Chicken Posole

I have made this recipe from about 15 other recipes I read online. I just geared it to ease and my family’s taste. I am not claiming this is an authentic posole. As for hominy you should be able to find it canned at any local grocery store in the canned veggie aisle. If you prefer to use dried then follow the bag’s soaking and cooking directions and then add to soup as directed in instructions. If you don’t like hominy just use a can of white corn. It will change the flavor but to me it’s all about the red sauce. As for the chiles, I get my dried guajillo chiles from Aldi. This soup can be as spicy or mild as you want depending on what type of chile you use. It would be worth it to go to a Hispanic grocery store and get the chiles and hominy if you can’t find them at your local grocery store. This is so good and very worth the effort. It actually doesn’t take much time or prep to make this really delicious soup. My super picky toddler LOVES this soup (minus the hominy and chicken). This recipe feeds 2 to 3 people.

Ingredients
2 cooked chicken breasts (cubed or shredded)
32 oz chicken broth
1 15.5 oz cans of hominy, rinsed (or 16 oz bag of dried hominy soaked and cooked)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1 teaspoon cumin

Red Sauce Ingredients:
1/4 large onion, chopped in large pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3 dried chiles (either New Mexico red chiles or ancho chiles, which are mild. For more heat use 2 guajillo chiles, which is what I use. Supposedly they are spicier but I didn’t find them spicy at all.)


Red sauce:
Wearing protective gloves (I don’t do this I just wash really well after I touch them and I don’t touch them once they’ve been soaked), discard stems from chiles. In a dish that the chiles can lay flat in, combine chiles with boiling-hot water. Soak chiles in 1 1/2 cups boiling water for 30 minutes, turning them after 15 minutes. Puree onion, chiles and soaking liquid, 2 cloves of garlic, and 1 teaspoons salt in a blender until smooth. (Don’t take a big whiff of it at this point because it’s potent!)


In a large soup pot add the chicken stock, canned or cooked dried hominy, cooked chicken, cumin, and oregano. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to gently simmer for 15 minutes. Then add red sauce to mixture 1/2 cup at a time until taste is to liking (I use all the red sauce). Simmer for 15 more minutes stirring occasionally.
 Garnish individual bowls.

Garnishes are where the soup really gets GREAT! Pick and choose from cabbage, radish slices, chopped cilantro, lemon or lime wedges, and fried corn tortilla strips (or you can use tortilla chips). I always use cilantro, lots of fresh lime juice (the more lime the better) and fried corn tortilla strips.

Fried corn tortilla strips - Stack about 4 or 5 tortillas and cut in half then half the other direction so you have triangles. Then cut strips from the triangles and fry in a pan with hot oil.

Quinoa Salad

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is a whole grain that looks really funny once it's cooked but is super good for you. This is a great salad to bring to a BBQ as a side. It’s really refreshing and did I mention really good for you? Lot’s of fiber, protein, and iron. It tastes great too! I buy mine at Trader Joe's but I've seen it at Costco and some local grocery stores near the dried rice.

Ingredients:
1C quinoa
2 C water
1 med tomato cut into 1/2 in. cubes
4 to 6 green onions, finely chopped
1 med cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/2 in. cubes
1 small red pepper seeded and cut into 1/2 in pieces
1/4 to 1/2 C finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 C freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 teas. salt

Rinse quinoa thoroughly. I just put the 1 cup of quinoa in the pot I’m going to use to cook it and add enough water to cover and swish it around with my fingers. Slowly drain the water out trying not lose too much quinoa. Repeat this at least one more time. Cook quinoa per directions on package (should be 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water). Remove from heat, fluff, and allow to cool for about 30 minutes. Add the chopped ingredients. Mix lemon and EVOO together and pour over quinoa and veggies. Salt to taste. This is best when it’s been chilled in the fridge for at least 2 to 4 hours. The longer the flavors mingle the better.