You lookin’ at me, Monday?
Diva… And just about as happy that it was Monday as I was this morning 
Well good thing I have a fabulous (Mexican inspired) recipe to share with you guys to really spice up the start of the week!
Ahhhh back to my roots? favorite cookbook ever...
Diana Kennedy <— you, my friend, are my foodie hero 
Speaking of roots (ahhh I crack myself up sometimes haha) 
This meal was inspired by her recipe for pollo garnachero - a concept of chicken, potatoes, spicy sauce all topped with a crunchy, tangy slaw that just sounded too good to pass up.
Buttttt, this is my take on it.
I did it “my way” Which is awesome too because now I can share the recipe with all of you!
We’ll just call it “Stew & Slaw” for now… okay with you?
The “Slaw” (the chilito)
No mayo here ya’ll…
This sweet n’ tangy n’ spicy vinegar based slaw turned out so incredibly good.
You’ll be seeing this one again especially as the weather gets hotter – it was so cool, crisp & refreshing!
- 1/2 cabbage, sliced thin
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1/2 onion, sliced thin
- 1 jalapeno, seeds removed & diced
- white balsamic vinegar (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 tblsp agave nectar (if using sugar you may need a bit more)
- sea salt & black pepper to taste
Let this sit for at least an hour before dinner is served. It needs that time to “do it’s thing” 
The Chicken
I purchased a whole cut up chicken from Whole Foods this weekend and this was the perfect use for half of it.
And I’ll tell you, if you think you can’t eat quality meat without breaking the bank, this is a great way to do it.
For $6.93 I got 2 breasts, thighs, wings and drumsticks which is plenty of meat for a few meals.
To cook the chicken (which I removed the skin from before cooking) I simply poached it in water (enough to cover) with 1 onion and 2 cloves garlic for 30 minutes (or until cooked) — then removed the meat from the bone/chopped and set aside (season w/ sea salt & black pepper while warm). Save the broth too!
The Sauce
- 1 tomato, halved
- 2 dried guajillo chiles, stems & seeds removed
- 1 dried chile de arbol
- 1/4 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- hot chicken broth to cover (this came from the chicken cooking process)
Let these soak in the hot broth (cover bowl) for 15 minutes so everything softens up.
Then using the immersion blender (or a regular blender) give the sauce a whirl until smooth!
The Stew
Start by cooking half a sliced onion in 1 tbslp olive oil over medium heat, about 5 minutes.
Then add in your previously cooked chicken plus the sauce, allowing to cook for about 10 minutes over medium (covered).
The sauce needs to cook a bit to get the raw onion & garlic taste to mellow out and become beautiful!
Then slice up 2 baking potatoes…
And add to the pot.
Cover and let this cook for another 30 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken meat is literally falling apart tender.
To serve:
Chicken & potato stew. Topped with tangy, spicy slaw. And some additional unseen hot sauce (I have serious issues…)
With some corn & cornbread alongside.
Hey, who took a bite of that…?
Does a rainy Sunday night dinner get much better than this?!
I think NOT
This meal was deelish. And in fact was so fragrant while cooking, even woke up Mr. Man from his evening nap haha
And speaking of cornbread, I got a request to share the recipes for the cornbread and tortilla strips (salad topper) from Saturday’s dinner with the Fam. So here it is…
Want to know a dirty little secret?!?!
I got some help from my buddy Bob on the cornbread
Bob’s Red Mill is actually one of my favorite brands and this cornbread does not disappoint!
A quick tip to use the butter it calls for plus a little additional oil if the dough seems sticky/dry.
The tortilla strips were super easy too!
Just take a stack of corn tortillas (we used 4) and slice into strips (1/2″ to 1″ depending on what you like).
Drop into a medium-sized pot that is filled with 1″ of hot canola oil (high heat), a few at a time (don’t overcrowd!), for about 30 seconds… flipping once in between.
They are done once they start to brown.
Lay on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil and sprinkle with spices while still hot.
My spice blend included cumin, chile powder, key lime seasoning blend (World Market), garlic powder, cayanne & Mexican oregano.
But any blend of your favorite spices will work perfectly too! I’d say that the cumin, chile powder and garlic as a basic start would be just perfect
So there you have it.
I’d say we’ve truly gone South of the Border to start this week off, and can’t say I don’t love it
Here’s to Tuesday… cheers!
