I have several recipes coming up that contain chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Because of this I thought it would be a good time to give you a few tips about them.
You can find these in the Mexican aisle at your grocery store. They add great flavor to many Mexican type dishes and a little goes a long ways.
I really like to use chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in my cooking. My husband likes food spicy, so he likes the spicy flavor that these add to food. I like the smoky flavor that they add. You can take a simple dish and give it a lot of flavor and spice, just by adding a little chipotle pepper to it.
These add a lot of flavor and spice, but you really only need a little. Seriously, unless you like foods really spicy, one or two peppers is enough for a whole meal or dish. The problem is that you have to buy them in a can and you usually get at least 6 peppers per can. I have never used 6 peppers at one time.
So, what do you do with the rest? You freeze them. It works great. I use the one or two that I need at the time and freeze the rest. I usually just put one or two into each ziplock type bags and freeze them until I need to use them. I do not freeze these in plastic containers because I have found that the flavor stays in the plastic. So, unless you want your plastic containers smelling spicy, you might want to use something else, like freezer bags.
Adding things like this to food can add a lot of flavor for just a little price. This is how you take a simple and frugal rice and bean type dish and make it more interesting. One can costs under $2, by freezing the extra peppers, I can easily use them in 4 or 5 meals. This keeps frugal meals frugal, but adds a little more flavor to them, for very little cost.
I have two simple and frugal dishes coming up that use these peppers.
Do you like and use these? If so what do you use them in?
This post linked to Works For Me Wednesday.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a can of these and was wondering what to do with them. Thanks for the freezing tip, that will come in handy. Looking forward to your recipes coming up that use these. Thanks.
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We love these! I use them in everything–try just a smidge in your hot cocoa. BTW, Tabasco makes a chipotle sauce that is excellent.
For freezing, put two cans of chipotle peppers and one 8 oz can tomato sauce in your food processor. Process until smooth. Freeze in a cottage cheese carton (just break off a piece) or in individual portions ice cube tray portions. The tomato sauce adds a bit of bulk and prevents you from dumping in too much and accidentally having five alarm casserole.
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i have used them in one recipe so far and it’s a weight watchers chicken picadillo recipe. i live in el paso, tx so i enjoy experimenting with true mexican ingredients.
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Michele Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:09 am
@jen,
Could you share your recipe for the weight watchers chicken picadillo recipe. Thanks
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I totally agree with freezing the chipotles….but splitting them up individually is genius. I once froze the reminder of a can, and had a big hunk of peppers. What a mess! I just broke off a chunk here and there as needed, but next time I’ll split them up. Thanks for the tip!
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Wow, haven’t had these in years. They are definitely going on my shopping list!
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I use chipotle peppers to make chipotle mayo. We love this stuff but it only calls for one chipotle pepper. I never knew what to do with the rest of the peppers so I usually just put them in the fridge til the mayo ran out and it was time to make more. By then I always questioned whether or not they were still good and ended up buying a new can. Thanks for sharing this tip!
Chipotle Mayonnaise
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp light mayo
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped
2 tsp adobo sauce
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dried oregano
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
Per Tablespoon: 43 calories, 4.2 fat grams
from http://www.columbiatribune.com/food 03-21-07
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