In my hometown of Lincoln, NE there is a mexican restaurant called Ticos. It's not authentic mexican mind you, but it is a place with loads of memories for my family and I. I have to visit whenever I get back home. I suppose the pints of Dos Equis and the chili powdered chips are part of the draw too for sure. My favorite thing on the menu is the Chile Rellenos. A year or two ago they put a recipe in the local paper for them. My mom printed it out and sent it to me. I've been meaning to make them for awhile, and tonight, I finally did. I think the results were quite delicious.

My favorite is the plain chile rellenos with just chiles and cheese. I did follow the recipe and made the Rellenos Royale (my dad's usual).

We enjoyed them, but next time I'll leave out the chorizo. Chiles and cheese only. The green chile sauce is very good though. You may want to adjust spices to your liking. I think some fresh cilantro would be a great addition, but I'm a big cilantro fan.

Rellenos Royale:

10 egg roll skins, 6 1/2" square

1 # chorizo, fried brown and drained (sausage style not the junk in a tube)

shredded swiss cheese, about 8 oz.

shredded sharp cheddar cheese for topping

green sauce with pork (recipe below)

8 medium mushrooms (I didn't use)

Lay the squares of egg roll skin on a flat surface. top each with chorizo, mushrooms, and swiss cheese. Flatten each mound slightly. Paint edges of the skins with water, and fold in two opposite corners, sealing the tips. paint the remaining edges well and press out excess air as the opposite remaining ends are folded in and edges are sealed. MAKE SURE ALL EDGES ARE SEALED COMPLETELY. let dry a little, till the excess water is absorbed. deep fry for three minutes. drain. Top with green sauce and cheddar cheese. Melt cheese under the broiler. Serve with fresh tomatoes.

Green pork sauce:

1 T. canola oil

1 # lean pork pieces, cut into small chunks

1 med. onion, diced

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 4 ox. cans chopped green chiles, drained

1 1/4 c. water

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

In a heavy sauce pan or Dutch oven, over medium heat, in hot oil, cook the pork pieces, in hot oil, cook the pord pieces, ionion and ;garlic until the meat is browned, stirring occasionally. Do not let the garlic burn. Stir in chopoped green chiles along with water, salt and pepper stirring to loosen brown bits from the pan bottom. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmertill meat is very tender and begins to fall apart about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy!!