Thursday, February 24, 2011

Soup? Stew? Whatever you call it, it was good


Chicken and Chile Pepper Stew
Favorite Brand Name Slow Cooker Casseroles and More Copyright 2002

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 pound small potatoes, cut lengthwise into halves, then crosswise into slices
1 cup chopped onion
2 poblano chile peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 can (about 14 ounces) no-salt-added diced tomatoes I used regular petite diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano

1. Place chicken, potatoes, onion, poblano peppers, jalapeño pepper and garlic in slow cooker. I browned the chicken first but I don't think it made that much of a difference.
2. Stir together broth, tomatoes, chili powder and oregano in large bowl. Pour broth mixture over chicken mixture in slow cooker; mix well. Cover; cook on LOW 8 to 9 hours.
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This was more of a soup than a stew but that wasn't a bad thing. Somehow soup seems lighter than stew. This recipe was in the 'Light and Easy Fare' chapter of this cookbook. I un-lightened it a bit by adding some tortilla strips on top,

The chicken thighs worked well in this. I cut my potatoes too big since I was afraid that smaller pieces would get mushy before everything else finished cooking but these potatoes stayed on the firm side even when fully cooked. This was better the second day, as stews usually are. It's more tomato-y than it looks in the picture. I love eating out of that bowl (it's shallow - I think I eat less) but it's not very good for pictures.

I almost couldn't find poblanos. I was going to use regular green bell peppers but I'm glad I persevered and found the poblanos. They don't have the aftertaste that green bell peppers have. The only problem is that they reminded me of my favorite dish from my favorite Mexican restaurant. Their chile relleno is one of my favorite foods ever and as good as this soup is, it's not even close to a poblano stuffed with cheese and battered and fried. Chile relleno is not a light recipe.

This was one of my favorite cookbooks way back when but it ended up being ignored for a long time, in order to give the other cookbooks a chance, but I've brought it out of retirement.

I'm going to add this to my boneless, skinless, chicken thigh recipe round-up.
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love chile rellenos also. I've never made them myself, only eat them at restaurants and I always ask if they use pablanos or bell peppers. If bell peppers.....no.

Jan

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Unknown said...

going to try this sometime this weekend. Found the Poblanos. Thanks for your site. Just found it and am planning on trying a few of the recipes you have posted.