Du’s Stew

I made this last week and shared it with my neighbor, Jan. She loved it and wanted to know what it’s called. I didn’t have a name for it, but I do now, in honor of her beautiful, noble collie who died yesterday. He has a fancy name, but as often happens with silly nicknames, his stuck. His mama cooked for him every night, so tonight I’m cooking for her. We will lift a glass to our dear Dufus.

DU’s STEW

3-4 plump chicken breasts

a large can of hominy (15 oz)

1 can tomatillos

frozen roasted corn

1 potato, peeled and chopped into 1″ chunks

3-4 cloves chopped garlic

chicken broth

cumin, adobo, salt, pepper, (optional) small can of green peppers or jalapenos

crock pot

Heat up 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet and brown the chicken breasts, coating them with cumin and adobo powder. Set aside to cool.

Drain and rinse the can of tomatillos. Warm up a little more olive oil, scrape the bits of browned chicken up, and gently sautee the chopped garlic cloves until fragrant. Be careful not to burn them. Keep the heat low and add the tomatillos, smashing them carefully with the flat end of a spoon or spatula. Get the tomatillos nice and garlicky. Add some salt to taste.

When the chicken breasts are cool enough, shred them with two forks. They won’t be all the way cooked, but they should be firm enough to shred.

Open and rinse the can of hominy. Drain and add to the crock pot. Add the potato, 1/2 to 3/4 cup of frozen roasted corn, the chicken and the tomatillos and garlic mixture to the crock pot. Pour about 1-2 cups of chicken broth over everything and mix well. Make sure the potatoes are in liquid.

Cook on low for about 3 hours. Mix in some sour cream before serving for an extra creamy kick.

This would work well with leftover turkey for a Southwestern style option. Bon appetit!

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PeaceBang’s Chewy Rice Summer Salad

Oh, this is so good.

Trader Joe’s makes a Rice Medley of red rice, and black barley. It’s pretty good stuff. But I made it GREAT! GREAT, I tell you! *bombastic circus ring leader voice*

Trader joes Rice Medley

1 packet cooked Trader Joe’s Rice Medley

1/3 or 1/2 cup thawed sweet corn niblets

1/3 to 1/2 cup thawed roasted corn niblets (also available at TJ’s)

a handful of diced Vidalia onion

some good olive oil

1/2 fresh lime

salt and pepper

Put the cooked rice in a bowl while still warm. Throw in corn and chopped onion and mix well. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Squeeze the lime juice and toss well again. Add salt and pepper to taste and toss yet again.

You will stand at the counter spooning this stuff into your mouth as fast as you can. Some chopped cilantro or parsley would also be great in this. Goes beautifully with grilled meats and veg. Enjoy!

PeaceBang’s Pilaf

As I was grocery shopping yet again this week I realized that I almost never eat out anymore. The shocking reason, as I thought about it, is that I finally prefer my own cooking to anything I can find at local restaurants.

While it’s true that I have definitely made a steady effort over the years to become a good cook, I think it’s more the fact that I am becoming an old dog with certain tastes. Most restaurant food is either too salty and rich or — on the other end of the spectrum — just not flavorful enough for me.

This is one of the recipes that has me patting myself on the back this week and saying, “Hey girl, you’re pretty good!” It’s great on its own as a vegetarian entreé or with a lamb dish as a side.

PeaceBang’s Pilaf

1 c. long grain white rice

Turkish apricots – 5-7 chopped

1 15 oz. can of chickpeas

½ c Pine nuts

1/2 -1 tsp good cinnamon (I use Penzey’s Korintje)

zhatar or similar spice mixture that you love

some cumin

Lemon zest

In a lidded sauteé pan using the fat of your choice, sauteé a cup of the rice until the grains are translucent and starting to brown.

Throw in a couple tablespoons of zhatar (or your own spice blend to taste) and sprinkle with a tbsp of cumin. If you like a little heat, green chile powder works well. Add salt to taste. Stir well.

Throw the apricots and the drained chickpeas into the pan. Mix them in well with the rice.

Add 1 ¾ cup of hot or boiling water and stir again, smoothing the rice mixture evently across the pan with a spoon or spatula and making sure all the rice is covered with water.

Cover the pan and simmer on very low for about 45 minutes.

If you can, burn the bottom the rice just enough to make a nice, crusty, chewy layer at the bottom of the pan. It’s heavenly!

While the rice is cooking, toast the pine nuts in a dry pan or toaster oven. Keep a close eye on them. As soon as they’re brown and releasing fragrance get them off the heat as they burn very easily, and those suckers are incredibly expensive right now.

When the rice has absorbed all the water, let it sit for another 10 or so minutes.

Stir in some lemon zest (about half a lemon’s worth) and the pine nuts.

Serve warm in bowls with a dollop of Greek yogurt on top.

Super yummy. Enjoy.

I don’t think so, mister.