Dutch Oven and Cast Iron | An Inspired Cook

Category: Dutch Oven and Cast Iron
- Red Chile Pork Posole
  
  Posted at 2:55 pm by NativeNM, on December 17, 2025
  This year I am recognizing New Mexico’s traditional meals that are celebrated around the holidays. Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years, posole represents the celebration of life’s blessings. It’s a pot of hearty stew made of pork or chicken with hominy and red or green chile. It’s one of those things I look forward to every holiday season. The pork is seasoned, then simmered in broth for several hours until the pork begins to fall apart when stirred. I made the red chile base from dried NM Red and Guajillo chile pods which makes a vibrant red sauce which is then added to the pot of stewed pork and hominy. It’s tastes like comfort in a bowl. It’s enough to feed a crowd or can be frozen to enjoy another day. Whatever your traditions, I hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday season!
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  Posted in Dutch Oven and Cast Iron, Recipes, Red or Green, Soups, Stews and Chili | 0 Comments | Tagged New Mexico Red Chile Posole, New Mexico Traditions, Red Chile and Pork Posole, Red Chile Posole
- An Inspired Lasagna
  
  Posted at 11:02 am by NativeNM, on December 6, 2024
  I’ve been craving an authentic lasagna that has bold flavors and a creamy filling with lots and lots of melting cheese. While searching for ideas I came across the perfect recipe from one of my favorite blogs, “La Bella Vita Cucina“. Roz calls this “The Most Delicious, Awesome Lasagna” which I happen to agree! The sauce is bold and flavorful, but I must say the ricotta cheese filling is what puts this lasagna over the top. This velvety smooth layer combined with melted mozzarella practically melts in your mouth, it’s that good. I made a few adjustments and split the recipe between two pans because I don’t have a deep dish lasagna pan to hold it all. It’s all good either way. With the holidays coming up this would be the ultimate alternative to the traditional turkey, ham or roast beef. It’s perfect for special occasions and will feed a large crowd. Since we are empty nesters, it’s impossible to go through a whole pan of lasagna. We saved out some for a few meals, then packaged the rest into individual servings wrapped first in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and placed in a large ziplock freezer bag to go into the freezer. They freeze well and it’s so easy to take out as many individual servings as you need. Thaw and unwrap completely to warm in the oven or microwave. Serve with a salad and warm bread with dipping oil and spices for the ultimate meal.
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  Posted in Dutch Oven and Cast Iron, Entree, Recipes | 6 Comments | Tagged @La Bella Vita Cucina, An Inspired Lasagna, Creamy Ricotta Cheese Filling, Lasagna, pasta, The Best Lasagna with Ricotta Cheese Sauce, The Most Delicious Awesome Lasagna
- Spinach Artichoke & Green Chile Dip
  
  Posted at 1:12 pm by NativeNM, on December 8, 2023
  This recipe is inspired by one of our favorite appetizers at Zio’s Italian Kitchen. Zio’s was an Italian restaurant chain that we frequented when we lived in KC. Sadly Zio’s closed their doors for good, but I fondly remember their menu with so many traditional and non-traditional Italian dishes. One of their most popular appetizers was their Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip. They also used this tasty dip in their Artichoke Chicken Pizza and Artichoke Pasta Florentine. Today I’m recreating their famous dip with a New Mexico twist by adding green chile. This is an amazing appetizer plus I’ve included my version of their pizza and pasta dishes. If only I could figure out how they made those mini French loaves that they brought to the table with bread dipping spices . . . they were so good!
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  Posted in Dutch Oven and Cast Iron, Entree, Pizza and Calzones, Recipes, Red or Green, Salsa, Guacamole and Dips, Snack | 6 Comments | Tagged Spinach Artichoke & Green Chile Dip, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Spinach Artichoke Dip with Green Chile, Spinach Artichoke Pasta, Spinach Artichoke Pizza, Zio's Artichoke Chicken Pizza, Zio's Artichoke Pasta Florentine Copycat, Zio's Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip, Zio's Italian Kitchen Copycat Recipes
- Duke City French Dip with Red Chile Au Jus
  
  Posted at 9:19 am by NativeNM, on September 1, 2023
  Joe and I love this local cafe called Cinnamon, Sugar and Spice Cafe. They have 2 locations in Albuquerque but both are across town from us so it’s a treat every time we’re in the area. It’s a popular place with locals standing in long lines to order from an extensive menu including breakfast and lunch items. There is a counter behind glass lined with baking sheets filled with freshly made baked goods and pastries. Baristas are busy making specialty coffee’s and tea to order. We have never been disappointed with anything we’ve ordered and today was no exception. Joe ordered the Duke City French Dip topped with Green Chile and a side of Red Chile Au Jus. He shared a bite with me and it was amazing!! So of course I was inspired to remake it which also turned out pretty amazing. To start, I needed a package of sliced rare roast beef and some soft rolls. Since it’s green chile season here in New Mexico, I picked up some fresh chiles from a local farm and roasted them myself. Cinnamon’s au jus was spiked with ground red chile so I tried a combination of NM Red, Guajillo and Chile de Arbol to add flavor and a little bit of a kick. We thoroughly enjoyed this NM chile twist to an old favorite.
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  Posted in Burgers, Sandwiches, Paninis and Wraps, Condiments and Sauces, Dutch Oven and Cast Iron, Recipes, Red or Green, Side Dishes | 4 Comments | Tagged @Cinnamon Sugar and Spice Cafe, Duke City French Dip with Red Chile Au Jus, Green Chile French Dip with Red Chile Au Jus, Red Chile Au Jus, Red Chile Breakfast Potatoes, Red Chile Fried Potatoes, Red Chile Pan Fried Potatoes
- Tortelloni with Creamy Pesto Sauce
  
  Posted at 1:30 pm by NativeNM, on July 21, 2023
  The heatwave this summer has lasted longer than I think anyone expected. We’ve experienced more consecutive days in the upper 90’s or topping over 100 degrees for most of July. It’s just too dang hot to turn on the oven or cook on top of the stove. Early on it was sandwiches or salads for dinner, but after a while I started searching for something more. I found some fresh pasta in the refrigerated section of the grocery store; the package directions called for a 3 minute boil. That sounded perfect, I knew just what to do. A creamy parmesan sauce with pesto would taste so good and take only minutes to make. Add a Mediterranean salad and call it a meal. I’ve included a couple more variations that I think you will enjoy as well.
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  Posted in Condiments and Sauces, Dutch Oven and Cast Iron, Entree, Recipes | 5 Comments | Tagged @margartepottery, Cream Sauce with Pesto, Magarte Pottery Stoneware by Magalli Gomez, Pasta with Creamy Pesto Sauce, Rana Tortelloni Pasta, Spinach Pesto, Tortelloni, Tortelloni with Creamy Pesto Sauce
- Pork and Green Chile Burritos
  
  Posted at 8:21 am by NativeNM, on July 1, 2023
  Today is the 12th anniversary of An Inspired Cook. I’m proud of the content and how I’ve grown as a better cook over the years. In the beginning, I tried to put out 2 – 3 posts a week but these days I enjoy taking time in between traveling around New Mexico to explore our beautiful state as well as sampling some of the best food along the way. This past year I’ve been taking photos of our favorite dishes from some of the restaurants we’ve visited on our day trips and also here in Albuquerque. We try to seek out where the locals eat, sometimes in a little mountain town or a food truck at an art festival. Sometimes you find the best food at a little unknown cafe out in the middle of nowhere. One day I will put together a “best of” list but today I’m going to share the accidental burrito that changed my perspective on how to build a burrito. The plan was to make some green chile sauce with pork to smother burritos or enchiladas. I had an end piece of a tender pork loin that I saved to go in the sauce. I cut it into small bits and then stir fried the pork with some green chile salt. As the sauce simmered and cooked down it seemed obvious that this would make a delicious filling by scooping out the pork and green chile to fill a couple of tortillas. And there was enough sauce leftover to smother the burritos. It was one of the best tasting burritos I’ve ever made, however I didn’t measure the ingredients or take pictures so this is take two. I made enough for 2 burritos but it can be easily doubled or tripled. You can also substitute ground beef, chicken or steak in place of the pork.
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  Posted in Condiments and Sauces, Dutch Oven and Cast Iron, Entree, Recipes, Red or Green | 8 Comments | Tagged Green Chile Sauce, New Mexico Burritos, Pork and Green Chile, Pork and Green Chile Burritos, Pork and Green Chile Sauce, Pork and Green Chile Smothered Burritos, Pork and Green Chile Wet Burritos
- Chimichurri Meatballs stuffed with Cheese
  
  Posted at 9:19 am by NativeNM, on April 14, 2023
  If you ever have a craving for some giant meatballs stuffed with herbs and cheese, look no further than these chimichurri meatballs. They have so many flavors packed inside and the warm stringy mozzarella cheese makes them even tastier. I wish my boys were here to try them; meatballs never lasted long when they were around. But my audience of one (Joe) loved them. The chimichurri is made with parsley, cilantro and chives along with garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, red pepper flakes salt and olive oil. It makes any meatball so moist and flavorful. We found these giant meatballs so filling that 2 were enough for a plate of spaghetti and sauce and also meatball hoagies. This one’s a keeper, plan on putting some up in the freezer. They make an easy meal over the summer when you don’t want to turn on the oven.
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  Posted in Burgers, Sandwiches, Paninis and Wraps, Dutch Oven and Cast Iron, Entree, Recipes, Sandwiches & Paninis | 4 Comments | Tagged Chimichurri Meatballs, Chimichurri Meatballs stuffed with Cheese, Meatball Sandwich, Meatballs Simmered in Sauce, Meatballs stuffed with Cheese, Rao's Pasta Sauce, Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Meat Sauce
  
  Posted at 10:23 am by NativeNM, on January 20, 2023
  It’s been a crazy busy time the last couple of month’s. Over the past few weeks we’ve had family in town to celebrate birthdays and the holidays. It’s the time of year when I can’t wait to be in my warm kitchen with the music cranked loud while baking pastries and pies to my hearts content! Joe’s family came in December to celebrate their Mom’s 90th birthday which happens to be on Christmas Day. Joe and Josh also celebrated birthdays just a few days later. Josh and Cameron didn’t make it here for Christmas as they are always busy with work over the holidays, but they took time off in January to come home and spend a few days. It’s been over a year since I’ve seen my boys and that’s just too long! They both have limited kitchens and need an easily prepped meal after a long day at work so this recipe is for them. This is an easy go to meal that you can make in the time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta. It’s made with fresh ingredients that tastes incredible. It’s also interchangeable in that you can add more veggies to the sauce or change the protein. A side of leafy greens or roasted veggies makes this a complete meal.
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  Posted in Condiments and Sauces, Dutch Oven and Cast Iron, Entree, Recipes | 0 Comments | Tagged Fresh Meat Sauce, Meat Sauce, Pasta and Meat Sauce, The Best Meat Sauce
- Green Chile and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
  
  Posted at 9:28 am by NativeNM, on November 15, 2022
  I’m going back to an old favorite that I used to make when my boys were young. They always loved these chicken breasts that were stuffed with creamy cheese. Back then I made them to order, stuffing with whatever they wanted, sometimes a dollop of whipped cream cheese and avocado or cooked bacon bits with roasted tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Anything goes if it will fit inside a chicken breast. These days one chicken breast is enough for Joe and I to share. We both enjoy them stuffed with green chile and Oaxaca cheese. Oaxaca cheese melts so creamy and tastes so good. To finish it off I spooned egg wash over the stuffed chicken breast and then dredged it in panko crumbs for a crisp coating. Once pan fried on both sides place in a preheated oven to finish baking until the chicken is cooked throughout and the cheese is bubbling. Serve alongside your favorite side dish and you have a complete meal that is simply delicious!
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  Posted in Dutch Oven and Cast Iron, Entree, Recipes, Red or Green | 15 Comments | Tagged Green Chile and Cheese Stuffed Chicken, Oaxaca Cheese, Roasted Green Chile and Cheese Stuffed Chicken, Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Green Chile and Cheese Quiche with a Hash Brown Crust
  
  Posted at 1:18 pm by NativeNM, on September 28, 2022
  I’ve taken some time off to enjoy the last days of summer. The last few weekends we’ve been hiking and traveling to some of our favorite places like Santa Fe and Taos. Pretty soon the fall colors will be dotting the landscape and we’ll be out again enjoying the crisp air and taking photos. But throughout August and September we’ve been enjoying New Mexico’s green chile season. It’s one of our favorite times of the year with the aroma of green chile roasting in the air, well there’s nothing better. This green chile and cheese quiche has been on my bucket list for awhile and it seemed like the perfect time to give it a try. I thought a hash brown crust seemed appropriate for this particular quiche and it turned out so good. I simplified the prep work by using dehydrated hash browns to make the crust. I’ve tried several recipes using them and they always come out just as good if not better than making hash browns from scratch. Once the crust is prepped I added a layer of grated cheese and then poured the green chile and egg mixture over top. This savory quiche baked to perfection leaving a crispy outer crust with fluffy eggs and spicy chile in every bite. I added a few bacon bits on top for Joe and I but you can keep it vegetarian if you like. We ate half of it over the weekend and saved the leftovers for later. Would you believe the leftovers were even better the next day? Oh yes they were!
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  Posted in Breakfast, Dutch Oven and Cast Iron, Recipes, Red or Green | 8 Comments | Tagged Breakfast Quiche, Green Chile and Cheese Quiche, Green Chile and Cheese Quiche with a Hash Brown Crust, Quiche with Hash Brown Crust
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