I Cooked .... Crock Pot Chicken Posole

OK, I said I would cook something so here goes.  In my crock pot yesterday was chicken posole.  I grew up in New Mexico and have been making posole, a type of stew, for a very long time.  Posole is traditionally served at Christmas in New Mexico, but really, it is a good comfort food for any time.  Most New Mexican recipes make a very hearty, flavorful stew.  It is one of those things for which you can find a zillion different ways to make.  I've never tried a recipe for posole that I didn't like! I usually use pork but this time I followed a recipe I found at http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-chicken-posole.html

Slow-Cooker Chicken Posole

1 can (15 oz.) yellow or white hominy, drained*

1 can (14.5 oz) Mexican-style diced tomatoes

1 can (10 oz.) mild green enchilada sauce

2 medium carrots, diced

1 medium onion, chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. cumin

1½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 3-4)

Chopped cilantro, optional

Lime wedges, optional

Tortilla chips, optional

In a 4 qt. slow cooker**, combine the hominy, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, carrots, onions, garlic and cumin. Add the uncooked chicken and stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred. Stir chicken back into the slow cooker. Serve in bowls. Top with cilantro, if using. Serve with lime wedges and tortilla chips.

 *Because I like a lot of hominy I used a can of white and a can of yellow.

**I use Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners.  I still wash my crock of course, but the liners sure make clean up easier, especially if you have made something messy, like queso in your crock pot.  

We thought this was really good. The flavor was wonderful.  Just because I am used to thicker posoles, next time I will probably add 3 cans of hominy (again, this recipe calls for only 1) and a larger can of green enchilada sauce.  When I lived in New Mexico I could get a bag of Bueno frozen posole that I really liked, which was basically hominy that you had to boil until it blossomed, actually pops open.  It takes quite a while, an hour or two if memory serves me correctly, but the taste is much better than canned hominy.  I ate this today with crackers instead of tortilla chips, but cornbread would have been even better. 

I meant to take my own photo of the cooked posole but between an unexpected trip to the vet and some some other unexpected happenings a photo never got made. Therefore, I am going to use the one from http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-chicken-posole.html 

                                             

  

Go hug somebody,

Aunt Betsy