chicken tomatillo stew

ruth be told, I haven't been doing too much cooking these days.  I haven't felt inspired to cook so I've been making a lot of boring, old, standard meals.  Dan and I have opposite schedules these days so making meals together hasn't been possible and it feels weird cooking up a big meal for just myself.  It's been mostly quesadillas and cereal these days.  But we happened to have almost everything for this recipe in the fridge, so I hopped over to the store and got the last couple ingredients to whip up this stew!  The rain has started here in the PNW, so stew is the perfect meal for this drizzly weather.  Martha Stewart sent me their One Pot cookbook full of amazing soups, stews, and more that can be made using only one pot, hence the title, which is perfect for both the season and the laziness I've been feeling towards cooking.  This recipe is from that cookbook and I'm excited to try some of the others.  For whatever reason, soups and stews have become some of my favorite recipes to make, maybe because they feel hard to screw up and make for great leftovers.


Ingredients (recipe via martha stewart) 2 pounds tomatillos (husks removed), washed and halved
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds), cut into 10 pieces (wings reserved for another use)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 jalapenos, chopped
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 can (15 ounces) hominy, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh, cilantro

1. In a food processor, puree tomatillos; set aside. 
2. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pot, skin side down. Cook until browned on one side, 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add jalapenos and onion to pot and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatillo puree and hominy, if using; season with salt and pepper. 
4. Nestle chicken, skin side up, in sauce. Cover pot; simmer until chicken is cooked through, 22 to 25 minutes. Stir in cilantro; season with salt and pepper.