It’s frikkin’ freezing outside. This west coast boy just can’t seem to get warm this week. Granted, It’s January 31st and it’s supposed to be cold 3 miles from Valley Forge, PA, but that doesn’t make it any easier. Hot food does, though!

On one of my many treks to the store a while back, I picked up a bag of hominy. I can definitely be an impulse buyer when it comes to groceries, at times. I do the weekly shopping on Wednesday, and can either do the in-and-out because I have other things to do, or I can meander the aisles and see what jumps off the shelf and into the cart.

The hominy jumped off the shelf during one of my meanderings but it’s been sitting on OUR shelf for a few months, now… I like hominy, but I had no plan for it – I just wanted it in the cabinet just in case… I figured I would find something to do with it, eventually.

Last night, I decided to soak a cup or so of it, and do something with it today. I was looking to make something hot and spicy. Stew-like, definitely. Boy, am I glad I did! As I said, it’s cold outside. A quick look through the cabinets and the chipotles caught my eye. The rest, as they say, is history…

Tim’s Hominy and Chipotle Stew

  • 1 pound beef cubes
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 4 tomatillos, chopped
  • 1 can diced tomatoes in juice
  • 2 quarts beef broth
  • about 3 cups hominy (1 1/2 cups before soaking)
  • 3 carrots, chopped
  • 2 chipotle chilies in adobo, chopped
  • 2 tbsp adobo sauce

I started off by browning the beef and onions in a bit of oil. Added the cumin, then the chipotles and adobo. Added the tomatoes, tomatillos, and broth, and let simmer for a couple of hours. (I was in no hurry…)

I then added the hominy and simmered for another hour or so. Added the carrots, simmered about another 30 minutes, and it was dinner time!

The stew got just thick enough from simmering and the hominy. It was definitely spicy.

I have found that there can be vast differences in canned chipotles – even from the same brand. Some are hotter than hell, others merely smoky. They’re just like their fresh counterparts – some are hot, some are not.

We each had a huge bowl, topped with oyster crackers. There’s creamy rice pudding in the ‘fridge from last nigh, and tomorrow morning we get to fly to San Francisco.

Life is good.