe up your counters/tables? I simply use a cloth and water to clean up counters etc. during the day. I only use a cleaner (home made at that) when I have been cooking raw meats, poultry etc. or I feel it is needed. AND ONLY WITH A CLOTH-NO PAPER TOWLES

giz said...

It's such an awesome sight to see the majority of people respecting Earth Day. It also shares some hope that maybe in our lifetime, people will learn to not sweat the small stuff and join rather than kill one another.

Megan said...

My husband LOVES chile verde and orders it all the time when we go out. This looks delicious.

I honor the earth by recycling every thing I can. I also use the canvas bags for shopping, The swirly light bulbs, and I have a water bottle for the gym. No more plastic water bottles for us!

Hornsfan said...

Tasty looking chicken verde, I adore a verde sauce!

As to the question, I'm lucky, Austin is a very green-concious city, at work we have recycling, some days that we turn off the lights in the building (working at a software company makes things like this a little easier, most people would rather work in the dark there :) ), and of course, the HEB green bags are a favorite tote here!

girlichef said...

I just found this blog and Gloria...where do u find the time!? I try my best to help the earth by recycling everything possible, using my own bags wherever I go, composting and sharing/teaching my children (&others) the values of taking care of our Mother Earth.

Dietitian for Hire said...

great idea