Chicken Pozole

A few weeks ago, I took one of my beloved cooking classes, and the focus was on Latin American soups. Now we all know that I'm a sucker for Latin American foods, so that was right up my alley. We made pozole, as well as a black bean soup that I plan to make in the next couple of weeks. But the pozole had to be made quickly! I couldn't stop thinking about it. Good stuff.

Chicken Pozole
recipe courtesy of Zach Meloy and Buford Highway Farmers' Market

2 bone-in chicken breasts
water to cover
1 onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-28 oz cans tomatoes, pureed in a blender until almost smooth
1-28 oz can hominy

toppings: chips, sour cream, cilantro, lime wedges, onions, radishes, diced jalapenos, avocado. Whatever you've got is good here. This night, we went with chips, cilantro, onions, sour cream, and lime.


Boil chicken breasts in salted water, just until done, about 35-40 minutes. Take chicken out, allow to cool, and shred or chop. Reserve the light broth.

In a large soup pot, saute onion and garlic until done. Add tomatoes, hominy, and chicken broth. Season to taste with salt. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer at a very low heat for about 45 minutes. Add chicken to soup. Serve with toppings.

Don't be jealous of the world map placemat. All the cool kids have them.

Today, I'm linked to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Menu Plan January 30

Last week, we amazingly stuck to our plans all week! And we were thrilled to eat Moe's at the end of it, so it was both a great treat, and a mini lesson for my boys on how money only stretches so far, and some of the ways we can help it do so. I will say, though, that the pantry was mighty thin by the end of the week, and I definitely missed the extra $20 I usually spend. So, this week, back to all our meals at home, and hopefully, I can squeeze in a few more treats.

This week is also subject to change, because hopefully, our colds will be gone by the end of the week, and we'll head over to see my mom for a couple of days. I hate winter colds and staying home to keep them to ourselves! Ugh. So, we hit the vitamin C hard and hope for a quick recovery.

Tuesday: chicken pozole (recipe coming tomorrow!)
Wednesday: red clam spaghetti, salad, bread
Thursday: taco soup, brownies
Friday: Thai curry over rice
Saturday: bean and rice burritos (lunch), pot sticker dumplings (supper)
Sunday: quesadillas with spinach, mushrooms, and peppers (lunch), carbonara (supper)
Monday: red beans and rice, salad

As always, I'm linked to meal plan Monday over at orgjunkie.

Salsas

We love Mexican food here. And one of the fun things about taquerias is the salsa bar that they have. Our favorite has about 6 salsas to choose from, as well as pickled jalapenos, radishes, onions, and pico de gallo. So, so good. And so much fun to add to a meal. So for this night, I decided to play around with some of our favorites and try out a couple of new ones, too.

This is chipotle salsa. A surprising hit. It's The Tomato King's new favorite.

Roasted tomatillo salsa. This is the favorite of my kids. It's a Rick Bayless recipe, which is written in a very wordy way. Don't let that turn you off--it's very easy.

My favorite. Tomatillo avocado salsa. Add an avocado to the tomatillo salsa and blend. Easy peasy.


And the old faithful. Roasted tomato salsa .

We're already making a list for the next salsa night. It's a fun, cheap way to bring some new-ness into our meals and make us feel like we're eating something different. Even if it is rice and beans. Again. (are my kids ever going to tire of this????) Good for the budget. Good for the bored mama. Good all around.

Collards

I love greens. Greens in every form, in every way. Almost everything is done in the garden right now, but the collards carry on. A little promise of spring to come and a reminder that even when it looks like nothing is happening, growth still continues. (as an aside...man, I love that garden and its glimpse into life. not so much the work involved...but I can really appreciate the beauty and lessons that I find there)

So, anyway.. This is my favorite way to cook collards. It will work for almost anything else you get your hands on, too. Chard, bok choy, spinach, escarole, you name it. The only thing I don't like this way are turnips and mustard. But collards are definitely my favorite.

Heat olive oil in a large shallow skillet. Add whole garlic cloves and crushed red pepper flakes to taste (I usually do 4-5 cloves and 2 tsp red pepper flakes). Add chopped collard greens until the skillet is overflowing. Then just quickly stir-fry until they are done. If you like them more done, add 3 T water and cover the skillet for a few minutes. But they are good just stir-fried.

We eat this as a side dish, as a filler for burritos, as a main dish underneath a piece of meat (like a steak or chicken breast). You name it--you'll find a use for these collards.