This is one of my all time favorite dishes. I took the liberty of combining some of my mother’s recipe goodness with some of my Tía Jueventina’s innovation and the combination is heavenly.  Poblano chiles, Monterey jack cheese, Mexican crema and home made salsa have truly never tasted so good.

The first time I made these new and improved chile rellenos for my mother she was shocked when I confessed that I wasn’t going to fry them and that I’d made some alterations to her recipe. Now admitting to my mother that I changed one of her recipes was like saying I thought Novellas shouldn’t be on TV anymore – seriously dangerous territory. She raised her eyebrows, moved her head side to side and said “Ay Diana, what have you done”.  I tried to explain that her recipe was yummy, but I’d found a way to make chiles that were healthier for us and delicious. I wonder how many of you have had similar experiences when you’ve tried to update a family recipe.

She sat in her chair and watched me prepare the new recipe and didn’t offer to help. More evidence that she wasn’t thrilled with my latest experiment. When I was finished preparing and stuffing the chiles, I placed them in simmering crema sauce and let the magic happen as the cheese began to melt. Within a few minutes my mother was standing next to me at the stove. “These smell amazing Mia”, she said smiling as she looked at the bubbling chilies.

A few minutes later, I served her a chile relleno with some warm corn tortillas. She took a bite and surprisingly said, “Mia, these are really good, we’ll be making my chile rellenos like this from now on.  This new recipe became one her favorites too and I overheard her tell one of our relatives that she had grown tired of her fried chile rellenos, as they were too greasy and messy to make. And I just proudly sat by and smiled.

Heavenly Chile Relleno Recipe

• 12 raw poblano chiles
• 1 lb. Monterey jack cheese
• 1 pt. Mexican crema
• 6 ounces salsa

Please watch the video to learn how to make our yummy chili rellenos. And please let me know if you have any questions!

Big hugs,

Molé Mama