Back in the day when I first made Salsa Verde, I boiled the tomatillos, onions, jalapeños, and the garlic. Though the flavors were nice, they just weren't bold like I wanted. But since I was very new at making it I didn't know any different. After years of making it, in all different ways, I think roasting the ingredients is the way to go. I start out by preheating my oven to 450* and putting the shelf in the middle. I then line my baking sheet with foil, this helps with transferring the ingredients to the bowl or jar. Next I coat the, already washed, tomatillos, onions, garlic, and jalapeños with olive oil and kosher salt, and place them on the lined baking sheet. I place in the oven for 30 minutes. They will cook down quite a bit and the juices will fill the bottom of the baking sheet - this is ok, just be careful when taking it out of the oven. After 30 minutes they should be nice and brown on the tops of the onions, jalapeños, and the tomatillos. Gently stir and put back in the oven. Cook for about 5-10 more minutes and then Turn off the oven - but leave the pan in the oven for about 20 minutes with the oven off. This will help with the carmenlization. Remove from oven, let cool for about 15-20 minutes. Spoon or dump the roasted goodness into a bowl or blender jar, making sure to carefully scrape down the sides of the foil - where all the carmenlization is. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.

If using for salsa - refrigerate for a couple of hours until its cool and then serve.

I am really enjoying using our rice cooker for meals instead of just using it to make white rice! I think I even love it more then my crock pot. I know - I will probably be struck down for saying that, but I don't know about you, but my crock pot is not non-stick and my rice cooker is. Now don't get me wrong there is definitely more that my crock pot can do, but for quick no fuss meals, the rice cooker is the way to go...especially on the days where temps outside reach well over 100. So this year I am determined to make more and more recipes in my rice cooker.

UPDATE: As we are coming to an end of our left overs from this meal, my hubby looked over at me and said, "I really liked this one. It was really good". Now, the reason why I share this with you is because you have to understand that there are 2 major ingredients in this recipe that as soon as my husband hears the words - he winces. Those 2 words are ... Chicken ... and ... Brown Rice. He gets this look on his face like I am trying to feed him raw kale and a glass of water. Now there is nothing wrong with kale and water but to my hubby, who is a "meat and potatoes" kinda guy, it doesn't go over well. LOL So I hope y'all enjoy this one. It has my husbands seal of approval.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup brown rice (rinsed)
3 cups water
1 can enchilada sauce
1/3 cup diced green onions
1/4 cup dried cilantro
1 tbsp ground ancho chili (optional)
1 tbsp ground Aleppo chili (optional)
1 tbsp kosher salt (+/- depending on your taste)
1 can sweet corn (drained)
1 can black beans (drained)
1 1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in the pot of the rice cooker, stir until combined. Close lid, cook on brown rice setting.
2. Fluff and serve. I serve ours on top of a bed of rice, then I top it fresh chopped cilantro, diced onions, cheese, and Greek yogurt (or sour cream). My hubby likes putting Ranch Dressing on his instead of the Greek yogurt.

Oh the HEAT! How tired I am of this heat - BUT on a positive note, it forces me to come up with better ways of cooking complete meals without heating up the stove or oven and roasting us in the kitchen. So today I made Spanish Rice using some of my homemade Enchilada Sauce. Added a few more ingredients, and placed the steamer tray in the top grooves to cook the tamales. In less then 30 minutes we had a great meal and the temp in the kitchen didn't even budge! Now to see what else I can cook in our rice cooker...besides rice! :)