Do you use diced green chili peppers in your recipes? We love Mexican food, and nothing enhances the flavor more than diced green chiles. You don’t have to buy that little can at the grocery store. You can easily make your own!

We use Anaheim peppers. Anaheims have a thick skin that is difficult to digest, so you have to peel Anaheims. It’s really not hard to do, as you’ll see below. If you can squeeze a few plants somewhere in your garden, you will have diced green chiles all year. Here’s how…

Pick your peppers while they’re green.

PUT ON YOUR RUBBER GLOVES! Trust me on this. The oil in them will burn your hands right up!! And for goodness sake, don’t touch ANY PART OF YOUR FACE while you’re working with peppers!!!!!

Wash and dry them, then cut off the tops and slice them in half. Scoop out the seeds and the membranes. The seeds are where the heat is, so if you’d like a little heat in your diced chiles, leave some seeds in. Personally, I dry the seeds in a separate bowl and save them for later. Just scoop some seeds in a glass bowl and let them sit on the counter for a week. They’ll dry quickly, then you can put them in a covered air-tight jar. (Maybe an old spice jar.) Some of us like heat, some of us don’t, so this is the way we accommodate everyone by adding seeds as you wish later. As for scooping out the seeds and membranes, the easiest way I found is to use a grapefruit spoon. Brilliant!

Lay your scooped-out peppers cut side down on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.

They should come out looking like this…

Transfer them into a glass bowl and cover them for 15 minutes. I use a big bowl with tin foil. This will allow them to steam, which is what makes them easy to peel.

WITH YOUR GLOVES ON, easily peel the skin off and discard.

Dice them to your liking.

Place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and put them in the freezer for a couple hours.

Once frozen, you can transfer them into a freezer bag. Squeeze as much air out as you can.

They will keep in the freezer for one year.

EASY MEXICAN CORNBREAD RECIPE – using your diced chiles.

Mix together wet ingredients in one bowl, dry ingredients in a second bowl, then mix them together.

Wet ingredients: 1/2 C melted butter (1 stick), 2 eggs, 1 can cream corn, 1/2 C milk/cream/buttermilk (your choice), 1/4 c of your very own diced green chiles, 1 C shredded cheddar or cheddar/jack.

Dry ingredients: 1/2 C white OR wheat flour, 1 C cornmeal, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 C sugar, 1/4 tsp salt.

Mix together and pour into a greased 9×13 baking pan.

Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour. You can sprinkle with more cheese for the last 10 minutes if you wish. Insert a toothpick to check if it’s done. If it comes out clean, you’re good to go. If not, cook for another five minutes and check again.