We Can Be Heroes, Just for One Day

I was out sick from work yesterday.  I'm not sure if I'm the only one, this seems like a girl thing, but when I don't feel well and things don't get done, I end up going into overdrive trying to catch up the next day.  I got groceries first thing in the morning. Before I cleaned the apartment, I pulled and cut the skin off a full family pack of chicken thighs, put them in the crockpot with carrots, onions, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns.  I wanted stock and meat for the week's meals.

Then, I roasted some tomatillos and red plum tomatoes, onion and a head of garlic, put them in the blender with 1/4 cup of stock and salt & pepper.  I didn't have chilies or cilantro but you know what? This was so damn tasty as a seasoning sauce to add to just about anything.  And that week, I did add it to everything.

I sort of made this up as I went along because I had put pressure on myself to come up with something brilliant, which is always dangerous.  At first I was going to do a chicken posole in the slow-cooker but more soup was not a thrilling idea.  I kept hearing about all these 'deconstructed' dishes last year and so here is my Deconstructed Chicken Posole.  I shredded some of the chicken, added whole cumino seeds and ancho chili powder, sautéed with onion and green bell pepper, then added a good amount of my roasted seasoning sauce, let that simmer.  I added a large can of hominy and then adjusted the seasoning, added some dried Mexican oregano. 

You will love this when you're hankering for Mexican comfort food but don't want to spend all day making it.