Dried Chiles Become Pureed Peppers

These chiles have been drying on my kitchen counter for a couple weeks and needed a home...too many times my excess peppers end up lost and forgotten.....I am not sure what variety these are as they were harvested off a plant given us by our friends Denise and Leroy....all I can tell you is they are hot and flavorful....anyway, we've got lots of dried, ground chiles at the shop so I decided this small handful of chiles needed to take on a different life so how about some pureed peppers?  Here's what I did and I was really happy with the results....

- split the chiles and scraped out the seeds

- cut the chiles into chunks and put in a hot, dry skillet on the stovetop and toasted them for a couple minutes

- dropped the toasted chiles in a quart bowl, microwave safe and added about a cup of water and a dissolved chicken bouillon cube

- microwaved for 2 minutes, removed and stirred until I had a nice, smooth puree.

That's it....I used the puree to make some chicken enchiladas but you decide....just don't let those chiles drying on your windowsill go to waste!