(4 good-sized servings)    Freezes very well.
Serve over plain or mexican rice, burritos, chile rellenos, chimichangas, etc.

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Ingredients:

1:      2 tsp. olive oil**
        1/2 lb. pork loin (cut into 1/2-inch chunks and remove all visible fat)
        3 small garlic cloves, finely minced
        1 red onion, finely chopped (optional)

2:      2 T. flour (preferably masa flour)
        2 T. cornstarch
        4 T. water

3:      28 oz. New Mexican chiles***
          (already roasted, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped)
        1-2 T. chopped jalapeno pepper (optional and preferably fresh)
        1 tsp. cumin
        1/8 tsp. salt
        1/8 tsp. white pepper
        2-3/4 c. chicken broth**
        2 large fresh tomatoes, pureed (or peeled and chopped) (optional)****

===========================================================================
Instructions:

WARNING:  Do NOT touch your eyes after handling chiles,
          even after washing your hands very well.  The oils
          will take a while to wear off even after the briefest
          touch ... as a contact lens wearer, i can *personally*
          attest to the importance of removing them BEFORE you get started!!

1) In skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
   Saute pork until all pink is gone (about 5 minutes).
   Move meat aside and add garlic (and onion).  
   As soon as garlic sizzles, stir together with pork.  
   Put into crockpot on high.

2) In a small bowl, make thickener by adding water to flour and cornstarch.  
   (Add another tablespoon of cornstarch and a tablespoon of water if you
   prefer a thicker sauce, but wait until later in the cooking to decide
   if the texture is what you want, or you may accidentally make it too thick.)
   Add mixture to crockpot.

3) Add chiles, spices, chicken broth to crockpot.  
   Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and add tomatoes.
   (puree the tomatoes if you like a very smooth sauce;
   peel and chop 'em if you like more texture).
   Simmer on very low heat, covered, for at least 1 hour (preferably all day).

*Note:   Mexican food is a big part of my diet, so I finally spent an entire
         weekend preparing 10 different green chili recipes from several of my
         Mexican/Southwestern cookbooks and newspaper clippings, and had my
         family and friends (even neighbors) pick their favorite version.  
         This recipe is the result of merging and very slightly modifying
         the three favorites (all three were "classic New Mexican" versions).
         (I'll keep fiddling with it, though!)

**Note:  This green chili is already pretty low-fat, but if you prefer,
         eliminate or diminish the olive oil when frying your pork, and
         use non-fat chicken broth.

***Note: The flavor of green chili is influenced most by the kind of green
         chiles you decide to use.  There are about 200 varieties of chiles,
         only three or four of which are commonly used in green chili.

         Traditional New Mexican green chiles are a special variety that
         were originally bred in New Mexico from Anaheims, and which
         (last I knew) aren't grown outside that state.  The growing
         climate and the varietal breeding has created chiles that are
         both hotter and more flavorful.  Of these, my personal favorites
         are "Big Jim" New Mexican chiles ... plenty of fire but also lots
         of flavor.  Anaheims have some flavor but very little fire, so
         they're usually mixed with the much hotter Jalapenos.  Other
         chiles such as Poblanos or Habaneros (a/k/a Scotch Bonnets)
         have incredible fire (literally thousands of times hotter than
         any Anaheim, by scientific measure, as seen below), but not all
         will have equivalent flavor.  Nonetheless, there is no reason
         to limit yourself to these, if you enjoy experimentation.  It's
         similar to choosing what variety of apples you prefer.

         Heat as Measured in Scoville units
         (high pressure liquid chromatography):
           Bell Pepper   -      0
           Cherry        -    100 to     500
           Anaheim       -    500 to   1,000
           N.M. Big Jim  -  1,000 to   1,500
           Ancho         -  1,000 to   1,500
           Poblano       -  1,000 to   1,500
           Jalapeno      -  2,500 to   5,000
           Yellow Wax    -  5,000 to  15,000
           Serrano       -  5,000 to  23,000
           Pequin        - 30,000 to  50,000
           Cayenne       - 30,000 to  50,000
           Tabasco       - 30,000 to  50,000
           Chipotle      - 50,000 to 100,000
           Thai          - 50,000 to 100,000
           Habanero      -100,000 to 325,000 (a/k/a Scotch Bonnets)

         If anybody is particularly interested, I order mine from
         Hatch, New Mexico ("Chile Capitol of the World"):

              The Hatch Chile Express
              Post Office Box 350
              Hatch, New Mexico  07937
              1-800-292-4454
              1-505-267-3226

         They come already roasted, peeled, deseeded, chopped, and frozen,
         or you can get red dried-chile ristras, etc.). When I can't get fresh
         New Mexican "Big Jim" chiles from them, then I buy Josie's brand
         New Mexican chile in 14-oz. white plastic containers (already
         roasted, peeled and chopped) from the frozen foods section of my
         grocery store (but then, I live in Colorado where such items are
         very common).  If your store doesn't carry them, they might order
         them for you.  As a last resort, canned green chiles (which are
         almost always Anaheims) can be an acceptable (though far milder)
         substitute for the timid, with a rather different flavor.  Avoid
         the pickled varieties.

****Note: A completely traditional Mexican Chile Verde is a green chile
          stew without any tomatoes at all; however, in practice it is far
          more common to include some tomatoes ... some "green" chilis use so
          many the color becomes red and the flavor becomes heavily tomato,
          but that's definitely overdoing it!  This recipe has just a couple
          of tomatoes, to lend the richer, smoother flavor they impart, but
          not so many to adulterate the green chile character.

BONUS SUGGESTION:  A popular hors d'oevre in this area is pickled
                   jalapeno peppers stuffed with lots of peanut butter.
                   Buy a jar of *pickled* whole jalapenos; cut off the
                   stem and slice the pepper in half.  Deseed it with
                   a spoon, then dollop a great pile of peanut butter
                   onto each half.  You DO have to like the hot stuff!
                   (I know, I know ... sounds strange and awful.  Trust me.)